Key Takeaways (TLDR)
Topic: A simple, memorable four-part content framework for creating balanced, effective content that educates, entertains, builds connection, and converts, without overthinking it.
What you’ll learn: The Soil, Water, Sunshine, Wind framework is a content creation system built around four distinct types of content, each with its own job to do. Soil is your foundational content, the who, what, why, and how of your business. Water is your educational and helpful content that nurtures your audience. Sunshine is your personality content, the behind-the-scenes, humor, and human moments that build genuine connection. Wind is your promotional content, the calls to action that spread your message and invite people to work with you. Together, the four content types create a balanced, cohesive content strategy that builds know, like, and trust over time.
Who this is for: Entrepreneurs, coaches, service providers, and small business owners who want a simple, repeatable framework for creating content that works across blogs, social media, podcasts, and emails without constantly starting from scratch or second-guessing what to post.
Written by: Emily Aborn, Small Business Copywriter and Podcast Host of Small Business Casual, based in NH.
Engaging, Entertaining, Actionable, Easy.
I know, I know, I can’t POSSIBLY be referring to CONTENT with those four words, can I!?
As a Copywriter and Content Marketing Consultant, people often ask me questions about visibility, marketing, and content creation (obviously).
I’m always ready to throw down and dive deep into all the nuances and nuts and bolts.
And, I love nothing more than dissecting and breaking down the components of copy and content into the tiniest molecules. But, I’ve learned to keep it super simple when it comes to creating quality content that helps you achieve your goals!
Here’s my easy-to-remember four-part content creation framework that will help you educate, inspire action, and entertain.
Soil Content: Foundational
All growth and building requires a solid foundation… and so does what you’re planting.
Soil is the foundational elements in your content: The who, what, where, why, how.
You’re laying the foundation, setting the stage and building the know, like and trust factor with people.
These are posts and content that tell:
- WHO you are
- WHO you help
- WHAT you do
- WHAT you offer
- WHERE you work
- HOW
- and WHY
The soil is important stuff and can go overlooked in our content planning because… we think people know who we are, we think they know what we do, we assume they’ve seen it all before. You’re not repeating yourself and don’t assume they know all the answers! You’re answering the questions they’re asking quietly in their minds. Every time you create a piece of soil content, think of writing/sharing it as if the person on the other side is engaging with your stuff for the very first time EVER.
Don’t neglect laying the foundation or else your garden will be starting from a nutrient-deprived place. We want nice rich, healthy soil to plant those seeds!
Soil content examples:
- Introducing yourself and your background
- Explaining what you do and who you help
- Sharing your process or how you work with clients
- Describing your offers and services
- Telling your origin story and why you do what you do
- Answering the questions your ideal clients are asking
Water Content: Educational/Informative
Water them seeds and help em’ GROW!
These are your helpful, educational, actionable pieces of content.
The creative way YOU offer tips, education, resources, and things that your people would find helpful and nurturing. In order to do this effectively, you have to consider who those people are and what they care about for growth. Then, you can structure it in a way that’s helpful to them.
Water content is also what builds your authority and positions you as the go-to resource in your space. When you consistently share knowledge that helps your audience move forward, they begin to trust your expertise before they’ve ever paid you a dime.
Water content examples:
- How-to posts and tutorials
- Tips and strategies for your ideal client’s biggest challenges
- Educational blog posts and podcast episodes
- Resource roundups and tool recommendations
- Behind-the-expertise content that shows your knowledge in action
- Answers to the most common questions your clients ask
Sunshine Content: Fun & Personality-Based
This is the content you share about the parts of YOU that make you YOU. You can take this in all sorts of directions – inspirational content, humor, behind-the-scenes, a peek into your life outside of business, your dog, the mountain you climbed, it’s the glimmers and shine that are your personality. It’s building connection through fun facts, motivational quotes, creative quotes, books you’re reading, podcasts you’re listening to, the stick shift you drove last week for the first time in 10 years… whatever is sparkly and sunny for YOU.
Sunshine content is the most irreplaceable category of content in the age of AI. Nobody can generate your stories. Nobody can manufacture your humor, your specific observations, your particular way of seeing the world. Sunshine content is the most distinctly human thing you create, and it shows.
