Plan content that speaks to real buyer struggles—across every stage of the funnel.
What It Is
The Struggle-Driven Content Map™ is a planning tool that helps you align your content strategy with what your buyers are actually going through—not just what you want to promote.
It organizes your ideas by funnel stage (TOF, MOF, BOF) and buyer intent, ensuring every piece of content is built around a real-world challenge your ideal customer is actively trying to solve.
Why It Matters
Most content strategies are built from the inside out—starting with products, features, or keywords. That’s how teams end up creating blogs and assets that look good in reports but do nothing for pipeline.
Buyers don’t care about your solution until they believe you understand their struggle.
This tool helps you:
- Center your content around the pain points that drive decisions
- Avoid generic, one-size-fits-all blog calendars
- Plan content that builds trust early and drives momentum through the funnel
- Ensure every article, guide, or landing page has a clear job—and a strategic place
How to Use It
Start by pulling insights from your ICP & Buyer Struggle Worksheet™. Then, for each core buyer struggle:
- Brainstorm questions or concerns buyers might have at the Top of Funnel (awareness stage)
- Map what they need to understand or evaluate at the Middle of Funnel
- Identify key objections or decision points at the Bottom of Funnel
Each row becomes a content idea. Each stage becomes a conversation. Together, it forms a content ecosystem rooted in empathy, strategy, and results.
Use this map to brief your writers, prioritize your calendar, and evaluate your existing assets for alignment.