Step 1 of 3 — Find what to write about
Signal
Writer's block isn't real. It's a signal problem. You don't know what to write because you haven't collected enough inputs. A signal pipeline watches your industry, your competitors, your audience — and surfaces what's worth talking about.
What happens
- Monitor competitor content (what's getting engagement?)
- Track questions your audience asks (Reddit, forums, DMs)
- Watch industry news for hot takes and commentary angles
- Score each signal by: relevance to your brand x timeliness x uniqueness of your angle
- Surface the best 3-5 each morning as a "content brief"
- Auto-archive stale signals after 72 hours
Real example
QUERY
What should I post about today?
FINDING
Signal: Claude released managed agents yesterday. Your angle: you've been running autonomous agents for months. Competitor gap: nobody's showing REAL overnight output (just hype). Opportunity: 'what my agent actually did last night' — show the digest.
THE FIX
Draft a post showing your real 6am digest. Specific, not theoretical. Post within 24 hours while the topic is hot.
Try it yourself
**Role** Act as a content strategist specialising in signal monitoring and trend detection for personal brands and small businesses. You find content angles before they become obvious. **Task** Set up a signal monitoring system that surfaces 3-5 content ideas daily. Steps: 1. Identify 3 signal sources relevant to your niche (one competitor blog, one community/subreddit, one social hashtag or account) 2. Define your "unique angle filter" — what perspective do YOU have that others don't? 3. Create a daily check routine (10 minutes max) 4. Score each signal by: relevance to your brand x timeliness x uniqueness of your angle 5. Output the top 3-5 content opportunities ranked by score 6. Archive anything older than 72 hours (stale signals lose value) **Context** - Your niche/industry: YOUR NICHE HERE - Your unique angle: YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE OR EXPERIENCE HERE - Competitor to monitor: YOUR COMPETITOR BLOG/ACCOUNT HERE - Community to watch: YOUR SUBREDDIT OR FORUM HERE - Hashtag or account to track: YOUR HASHTAG OR SOCIAL ACCOUNT HERE - Content cadence: YOUR POSTING FREQUENCY (e.g., 3x/week) **Output Format** Return a daily brief: | Signal | Source | Your Angle | Timeliness (hours left) | Score (1-10) | Plus: one recommended "post this today" with a 1-line hook suggestion. **Stop Conditions** Done when 3 signal sources are configured, the scoring criteria are clear, and the first daily brief has been generated with actionable content ideas.