Content coach Natacha Guyot: Level up your content strategy without getting overwhelmed

I have known Natacha Guyot for several years and value her intellect, kindness, and perseverance. As a content coach, she offers excellent tips about online content creation. I use her guide to create a quarterly calendar to organize my social media shares across multiple platforms. Get your FREE guide to content calendars too! Simply sign up for Natacha Guyot’s newsletter. It’s a limited-time offer, so don’t miss out. I found great value in it and hope you do too.

Natacha is a recognized thought leader on LinkedIn, an online content coach, and offers grad school support. She generously gives her time for an interview here. Learn how her unique approach weaves storytelling with practicality for a custom, sustainable approach rather than a one-size-fits-all plan. Join us for the conversation!

Disclosure: This sponsored post features one woman empowering creators and entrepreneurs with the tools to share their personal and brand stories online in a way that resonates with their audiences.

Interview with Natacha Guyot

If you are looking for ideas for content creation, keep reading for insights from a master. You can find more insights from Natacha Guyot by following her on LinkedIn.

What inspired you to start your content coaching business? Was there a defining moment?

There was a defining moment, although it was a process getting to this decision to become a content coach and consultant. In February, I decided to create my own business and originally had a different direction. However, I waited longer before receiving certain paperwork to get started. This was a blessing in disguise!

Working in content management during my corporate experience was great for my love of writing and strategy, but I realized that I was missing the mentoring aspect. Although I got to do some of it during one of my jobs, it wasn’t enough. At some point, I realized that content coaching and consulting blended my different skill sets and aligned with what I loved doing.

That was the lightbulb moment, and I am so grateful for it! Everything fell into place about my direction, audience, pitch, and offers. Looking back, I remembered that I had been considering this kind of direction every once in a while, for many years, but 2023 was the right timing!

What is one thing a lot of people misunderstand about online content creation?

Although I feel like we’re over the whole “you need to be active all the time on all social media” stage in which we were a few years ago, online content creation often feels overwhelming, especially for someone who’s just getting started.

Many fantastic specialists focus on one aspect, whether it’s copywriting, video content, or specific social media. Going back to basics, such as defining content, your specific goals and messages, and looking at incremental ways to build your strategy from the ground up are vital for success and sanity.

Who exactly is a “creator”? That word gets used often, so let’s define who we’re talking about.

In this era of creator economy and influencers, we often consider creators to be professionals that produce digital content via a variety of platforms and usually in a particular niche, which can be as diverse as gaming, fashion, lifestyle, cooking, or business.

However, I consider that a creator can be any of the above but also an artist, such as an author, a musician, a ceramic artist, or an actor. In such cases, they generally create digital content to support their primary activity, but this digital content isn’t the point of origin. I like the concept of “artpreneur” that Miriam Schulman discussed in her eponymous book.

More with Natacha Guyot:

What qualifications do you have that help creators and entrepreneurs?

Content coaching allows me to put both my degrees and corporate experience to good use. My original background is in Film and Media Studies, with two master’s degrees (Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle and King’s College London) and a PhD from The University of Texas at Dallas. Storytelling has played a significant role during those years in academia, and my education also taught me a lot about organization, writing, video editing, public speaking, and mentoring.

I also developed content strategy expertise during my corporate career as a Content Manager in both national and international companies. I learned a lot about marketing, communication, and different tools.

Altogether, I create practical solutions that help professionals blend storytelling with concrete solutions to build or level up their content strategy.

On LinkedIn recently, you explained the value of The Sustainable Content Blueprint. For those who missed the post, please explain what this program is?

The Sustainable Content Blueprint is a 3-month coaching program that guides you through the creation of your starting content strategy.

The program includes three phases:

• Message clarity + content fundamentals. It covers topics like target audience, brand guidelines, value proposition, content pillars, and auditing your current content.
• Building/upgrading your core online presence. It focuses on website copy, email list, lead magnet, and social media.
• Diversification of content strategy: video and audio content, webinars and other live events, partnerships, and content calendars.

This looks like a lot put like this, but each session builds from the previous ones, so after this program, my clients have designed not only their content strategy but have the tools and systems to consistently provide valuable content to their audience.

Also, don’t worry; I don’t believe in being on all the social media platforms or creating all the content all the time! Finding what works for a specific client is central to my framework so they can enjoy creating content and learning new types while making sure they meet their audience where they are.

Why I called it “sustainable” is because the point of this program is to create solid and adaptable foundations, so my clients can continue to use what they learn and adapt as they grow their business.

Why did you create this Blueprint, and who is it designed for?

I find that many content programs and specialists focus on individual aspects of content strategy, which are all very important but may still feel piece-meal to someone who is unsure of what to do about their content strategy or is even trying to figure out what content strategy even is and why they need it.

With this program, I wanted to provide a comprehensive foundation to design and implement a content strategy that serves my clients’ and their audience’s specific needs.

