Episode 7: Content Flywheel

One thing businesses need help with is how to leverage their content to help them grow revenue. In this episode, Robbie and Tim dive into the Content Flywheel concept, which will help businesses build and understand their content.

In this episode, Tim and Robbie dig into the content flywheel — what it is, how to build one, and why it’s more of a process than a campaign. They talk about what it takes to create content that doesn’t just sit on your blog, but drives traffic, builds trust, and creates revenue through strategic distribution. From launching new content to recycling evergreen hits, they walk through how to get the flywheel turning, and how to keep it going once it’s moving.

“Everything should point back to home. It’s like E.T., phone home. And home is your website.”

— Tim Lowry

Transcript

Robbie Fitzwater:
This is Robbie Fitzwater...

Tim Lowry:
...and Tim Lowry...

Both:
...with the Content, Community, and Commerce Podcast.

Robbie:
Today we're talking about a concept that’s close to our hearts: the content flywheel. What is it, why does it matter, and how can your business use it to grow content and revenue at the same time?

Tim:
Yeah, I love this topic. It’s something we’ve been doing for years—even if we didn’t always call it a “content flywheel.” I was listening to Rand Fishkin talk about it on another podcast and realized: that’s exactly the repeatable process we follow with our clients. It works, and it’s scalable. A lot of businesses are doing content in silos and not bringing it together to maximize the potential of all their marketing channels.

Robbie:
Let’s take a step back. The “flywheel” idea was popularized by Jim Collins in Good to Great. It's the idea that one activity builds on the next, creating momentum. It’s a one-plus-one-plus-one-equals-five effect—each layer compounds and accelerates the next.

Tim:
And to get the content flywheel moving, you need content. You have to start with a piece that lives on your own platform—your website. Not Instagram, not TikTok. A blog or landing page on your site that you control. Something people can come back to.

Robbie:
You’re building an asset you can control, edit, and manage. If you don’t own the platform, you don’t own the relationship. Start on your own turf.

Tim:
Everything should point back to home. Your website is your home base. That’s where the audience should land and stay. And the content has to be for your audience—something that actually matters to them.

Robbie:
Yes—understand what motivates them. Serve them in ways they’ll find valuable. Over time, you’ll figure out what works at different stages of the funnel. But start by writing for them, not for yourself.

Tim:
And expect a learning curve. Not everything will be a hit. Some pieces will outperform others, and some will surprise you. But over time, consistency pays off.

Robbie:
You’re going to grow. And hopefully you’re a little embarrassed by what you made last year—because that means you’ve gotten better.

Tim:
Totally. Even Rand Fishkin says his first thousand blog posts were pretty rough. Now one good post outperforms all of those early ones combined. You learn what works, what voice to use, and how to structure content for engagement.

Robbie:
And as you publish, you’ll get direct feedback from your customers. That feedback loop is gold. It helps you iterate and grow smarter.

Tim:
But don’t just publish and walk away. You can’t assume, “If we build it, they will come.” Content needs a catalyst. That’s where distribution comes in—email, social, syndication.

Robbie:
Email is often our first step. We’ll say, “Let’s sit on this for a few weeks because it’ll hit perfectly during this season.” Or we’ll time it between more sales-heavy emails to break up the pattern with something that adds value.

Tim:
Yeah, seasonality plays a huge role. Your timing might be different from mine depending on your business. Sometimes I’m preparing months ahead, while you’re focused on what’s performing now. You’ve got to be strategic about when and how you introduce content.

Robbie:
And not just one-and-done. Think about how you’ll give content a second life, a third life. Reuse it seasonally. Automate it into onboarding flows. Use it for different customer segments. Good content should generate revenue and engagement in multiple ways.

Tim:
I’ve seen non-salesy content drive revenue simply because it builds trust. That’s a win. And even if all someone does is visit your blog post, that helps you retarget them with other automations like cart recovery or browse abandonment.

Robbie:
Exactly. We even joke that some emails are just “Trojan horses”—they look like content, but they’re designed to re-engage and recommend products. And it works.

Tim:
Before content ranks in search, it can already be earning its keep through email and social. From a content marketer’s perspective, that’s a huge win.

Robbie:
And social’s another great place to slice and repurpose content—pull quotes, videos, reels. If it’s evergreen, recycle it often.

Tim:
Totally. Also think about your broader network—ambassadors, affiliates, employees. How can they share the content too? Can you build links to it? Syndicate it with canonical links back to your site?

Robbie:
And once content is in the system, it feeds future cycles. Next year, you can refresh or reuse it. You start building an operational rhythm.

Tim:
Exactly. And as people engage with that content, they begin to associate it with a face or personality. That builds brand trust and even creates “characters” your audience connects with.

Robbie:
It’s a powerful thing when someone calls a store and asks to speak with “Michelle”—the person from your email. That’s what community-based marketing looks like. You’ve scaled expertise and connection at the same time.

Tim:
And those people become part of the brand experience. Just like you follow creators online and feel like you know them. It builds preference, not just awareness.

Robbie:
Coca-Cola has awareness. But preference is when someone chooses your brand because of the relationship you’ve built. And that comes from consistently showing up with value.

Tim:
And as all that happens, your organic traffic is growing in the background. Your baseline keeps rising.

Robbie:
It’s the one-plus-one-equals-three effect. Email monetizes it early. SEO pays off later. But the flywheel only spins if you keep feeding it.

Tim:
And once the process is in place, it becomes a system. Not just a campaign. The machine keeps running—even when someone on the team is out for a week.

Robbie:
The consistency also gives you flexibility. You can shift a piece around if a deadline slips, or run something evergreen if needed.

Tim:
And each send builds a peak in your analytics. Email, social, syndication—each creates a spike. Over time, those spikes smooth out into a steady, rising line.

Robbie:
And when you're heading into a key season like the holidays, you’ve got an engaged audience ready to buy. Not because you spammed them—but because you’ve been present all year.

Tim:
Exactly. Don’t be the brand that shows up for the first time on Thanksgiving with a 40% off sale. That’s like your old Facebook friend hitting you up to buy chocolate bars for their kid.

Robbie:
You need a real reason to be in someone’s inbox—and that reason should exist all year. Promotions work best when they’re part of a broader relationship.

Tim:
There’s so much to this that’s hard to capture just in audio. We’ll link to some examples and visual breakdowns in the show notes so you can see how the flywheel works in practice.

Robbie:
We’ve both written about this a lot. Check out MarketingRhythm.com and TipTop for blog posts and guides. There’s a ton more detail there if you want to dive deeper.

Tim:
So to wrap up, here are three takeaways:

1. Don’t be too heavy-handed.
   Not every piece of content should try to close a sale. Build trust. Earn it.

2. It’s a process, not a campaign.
   It’s not fire-and-forget. It’s long-term, but it compounds.

3. It’s an investment.
   Content creation and distribution take time and resources—but the return is real.

Robbie:
Exactly. This is how marketing teams are evolving. It’s more about operations than one-off ideas. Once the foundation’s in place, it becomes a flywheel—not a box of square tires.

Tim:
And one day, your audience size will grow, your traffic will climb, and you’ll look back wondering how you got from there to here.

Robbie:
So thanks for sticking with us while we round off our own square wheels. If you liked the episode...

[Outro]