February 8, 2025

How To Turn One Idea Into 10–15 Pieces Of Content

Eric Thayne
5 min read

If you're just starting out, you should focus on mastering one platform first before expanding.

But at some point, if you want to maximize your reach, you need to be omnipresent.

Everywhere you post, there's a new group of people who will see your content. Some people are on YouTube. Others are scrolling TikTok. Some only hang out on X. Very few people check every platform regularly.

So if you're only posting in one place, you're leaving massive opportunities on the table.

In today’s letter, I’m going to show you a system called the Content Waterfall—a way to take one idea and turn it into 10–15+ pieces of content across multiple platforms.

Let’s dive in.

The mistake most people make

The biggest mistake people make when trying to repurpose content is copy-pasting the same piece everywhere.

You’ll hear people talk about creating "100 pieces of content in an hour" or something like that.

But the problem is, every platform has its own culture, style, and expectations.

Something that feels great on YouTube might feel lazy and low-effort on X. A tweet won’t perform well as an Instagram caption. And a TikTok video might completely flop on LinkedIn.

Obviously, creating entirely new content for each platform would be ridiculously time-consuming.

So how do you do it the smart way?

That’s where the Content Waterfall system comes in.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Idea

The key here is repurposing ideas, not content.

We’re not copy-pasting. We’re taking one idea and turning it into multiple types of content.

Your best content comes from your best ideas.

Here’s how to find great ideas:

1. Creative Space

There’s just no way around this.

If you’re constantly busy, you'll never have time to think of great ideas.

Some of my best ideas come in the shower or on walks—no phone, no distractions. Just space.

Give yourself “space for grace.” That’s when the most powerful ideas show up.

2. Content Hacking

Find content that’s already performing well in your niche.

Go to social media and search for your industry. Look for outliers—if someone normally gets 1,000 views, but one of their videos got 100,000, study it.

Model the format and structure, but fill it with your own insights and stories.

3. Ask Your Audience

One of the easiest ways to create content? Answer the questions people are already asking.

  • What comments are you getting?
  • What do people ask you in client calls?
  • What are people searching for on Reddit or Quora?

If people are already asking about it, you know there’s demand for it.

Step 2: Format

Once you have an idea, you’ll typically start by creating it in one format—maybe a newsletter, a tweet, or a short-form video.

But the next step is to expand that idea into other formats:

For example, a newsletter could become…

→ 1 YouTube video

→ A podcast episode

→ An X thread

→ 3–4 short-form videos

→ A carousel

Same idea. Different format.

And because the content is already written, turning it into different formats is quick and easy.

The result? Your content feels native to each platform, rather than a lazy copy-paste job.

Step 3: Platform

Now that you have multiple formats, it’s time to distribute them across the right platforms.

Some formats transfer perfectly across multiple platforms with no modifications needed:

  • Short-form video → TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts
  • Carousels → Instagram, LinkedIn
  • Long-form text w/ an image → Facebook, LinkedIn, X
  • Tweet or Thread → X, Threads

Other formats don’t really work on some platforms:

  • Carousels don’t work well on Facebook (the image order gets messed up)
  • Short-form video isn’t as big on X
  • YouTube videos aren’t great for Instagram (attention spans are shorter)
  • Long-form text doesn’t work on TikTok (character limit is too small)

So think about which platforms each format would work well on, and then simply post the same piece of content to each of them!

When you take one idea, turn it into five formats, and distribute each format to two or three platforms, you’ve instantly created 10–15+ pieces of content.

A revolution in audience growth

This system is how you maximize your reach without spending 10 hours a day creating content.

Instead of making new content for every platform every day, you start with a strong idea, format it natively for different platforms, and distribute it strategically.

It’s simple. It’s efficient. And it works.

If you liked this letter, stay tuned—because next week, I’m making the biggest announcement of my career.

A project that’s been a long time coming.

A total labor of love.

And one that I truly believe will change the industry.

I’m equal parts ecstatic and terrified. Excited because it’s something I’ve wanted to put into the world for a long time… but also nervous that maybe nobody will care.

But even if they don’t, that’s okay.

Because I’m not doing it for them.

Watch this space.

See ya Monday.

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…and you’re ready to take your brand, your content, and your business to the next level, here’s a few ways I can help you:

1. Join my free Skool community - and get free content, trainings, industry updates, and network with other amazing creators.

2. Join my free workshop to learn how to build your content production system and send a flow of leads to your business.

3. Book a free strategy session - I’m opening a few slots on my calendar to meet with serious entrepreneurs who want to grow their audience and their business. I’ll look at what you’ve got going on and help you develop a winning strategy.