📖 Read Time: 3 minutes
📩 What you’ll get out of this newsletter: simple advice (from experience) on how to structure your content to actually build trust, grow a loyal audience, and convert followers into superfans.
You ever feel like you’re posting and posting... getting views but not followers?
That’s because most content plays the wrong game.
Everyone’s chasing reach when they should be chasing resonance.
Here is how to decide what type of content to post, and who it will attract / what you can expect in the process. It’s something I call the Pyramid Content Theory…
The 3-Level Pyramid of Content That Converts
Picture a pyramid with 3 layers. Each level narrows your audience but deepens the impact. And each plays a different role in how you grow.
1. Base Layer - Trends - 25% of your content
These are your views magnets. Easy to create. Broadly appealing. Relatable.
They can be memes, one liners about a relevant topic, commentary.
Trends won't earn loyalty. They're attention-grabbing, not trust-building. They will always get the most impressions and views and typically lead to the least amount of follows.
Use them… but don't build your house on them.
2. Middle Layer - Broad Topics - 50% of your content
The meat and potatoes.
Content that applies to a wide breadth of people across industries but not everyone.
Think: business tips for instance. This can apply to someone who is an early employee or a founder, someone in b2b SaaS, or SMB.
This content is niche-aware but still widely applicable. It builds your voice, your consistency, your tone and authority in a broad space.
It's not about being viral, it’s about being valuable.
3. Top Layer - ultra-niche topics - 25% of your content
This is the content that converts viewers to followers, followers to fans, and fans to customers.
Think:
Entrepreneurs aged 40+ running B2B SaaS businesses
Seed-Stage Startup Founders looking to raise their first round of funding
Freelancers stuck at $50/hour
This is what people see and feel like, “wow was this written for me?”
This is what builds superfans. This is what sells. It will never get the most amount of views and frankly you shouldn’t expect it to. It is the stuff that every person that interacts with it though will feel impact from it.
Genius Tips
Don’t chase the algorithm. Chase the audience.
Break down your content plan using the 25/50/25 pyramid.
If someone says, "Wow this is literally me," you're doing it right.
Use trends to grab attention, niche content to keep it.
You can’t build loyalty from the middle of the road
Eyeballs are easy. Resonance is rare.
Why Ali Abdaal Wins: The real reason his videos get millions of views and his audience actually sticks around
Ali Abdaal didn’t invent productivity content.
He just made it feel like a conversation with your smartest, kindest friend. The one who also happens to be a doctor, YouTuber, and entrepreneur who’s read 250 books on the subject.
But the real reason Ali wins?
He zooms in. And then zooms in again…
1. He starts with a general topic for reach
Think:
“How to stop procrastinating”
“My morning routine as a doctor”
“Time-blocking 101”
These are broad. Searchable. Friendly to the algorithm but he doesn’t stop there.
2. He nichifies the execution…
Instead of saying “how to manage your time,” he’ll say:
“How I managed my time in med school using Google Calendar.”
That one detail… in med school… changes everything.
It gives people a clear frame:
“I’m a student.” → “Oh this applies to me.”
“I’m not a student.” → “But if it worked in med school, it’ll probably work for me too.”
Even his journaling videos are specific. Not just “how to journal,” but:
“How I journal when my brain won’t slow down.”
It’s a small twist. But it signals he gets it… the friction, the overwhelm, the very real lived experience.
That kind of specificity makes people feel seen and that’s what keeps them coming back.
3. He builds bingeability through soft repetition
Ali doesn’t reinvent himself every video.
He repeats frameworks, references earlier ideas, and reuses themes… just with new angles.
This repetition builds trust. It makes his channel feel like a body of work, not just a random collection of tips.
You could binge five Ali Abdaal videos in a row and feel smarter, not confused.
4. He makes the personal universal
Ali doesn’t posture. He doesn’t say “I’ve cracked productivity.”
He says, “Here’s what I tried.”
He shows his Notion dashboards. His failed attempts. The tweaks he made over time.
And because he’s honest about what didn’t work, you believe him when he says what does.
The takeaway
The internet rewards clarity over complexity.
Ali wins because he makes big topics feel specific and digestible…. without ever sounding like he’s lecturing you.
If you’re a founder, creator, or expert:
Don’t just talk about growth or strategy or productivity.
Zoom in then zoom in again.
Your people are already searching. They just need to know you’re talking to them.
If you’re posting and wondering why it’s not converting, try flipping your pyramid. Start at the top.
Make them feel like the main character.
Grateful to be in your inbox,
Alex (@Heyalexfriedman)
P.S. are you looking for help with content strategy?
We have a few July spots open for our next four-week advisory cohort. Whether you’re an experienced founder, aspiring founder, or simply figuring out your side hustle, if you’re in the process of building your social media or personal brand, schedule some time and let’s chat!
