• Creator Toolkit
  • Posts
  • The success of your content is often decided before you hit record

The success of your content is often decided before you hit record

This is one of the most overlooked phase in creating content.

Author

Jessica Smalley
May 12, 2025

Hey Creator,

When I was learning to drive, my eyes would stay locked on the distance between the bonnet and the road.

This is not a time you would want to be in the passenger seat!

My driving was jerky, reactive, and I was totally unsure of myself.

It wasn’t until I was told to lift my gaze a little higher in line with the horizon that my driving became smoother and I became more confident.

The same goes for content making.

It’s in the pre-production phase, you can plan ahead and prevent abrupt changes down the line.

Problem is too many of us skip this part because we want to get straight into it.

But here’s the thing: if you know where you’re going, then you can relax and play within the structure of the content.

So today, we’ll focus on why planning will make you go from aimlessly average to intentional.

If you want a more in depth experience, I hold 1:1 strategy sessions, which you can schedule here: https://calendly.com/smalleyjess/powerhour 

Here’s what you can expect in today’s newsletter:

  • Keep up to date with what’s happening in Quick Fire!

  • Why planning is your best chance for success

  • Social media Updates for this week

  • Check out my READ, LISTEN + WATCH recommendations for this week

    🫒by Jess Smalley

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here 🤙 

“The secret to winning is learning how to lose. That is, learning to bounce back from failure and disappointment—undeterred—and continuing to steadily march toward your potential. Your response to failure determines your capacity for success."

James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

CREATOR NEWS

🧨QUICK FIRE

 Why planning is your best chance for success

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of racing through the pre-production phase? 

Guilty.

But without a plan, what you publish is usually flat, confusing, or forgettable.

What if I told you that 90% of your success depends on how much time and effort you put into planning before you even consider pressing go?

It could be for a YouTube channel, podcast, or brand campaign. It doesn’t matter.

What happens before you hit record separates the average from something that hits.

Pre-production isn’t sexy

Pre-production is like a girl on her way to an event, but hasn’t had a shower yet.

It’s dirty, messy, and in need of some attention.

Yet so many creators (even the ones who should know better) turn up to the event without having showered and wonder why no one is interacting with them.

Skipping the unsexy part means you’re also skipping:

  • direction

  • purpose

  • outcome

How to build a stronger pre-production habit

Simple Pre-production Framework

1. Systematise your creativity

Build a framework for how ideas are sourced, vetted, and shaped so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel whenever you’re starting a new piece of content.

2. Use content pillars to reduce decision fatigue

Create 4-5 repeatable themes that keep everything cohesive and searchable.

I like to rely on:

- Breakdowns

- BTS

- Opinions

- Newsworthy topics

3. Batch thinking like you batch your content

Don’t just block out a shoot day; block out ideation, structure, and distribution planning days.

4. What’s your runway?

Plan your next 5-10 pieces of content at once.

This will relieve some of your stress and make your content more cohesive for the audience.

SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES

Meta 

  • Meta has unveiled a range of new ad updates. Read more here

Instagram 

  • announced more Edits updates, including more fonts, transition effects and filters, video safe zones, automatic captioning and a timeline frame rate selector.

YouTube

  • team at YT share a blog post about the common myths about YT Shorts. Read it here

THE DIG

READ: The future rewards those who move and grow with it. Whether Hollywood realises it or not, YouTubers are quietly acquiring physical and digital legacy media space, except that the production costs are way cheaper to run. This article from The Hollywood Reporter is an extended read on what’s bubbling away in the YouTube world, just as Hollywood seems to be eating itself alive.

LISTEN: I don’t know about you, but there’s plenty of nonsense clogging up my feed, so when a straight shooter like entrepreneur Emma Grede comes along, I give the biggest sigh of relief. Emma is the CEO of Skims and founder of Good American (yes, Kardashian-associated brands), and she has a bullshitometer that only someone from East London would have. Listen to this episode if you’re interested in how to go from basically nothing to a multimillion-dollar company portfolio.

WATCH: Casey Neistat is having a New York City Lunch Crisis with his friend who works from the studio floor above him. How do they solve this problem? With the oldest communication thing they could find.

Need help refining your own digital strategy?

I help you cut through the noise and build a clear, effective strategy.

With expertise in podcast strategy, creative direction, personal branding, and social media, I provide actionable guidance to help you move forward with confidence.

If you're unsure about your next steps, let’s find the best path together.