How do you build a content strategy for 2026?

From Reads to Leads is a newsletter for B2B tech founders and marketing leaders whose marketing isn’t working. It’s about positioning, messaging, content strategy, operations, and results. If this was sent to you, subscribe here so you don't miss the next email.

In today's newsletter:

• Most content plans are channel checklists
• How to reverse-engineer revenue using simple math
• A sample monthly plan built on proven winners
• When (and how) to test new channels using Opportunity Solution Mapping
• The 4-week December sprint to build a 2026 content strategy

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Most companies plan content like they’re stocking a library. Pick a shelf (channel). Fill the shelf because everyone else is. Publish twice a week because “consistency matters.”

A conversation I had with a CMO:

"Next year, we want to do YouTube better. And focus on LinkedIn too."

I asked:

"What's brought you the best results so far?"

Silence.

"SEO content."

This happens every December. Managers choose channels:

✔️ Blog posts
✔️ LinkedIn presence
✔️ Video content (because “everyone’s doing it”)
✔️ Newsletter (why not)

None of this is a plan. It’s a checklist.

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The better way → Turns out MATH actually stands for Marketing Analysis That Helps!

What marketers think they need: more ideas, more topics, more formats. 

What they actually need: a calculator. 

Grab one and let’s do planning properly:

Your CEO wants $1M in new revenue.

Your average deal size: $20K → You need 50 new customers.

Your lead → customer conversion rate: 30% → You need 180 demos.

Now look at your current numbers:

• 360,000 yearly website visits
• 2,400 demo page visits (0.67% conversion)
• 3% conversion on demo-page traffic → 72 demos

You need 180 more demos next year. 

At a 3% conversion rate, that means 6,000 demo-page visits.

So do you need ~900,000 website visits?

No. Because total traffic didn’t generate your demo traffic. Specific channels and topics did. This is where most teams get lost. They focus on total traffic instead of the demo page traffic only.

Find what actually drives demos (not visits)

Open your analytics. Filter only for demo page visits.

Example breakdown:

• Organic search: 1,600 demo visits → 36 demos (2.25% CVR)
• Newsletter: 600 demo visits → 29 demos (4.8% CVR)
• LinkedIn: 200 demo visits → 7 demos (3.5% CVR)

What does this tell you?

Organic search has the highest volume, but the lowest conversion. Newsletter is the winner in conversion rates. Linkedin drives a small amount of traffic but is effective in converting visitors into demos.

So for 2026:

• Improve SEO by choosing topics that convert, not just rank
• Prioritize newsletter (it punches above its weight)
• Test more LinkedIn content, maybe ads

These numbers clearly tell you where to go.

Now go one level deeper: What specific things produced the best results?

Categorize everything that worked in 2025:

• Webinars
• Email nurturing
• Case studies
• CEO thought leadership on LinkedIn
• “Best X for Y” comparison pages
• Expert content
• Product explainers
• ROI calculators

Then audit:

• Which pages or campaigns drove demos?
• Which formats delivered the highest ROI?
• What took 20 hours and generated $50K?
• What took 100 hours and generated… nothing?

This becomes the basis of your 2026 plan.

Example of a monthly content plan built on what works

Once you know which activities produced results, add the time and money you invested in creating and promoting them. That gives you a realistic baseline. 

Here’s what a monthly plan might look like with costs included:

• 2 “Best X for Y” comparisons → $1,600 to produce
• 12 CEO thought-leadership posts → $600 to produce
• 1 expert story → $2,780 to produce
  

his means, you need a monthly marketing budget of $5000.

When to try something new? 

Want to test YouTube? Great. Let's try to use Opportunity Solution Mapping to describe this opportunity:

Opportunity: Buyers search YouTube for solutions.

Goal: Generate 10 demos from YouTube in Q1.

Effort: 12 videos (1 per week)

Cost: $2,000/video

Potential solutions to realise the opportunity:

• Product tutorials
• Customer case studies
• Comparison videos

Test assumptions:

• Will viewers click through?
• Will they book demos?
• What is the video-to-demo ratio?

Set a kill date: If YouTube doesn’t produce 5 demos by March 31, stop.

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Your December roadmap

• Week 1: Map revenue backwards. Get the real numbers.
• Week 2: Audit what drove demos, not traffic.
• Week 3: Spot patterns. Double down on the high-ROI stuff.
• Week 4: Build your 2026 plan around proven winners. Add opportunities through opportunity/solution mapping.

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See you next week

I'm currently building a plan like this for Zmist & Copy. We're going to have a busy year.

Kateryna

P.S. If we aren't connected already, follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you like this newsletter, please refer your friends.

P.P.S. Need help with quality content? Zmistify your content with Zmist & Copy

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