https://tomsharman.com/The Content Operators Playbook and lessons from Tom Sharman.en-gb Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/builder-or-authority/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/builder-or-authority/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTwo places a personal brand works: in the trenches documenting it, or having done it and giving back. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/avoid-the-messy-middle/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/avoid-the-messy-middle/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHalf builder, half authority reads as neither. Sit one side or the other. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/a-mission-and-an-enemy/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/a-mission-and-an-enemy/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTName what you are against. The right people rally and the wrong ones bring them in. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/formats-over-ideas/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/formats-over-ideas/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA repeatable format beats a one-off story, because the audience can guess what comes next. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/the-same-eight-things/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/the-same-eight-things/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPick six to eight messages and say them over and over, a hundred different ways. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/the-outlier-is-the-brief/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/content/the-outlier-is-the-brief/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFind what broke out, often in a niche next door, and bring it back to your message. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/top-middle-bottom/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/top-middle-bottom/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe top brings people in, the middle keeps them, the bottom sells. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/one-person-one-problem/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/one-person-one-problem/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTop of funnel in five beats: one person, one problem, authority, one solution, follow. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/fake-pods-and-hotlines/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/fake-pods-and-hotlines/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuestions you wrote, answered on camera in bulk. The middle of the funnel, a clip a day. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/three-a-day/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/three-a-day/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThree posts a day on the main feed, trial reels on top. Every post is a chance to learn. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/overwhelm-the-algorithm/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/overwhelm-the-algorithm/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTVolume first, refine second. 80% of the way five times a day over 100% three times a week. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/signals-before-numbers/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/signals-before-numbers/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWatch views per follow and average views. The numbers come around month four. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/instagram-first/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/distribution/instagram-first/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTInstagram is the test bed. LinkedIn gets the proven winners. YouTube comes last. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/retainer-kickoff/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/retainer-kickoff/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe night a client signs, a dated 90-day plan with one goal, baselines, named owners and the first two weeks. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-creator-audit/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-creator-audit/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTScrape the last 30, find the median, the ratio and the outliers, bucket the formats, then say what to make next. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/recording-day/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/recording-day/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWrite the bank, set the room, record in one batch, then turn the tape into clips and tickets. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-clip-bank/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-clip-bank/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOne long recording turned into a bank of short clips, each mapped beat by beat and handed to an editor as a ticket. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-consulting-session/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-consulting-session/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTResearch before the call, a clock during it, and a written breakdown with a proposal after it. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/soft-dm-outreach/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/soft-dm-outreach/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHow Tom opens a consulting conversation: who he is, one useful tip, and a friendly sign-off. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/pricing-and-the-offer-ladder/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/pricing-and-the-offer-ladder/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA paid hour, then a three month sprint, then a monthly retainer, each priced from what has already been sold. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/building-a-content-team-from-zero/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/building-a-content-team-from-zero/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAudit the people you have, move them first, hire for both jobs, then install the pipeline and the gates. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/carousels-and-the-middle-of-the-funnel/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/carousels-and-the-middle-of-the-funnel/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTCarousels are winning videos re-cut as slides, made to keep an audience and to reach the buyers on LinkedIn. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/monthly-ideation/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/monthly-ideation/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTScrape the creator, find the outliers, generate double what you need, then shortlist to 4 long-form titles and 30 short-form ideas. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/pitching-a-show-format/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/pitching-a-show-format/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA one-line promise, a mechanic in numbers, a signature device, a season of topics and a budget at three scales. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/brand-partnerships-and-talent/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/brand-partnerships-and-talent/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBuild something talent wants to turn up to, let them play first, then ask, and put the brand somewhere nobody has put it before. