Content multiplier

Content Multiplier

One sharp idea becomes a week of content. The failure mode this skill prevents: writing something once and pasting the identical text onto every platform. That reads as spam because each platform rewards a different shape — a curiosity gap on X, a personal story on LinkedIn, a 0-second visual hook on short-form. Same spine, eight native bodies.

When to reach for this

Trigger on any request to spread one idea across channels, repurpose an existing post, or fill a content calendar from a single insight. If the user hands you a finished post ("repurpose this thread"), treat that post as the core idea and skip to Step 2 — extract the spine, then rebuild it eight ways.

The five steps

Work through these in order. Steps 1–2 are the foundation; if the spine is weak, all eight formats are weak.

Step 1 — Capture the brief

Get three things before writing. If the user gave them, restate them back in one line and move on. If any are missing, ask once, briefly — don't interrogate.

• Core idea — the one thing they want to say. A sentence is enough.
• Audience — who it's for (e.g. "solo founders", "new managers"). This sets vocabulary, references, and what counts as a "wait, really?" moment.
• Desired action — what a reader should do or believe after (follow, reply, click a link, book a call, rethink an assumption). Every format ends by steering toward this, in that platform's idiom.

If the user is vague ("just make content about productivity"), pick the sharpest defensible angle, state the assumption in one line, and proceed. A concrete draft they can react to beats a blank page and more questions.

Step 2 — Extract the spine

This is the highest-leverage step. Compress the idea to a reusable core:

• 1 sharp claim — a single, specific, slightly contrarian or counterintuitive sentence. Specific beats grand. "Small teams ship faster because every handoff is a place work goes to die" beats "small teams are better." If the claim is safe and obvious, sharpen it until someone could reasonably disagree — disagreement is what earns attention.
• 3 supporting points — the reasons, mechanisms, or proofs. Each should stand alone (they become carousel slides, thread beats, and section headers).
• 1 concrete detail — a number, example, mini-story, or before/after. This is the texture that makes any format feel real instead of generic.

Write the spine out explicitly before generating formats. Every piece below is a re-dress of this same spine, so all eight stay consistent by construction.

Step 3 — Generate the eight formats

Each format has its own hook rules and native shape. Don't reflow one draft — rebuild from the spine each time. Full specs and templates are in references/format-playbook.md; read it before generating if you need the exact structure for a format. The essentials:

1. X/Twitter thread — Hook tweet opens a curiosity gap: name the claim as a tension without resolving it, so scrolling stops. Then one idea per tweet (the 3 supporting points, expanded), the concrete detail as a mid-thread proof tweet, and a final tweet that restates the claim + one CTA.
2. LinkedIn post — Story-led. Open with a specific first-person moment or a short punchy line, generous line breaks (mobile reads as a wall otherwise), claim in the middle as the lesson, supporting points as the takeaway, one soft CTA (a question that invites comments). No hashtag spam — 3 at most.
3. Short-form video script (Reels/Shorts/TikTok) — 0–1s visual + verbal hook, then retention beats every few seconds. Write it as [VISUAL] / [ON-SCREEN TEXT] / [VOICEOVER] per beat. Front-load the payoff, deliver the 3 points as fast cuts, end on a loop or a "follow for part 2." Target 20–40 seconds.
4. Instagram carousel — One idea per slide. Slide 1 is the hook (big claim or a bold question). Slides 2–4 are the supporting points, one each, with a headline + one supporting line. Slide 5 is the concrete detail. Final slide is the CTA + save prompt. Give each slide its headline text.
5. Newsletter / email — Subject line = curiosity or benefit, preview line extends it. Conversational, one idea, personal voice. Claim up top, points as short sections, concrete detail as the story, one clear CTA button or link. Warmer and longer than social.
6. Blog outline — SEO-aware H1 + H2/H3 skeleton. Working title with the keyword, a one-line meta description, intro that states the claim, one H2 per supporting point (with a sentence on what each covers), a section for the concrete example, and a conclusion + CTA. Outline, not full prose — unless the user asks to draft it.
7. YouTube title + hook set — 5 title options (mix curiosity, benefit, and number/list angles) plus a 15-second spoken hook that front-loads the payoff and previews what the viewer will get, so they stay past the intro.
8. 3 quote-cards — Three standalone lines built to work with zero context: the sharp claim, the most quotable supporting point, and the concrete detail reframed as a one-liner. Short, punchy, screenshot-ready. Note the visual idea for each (e.g. "bold text, dark background").