The Sustainable Content Blueprint is designed for creators and entrepreneurs who are either just starting their content strategy or may feel lost about where to start. It can also help people who are going through an important professional transition if they are going from corporate to entrepreneur or even overhauling their whole brand with a different direction.

This program does not require individuals to be tech-savvy or already have existing content.

Great program! I’m curious, do you see common challenges or roadblocks when content coaching?

We talk about content everywhere, and while it’s important we do, all options and “must-haves” we see many experts tout can feel overwhelming, especially for beginners. Do I need a website? Do I really have to be on TikTok? But I am not a writer/video personality/podcaster, and so on. What do you mean, I need to create a mailing list? What’s a lead magnet anyway?

All these questions can prevent us from taking the first step (and all the following ones), which remains the best way to move forward and learning by doing.

Going back to basics and building our presence one step at a time to have a solid foundation is why I created The Sustainable Content Blueprint.

Some professionals already have certain things in place and sufficient experience not to need this 3-month program. However, they may struggle with a specific part of their content strategy. Maybe they are considering starting to produce video content, they want to try content batching, or they are interested in writing a short guide or hosting their first webinar.

This is where the Content Breakthrough Session comes in. This intensive 90-minute session allows us to zero in on a particular challenge and create practical solutions to overcome it.

Excellent. When you’re not working, Natacha Guyot, how do you unwind and center yourself?

To center myself, I love taking walks (even if it’s just stretching the legs to go to the kitchen grab a snack and more water), meditation (it took me years, but I finally have been building a consistent practice thanks to the Aura Health app!), and kitty snuggles. My husband and I have three rescue fur babies: Kenzi, Kenobi, and Saurfang.

Did my cats’ names sell me out as a nerd? All good! I’ve loved science fiction since I was a child, and my life would have been vastly different without Star Wars.

Most of my media studies research centered on women characters in science fiction, from Star Wars to Prometheus. I even got to do my doctoral dissertation on Dana Scully from The X-Files, whose book version is available as The Science Is Out There: Scully’s Feminism in The X-Files. I have more media studies papers and books in mind, but I’ll probably get to them in a few years!

To unwind, I also love baking (especially French recipes), tabletop role-playing, board games, and video games.

I have the book and look forward to reading it! You have another book too! Can you tell us more?

Creating resources for grad students is something I’m also passionate about, and I’m excited to announce that I’m releasing a new eBook Practical Tips for Teaching Assistants.

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of working as a teaching assistant, including identifying what resources and training a campus offers, how to maximize the syllabus, typical teaching assistant responsibilities, and why opportunities to guest lecture matter for professional development.

Terrific! When posting about books or anything else on social media, how do we decide which platform to use? There’s not enough time in the day to be active on them all!

Identifying your target audience helps you decide which platform to prioritize. Starting with just one and possibly building up from there, whether you have a team or do everything on your own, is important to minimize overwhelm.

I work primarily with creators and entrepreneurs right now, so LinkedIn is a solid fit that also allows me to leverage different types of content like written, pictures, and, soon, video. It’s a versatile platform!

Considering your favorite type of content to create can also guide you in picking up a platform. If you prefer video over written pieces, YouTube or TikTok may be good fits, while if you love pictures and graphics, Instagram may work for you.

Finding the sweet spot between where your target audience spends time and what type of content you love to create or want to try your hand at can yield positive results.

A key thing to remember is that growth takes time and consistency, so don’t get discouraged!

You help creators and entrepreneurs find that ‘sweet spot.’ How else do your coaching services differ from others?

They focus on clarity and practicality while having a “big picture” approach. Whether someone works with me through The Sustainable Content Blueprint or we find practical solutions to a specific challenge with a Content Breakthrough Session, the initial step is to gain a detailed understanding of where my client is at.

I bring strong organizational and storytelling skills to the table, which allows me to recommend customized systems that meet my client’s needs to help them weave their story into their services and products to effectively engage with their audience and grow their business.

While certain fundamentals like defining your target audience and identifying your content pillars are non-negotiable in content strategy, and certain tools like editorial calendars are powerful, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. Understanding my client’s strengths in addition to their pain points and goals can help us fine-tune systems that can grow along with their business.

Natacha Guyot, where can we learn more about your custom services and start working with you?

My coaching and consulting services are online, using Zoom for video calls and email to deliver training materials, answer client questions, and share any tasks for the client to complete between sessions in the case of the Sustainable Content Blueprint.

For the time being, I only serve US-based clients, but I hope to expand within a few months. For those located outside of the US, I invite you to follow me on LinkedIn where I post new content every week. I have plans to relaunch my YouTube channel during the summer, with a focus on all things content creation and strategy.

You can also sign up for my newsletter and stay up to date with upcoming virtual events and new resources I make available. You can learn more about my current offerings on the “work with me” page on my website, where I share the main information about each of my services.

If you think we may be a great fit, you can schedule a free discovery call with me.