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/making-a-viral-youtube-video/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/making-a-viral-youtube-video/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTIdea to shoot to edit to publish, the way the biggest videos in the catalogue were made. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/packaging-titles-and-thumbnails/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/packaging-titles-and-thumbnails/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWrite the title first, test titles and thumbnails one variable at a time, and never let packaging carry a weak story. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/long-form-to-short-form/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/long-form-to-short-form/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOne prepped hour in a studio, or one talk, turned into weeks of clips, carousels and posts. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/proposals-that-win/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/proposals-that-win/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe shape Tom's proposals settled into: their numbers first, his proof second, the price last. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-founders-personal-brand/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-founders-personal-brand/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTContent for founders and CEOs: one position, a short list of messages, and formats the team can run without them. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-venture-room-asana-operating-system/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-venture-room-asana-operating-system/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSeven Asana boards, named gates and a fixed handoff so a shoot becomes a film and a stack of cuts without the founders routing it. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/ai-in-the-content-workflow/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/ai-in-the-content-workflow/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe tools Tom built sit on the team's own stack, Asana, Slack and Shade, and take the shortcuts out of the pipeline. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/owned-audience/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/owned-audience/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe newsletter and Creator Therapy are tier 0: free, weekly, and the list every paid tier launches to. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-paid-community/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-paid-community/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhat Tom has said and planned for a paid community: the course inside it, him in every thread, two live hours a week, and a door up to the retainer. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/outlier-mining-and-the-idea-funnel/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/outlier-mining-and-the-idea-funnel/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFarm outliers from the right channels, mine them four ways, cut a hundred ideas to a handful, and pitch each with a take and a prediction. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/packaging-and-the-first-ten-seconds/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/packaging-and-the-first-ten-seconds/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWrite the title and thumbnail before the video, open a gap only the click closes, test it, then make the first shot prove it. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-shorts-story-formula/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-shorts-story-formula/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe hook is the idea, VIRAL is the story, the answer is the last word, and retention below 95% means it will probably not travel. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/a-podcast-built-to-repeat/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/a-podcast-built-to-repeat/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThree yeses for every guest, outlier guests booked from the package, sections with no gaps, and a panel before release. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/a-personal-brand-that-converts/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/a-personal-brand-that-converts/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTStart from the outcome, stand against something, narrow to the buyer, and measure what pays ahead of views. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-event-as-a-studio-content-day/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/the-event-as-a-studio-content-day/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTreat every workshop, graduation and stage slot as a booked studio: plan the stations, follow the talent, film the room, then cut it into a month of posts and ads. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/selfie-and-yap-videos/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/selfie-and-yap-videos/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPhone, front camera, one argument. The spine of the content engine, five a week. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/reaction-and-story-time/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/reaction-and-story-time/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA screenshot or a video plays behind, you talk over it from the corner. React only to what you have standing to react to. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/podcast-clips-the-fake-pods/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/podcast-clips-the-fake-pods/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA booked studio, a guest who asks, a question list written in advance. A podcast built for the clip, seven a week. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/creator-hotline/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/creator-hotline/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA creator sends a voice note with a question. Tom answers it properly, in a studio, on proper cameras. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/carousels/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/carousels/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSwipeable slides made only from selfie videos that already won. The format that works on LinkedIn, where the buyers are. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/creator-therapy/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/creator-therapy/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA real creator brings a real problem and it gets taken apart properly. The hero piece, one long form a week. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/the-newsletter/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/the-newsletter/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOne a week, written by Tom. The only audience he owns outright, and the list every paid tier launches to. