Let’s start with an unexpected success story: Waffle House. In 2023, this restaurant chain hit a staggering $1.4 billion in revenue with minimal advertising. Their secret? Strategic locations near high-traffic spots like Walmart, where they ride the wave of foot traffic rather than pouring money into marketing.
So, how does this translate to content creation? The key is to find your own "high-traffic areas" in the content world—leveraging trends, ideas, and existing audiences to boost your creative process.
The Three-Step Waffle House Strategy for Content Creation:
Horizontal Expansion: Pull ideas from other industries or niches and adapt them to your own.
Magnify: Take a single concept and expand it into something bigger and more valuable.
Build the List: Add to existing frameworks or lists to make them more comprehensive and actionable.
Putting the Strategy into Action
1. Horizontal Expansion
This involves drawing connections between unrelated topics. For example, I recently compared endurance training in soccer to content creation. Just like in soccer, where you need consistent practice to improve, content creation requires the same discipline.
You can’t expect to make one sprint and be done. Soccer players sprint for the full 90 minutes, and content creators need to show up consistently over time, not just rely on one viral post.
Think of it like borrowing from one world and applying it to another. You'll uncover fresh, innovative content ideas by doing this.
2. Magnify
This step is all about taking a single idea and fleshing it out. For instance, the Waffle House strategy, which was originally about traffic generation for restaurants, can be magnified and applied to the creative process. How can you take a single idea and make it bigger, more comprehensive, and valuable to your audience?
It's not about reinventing the wheel, but about zooming in on one aspect and expanding its scope.
3. Build the List
Next time you come across a helpful list or framework, don’t stop there. Add to it with your own insights or experiences. For example, if you find a list of "Top 10 Content Creation Tips," contribute your own ideas to turn it into a "Top 15" list, tailored specifically to your niche.
This isn’t about copying; it’s about enhancing and personalizing existing knowledge to offer even more value to your audience.
The Power of Consistency
Here’s a little secret: while there are endless ways to create content, success doesn’t come from trying them all. It comes from picking an approach, sticking with it, and putting in the reps.
Just like building muscle, you don’t grow stronger by switching to a new workout every day. You grow by consistently doing the same exercises, gradually increasing the difficulty as you get better. Content creation works the same way—stick with a strategy, refine it, and let consistency compound over time.
A Word of Caution: Authenticity Matters
In the rush to scale content, it’s easy to fall into the trap of over-relying on AI-generated content or frameworks that don’t reflect your personal voice.
While tools like ChatGPT can inspire and assist, they shouldn’t replace your unique perspective. Especially if you’re building an expert-based business, your audience is there for your insights—so make sure your authentic voice shines through.
Putting It All Together
The Waffle House Strategy for content creation is about working smarter, not harder. Leverage ideas from outside your industry, expand on single concepts, and continuously add value to existing frameworks. By showing up consistently, you’ll create content that resonates deeply with your audience and keeps them coming back for more.
Remember these three steps:
Look for connections across different niches.
Expand single ideas into comprehensive pieces of content.
Add value by building on existing lists and frameworks.
And above all else, consistency is the real game-changer. Your audience is looking for content, but more importantly, they’re looking for a space to grow and learn—a space that you consistently create.
Are you ready to serve up some delicious content? Try the Waffle House Strategy for the next 30 days and watch how it transforms your creative process. Who knows? You might just cook up your own billion-dollar idea.
PS: We talked about this and more in our Content Is Profit Podcast. Listen here!