Step 4 — Consistency pass

Read all eight back-to-back as one voice. Check and fix:

• Same spine, same claim — the through-line survives every format; no piece quietly contradicts another.
• One voice — consistent tone, energy, and vocabulary. If the LinkedIn post is warm and the thread is clinical, align them.
• No literal repetition — the concrete detail and phrasings are re-cut per platform, never pasted verbatim. If two formats share a sentence word-for-word, rewrite one.
• Each earns its platform — if you deleted the labels, could a reader still tell the LinkedIn post from the thread? If not, push each toward its native shape harder.

Step 5 — Output the pack

Deliver as one ready-to-post pack using the exact template below. Copy-paste ready: each format under its own clear header, no meta-commentary between them, so the user can lift any piece straight to the platform.

Output template

ALWAYS deliver in this structure:

# Content Pack: [core idea in a few words]
Audience: [audience]  ·  Goal: [desired action]

## Spine
- Claim: [the one sharp claim]
- Point 1 / 2 / 3: [supporting points]
- Concrete detail: [number, example, or mini-story]

## 1. X/Twitter Thread
[hook tweet]
[1/ ...] [2/ ...] ... [final tweet + CTA]

## 2. LinkedIn Post
[full post, with line breaks as it should appear]

## 3. Short-Form Video Script (Reels/Shorts/TikTok)
Hook (0–1s): [visual + line]
[beat-by-beat: VISUAL / ON-SCREEN TEXT / VOICEOVER]
CTA / loop: [...]

## 4. Instagram Carousel
Slide 1 (Hook): [...]
Slide 2–5: [one idea each]
Slide 6 (CTA): [...]

## 5. Newsletter / Email
Subject: [...]
Preview: [...]
[body]
CTA: [...]

## 6. Blog Outline
Working title: [...]
Meta description: [...]
[H1 / H2 / H3 skeleton with one line per section]

## 7. YouTube Title + Hook
Titles: [5 options]
15-sec spoken hook: [...]

## 8. Quote-Cards (×3)
Card 1: "[line]" — [visual idea]
Card 2: "[line]" — [visual idea]
Card 3: "[line]" — [visual idea]

Hook formulas (the load-bearing part)

Hooks decide whether anything gets read. Reach for these; adapt, don't recite.

• Curiosity gap (threads, subject lines): name a gap between what the reader expects and what's true, without closing it. "Everyone thinks X. The teams that actually win do the opposite."
• Contrarian claim: "Stop doing [common advice]. Here's what works instead."
• Number/stakes: "I [did X] for [time]. Here are the [N] things that actually mattered."
• Story cold-open (LinkedIn, email): drop into a specific moment. "Three months in, the project was failing. Then one small change flipped it."
• Callout (short-form): address the exact person in the first second. "If you [specific situation], this is for you." Pair with a visual that shows, not tells.
• Question hook (carousel slide 1, LinkedIn): a question the audience can't help answering in their head. "Why do small teams ship faster than teams 10× their size?"

Rules that hold across all hooks: specific beats vague, the payoff comes first (don't make people wait for value on short-form), and one idea per hook — a hook trying to say three things says nothing.

Worked example (generic)

Brief — Core idea: "Small teams ship faster." Audience: solo founders and small startup teams. Desired action: follow for more building-in-public takes.

Spine

• Claim: Small teams ship faster not because they work harder, but because every handoff is a place work goes to die — and small teams barely have any.
• Point 1: Fewer handoffs = fewer waiting-for-approval gaps.
• Point 2: Shared context means no re-explaining; decisions happen in the room.
• Point 3: Ownership is obvious, so nobody waits to be told it's their job.
• Concrete detail: A 3-person team shipped a feature in a week that a 30-person org had left in "planning" for a quarter.

Thread hook (curiosity gap): "A 3-person team shipped in a week what a 30-person company couldn't ship in a quarter. Same feature. It wasn't talent. It was the org chart. Here's what actually slows big teams down 🧵"

LinkedIn opener (story-led): "Last year I watched a feature sit in 'planning' for three months. A friend's 3-person startup built the same thing in a week. The difference wasn't skill. It was the number of hand-offs between an idea and a shipped result."

Short-form hook (0–1s visual + callout): [VISUAL] split screen: one tiny team vs. a huge org chart / [ON-SCREEN TEXT] "3 people beat 30. here's why" / [VOICEOVER] "Small teams don't ship faster because they're smarter…"

Quote-card 1: "Every handoff is a place work goes to die." — bold white text, dark background.

Use this same spine to fill out the remaining formats. The point is visible: one insight, one claim, eight native shapes — never a blank page, never a copy-paste repost.