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/clip-anatomy/shape-one-the-selfie-clip/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/clip-anatomy/shape-one-the-selfie-clip/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPerson, problem, turn, who, solution, land. Six beats, the first one inside two seconds. https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/clip-anatomy/shape-two-the-q-and-a-cutdown/https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/clip-anatomy/shape-two-the-q-and-a-cutdown/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuestion, turn, answer, land. For the hotline, the fake pod, workshops and any podcast where someone asks. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/a-brand-that-compounds-has-a-mission-and-an-enemy/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/a-brand-that-compounds-has-a-mission-and-an-enemy/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTViews without a mission are noise. The shortcut to a mission is an enemy, backed by formats that repeat. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/agencies-over-index-on-the-founders-journey/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/agencies-over-index-on-the-founders-journey/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTToo much journey and current business. Not enough mission, enemy, and what the audience actually gets. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/assumptions-made-too-fast-and-risk-avoided/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/assumptions-made-too-fast-and-risk-avoided/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTData plus gut, and back yourself. A bad video with no views harms nothing unless it damages the brand. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/content-is-how-a-company-wins-talent/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/content-is-how-a-company-wins-talent/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTop talent already knows the company exists. Content does the persuading. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/find-the-voice-in-what-already-worked-for-them/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/find-the-voice-in-what-already-worked-for-them/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe voice is a reframe of what already works. Look at what made them successful, then point it at the audience. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/it-is-about-their-business-told-as-what-the-audience-learns/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/it-is-about-their-business-told-as-what-the-audience-learns/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe founder's experience is the selling point. Talk about yourself without framing the lesson and you end up in view jail. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/macro-and-micro-at-the-same-time/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/macro-and-micro-at-the-same-time/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTUnderstand every part of the business, and work closely with the one person who owns an issue. Then step back. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/month-one-challenges-assumptions/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/month-one-challenges-assumptions/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMonth one is the audit, the budgets, the hires and the tools, then test shoots. By month three it is execution. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/move-the-people-you-have-before-you-hire/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/move-the-people-you-have-before-you-hire/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe skill someone already has is worth more than the job title they arrived with. Move people before you hire. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/people-online-are-selfish-so-lead-with-what-they-get/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/people-online-are-selfish-so-lead-with-what-they-get/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFounders assume people care about their story. Find the moat, the unrepeatable thing in their history, and lead with what the audience gains. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/sam-stoffel-rebuild-the-team-then-find-the-formats/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/sam-stoffel-rebuild-the-team-then-find-the-formats/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTRehire the whole team, find three formats, build a system that ships three a day. The formats outlived Tom leaving. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/short-form-first-linkedin-on-winners-youtube-last/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/short-form-first-linkedin-on-winners-youtube-last/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTInstagram and TikTok are the test bed. LinkedIn only gets proven winners. YouTube is the slowest place to learn. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/signals-show-before-numbers-and-numbers-come-at-month-four/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/signals-show-before-numbers-and-numbers-come-at-month-four/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAverage views rising, outliers, DMs and named viewers. The numbers come in months four to six. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/the-brand-is-the-argument/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/the-brand-is-the-argument/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDesign is proof. If a brand looks like everything it claims to be different from, the claim does all the work. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/the-intake-question-is-why-and-what-it-is-costing-them/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/the-intake-question-is-why-and-what-it-is-costing-them/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhy are you investing, what does success look like, what is the budget and runway, and who are you outside the business. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/they-quit-when-there-is-an-easier-route-to-the-same-revenue/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/they-quit-when-there-is-an-easier-route-to-the-same-revenue/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe founder with no cheaper path to their goal stays. The one who finds an easier route takes it. Ask before you start. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/turn-down-anyone-unclear-about-their-commitment/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/turn-down-anyone-unclear-about-their-commitment/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFounders do not need to be full time. They need to accept that this is work with a purpose, and it needs their time and patience. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/two-to-three-a-day-linkedin-five-times-a-weekday/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/two-to-three-a-day-linkedin-five-times-a-weekday/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTShort form two to three times a day, LinkedIn every weekday, YouTube tested every one or two weeks. https://tomsharman.com/lessons/week-one-is-an-audit-and-two-formats-are-never-up-for-testing/https://tomsharman.com/lessons/week-one-is-an-audit-and-two-formats-are-never-up-for-testing/Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTImmerse, audit the team and the costs, then sit with the founder on why. A daily podcast clip and a daily selfie video run from the start.