Sunshine content examples:
- Personal stories and everyday observations
- Behind-the-scenes of your work and life
- Fun facts about yourself or your process
- Photos and moments that show your personality
- Humor, quirks, and the things that make you distinctly you
- Inspirational content that reflects your values and perspective
Wind: Promotional
In the wild world of plants, WIND is often what takes those seeds and spreads them around so more can germinate and grow far and wide. WIND is responsible for taking your hard work and efforts and sending it out into the world, getting them to work with you, purchase your products and offers, and tell all their friends.
Wind content is promotional and includes calls to action, clear next steps, guiding them to your products, services, discovery calls, podcasts, opt-ins, whatever you have going on.
If you feel nervous about wind content, two reminders worth holding onto:
- You’re in business. That means you make money, and making money is not only okay, but necessary for the business to continue existing and help people.
- Reframe promotional content as providing service. By spreading your message and letting people know you want to work with them, you’re helping them find the solutions they’re already looking for. You’re not imposing. You’re opening a door.
Think of a dandelion. When the wind spreads those fluffy white seeds, it creates the conditions for more dandelions to grow. Your promotional content does the same thing. It spreads your message further, plants new seeds, and creates opportunities that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
Wind content examples:
- Posts and emails about your services and offers
- Invitations to book a discovery call or strategy session
- Launches and limited-time offerings
- Podcast, blog, or newsletter subscription asks
- Opt-in and lead magnet promotions
- Referral asks and testimonial requests
Putting It All Together
A balanced content strategy includes all four types, rotating through them regularly rather than defaulting to one. Most business owners spend too much time in water content (educational) and not enough time in soil (foundational), sunshine (personal), or wind (promotional).
A useful gut check: look at your last ten pieces of content and sort them into the four buckets. Where are you heavy? Where are you light? The gaps are where to concentrate next.
You don’t need a rigid formula or to post one of each type every week. What’s helpful is to have an awareness of the balance, so you can make intentional choices rather than defaulting to whatever feels easiest or safest.
Give each piece of content a single job to do: One post, one purpose. Over time, the four types work together to build something that no single type could build alone: an audience that knows you, likes you, trusts you, and is ready to work with you.
In this episode, you’ll learn my super simple content framework for engaging content:
- Soil (Foundational)
- Water (Educational)
- Sunshine (Personal/Relatable)
- Wind (Promotional)
You’ll learn how to give every piece of content you create a single job to do and a purpose!
- The tried-and-true framework so you never have to overthink your content again
- Why you need to tell people who you are and what you do
- How those photos of your dog help people laugh, be entertained, connect, and relate to you
- What to share to help your community and clients
- How to reframe promotional content and calls to action if they feel uncomfortable
- How to give each piece of content a singular goal
- Structuring your content with a simple rinse and repeat method
- Experimenting and practicing to find what works
- And more!
Resources & Links Mentioned:
The Dandelion Episode – Why I’m so obsessed with dandelions
FAQ: Simple Content Framework
What is the Soil, Water, Sunshine, Wind content framework?
It’s a four-part content creation system that helps small business owners create balanced, intentional content across any platform or format.
- Soil is foundational content that establishes who you are and what you do.
- Water is educational content that helps your audience grow and solve problems.
- Sunshine is personal content that shows your personality and builds genuine connection.
- Wind is promotional content that invites people to take action and work with you. Each type has a specific job, and together they create a content strategy that builds know, like, and trust over time.
How often should I post each type of content?
There’s no magic ratio, but a rough starting point is to weight your content roughly 80% non-promotional (Soil, Water, and Sunshine combined) and 20% promotional (Wind). Within the non-promotional content, aim for a mix of all three rather than defaulting to only educational content, which is the most common imbalance. The most important thing is to audit your content regularly and look for gaps. If you haven’t posted anything personal in weeks, your audience is missing the Sunshine that makes them feel like they know you.
What happens if I skip one of the four content types?
Each type does something the others can’t. Skip Soil and new followers never understand what you do. Skip Water and you lose the credibility and authority that comes from consistently sharing your expertise. Skip Sunshine and your content starts to feel corporate and disconnected from a real human being. Skip Wind and you leave money on the table because people who are ready to hire you never get a clear invitation. A content plan that neglects any of the four will eventually feel unbalanced to your audience, even if they can’t articulate exactly why.
Can I use this framework for email, podcasting, and blogging, or just social media?
All of it. The Soil, Water, Sunshine, Wind framework applies to any content format or platform. A podcast episode can be primarily Water (educational) with some Sunshine woven in. An email can be primarily Sunshine (a personal story) that leads to a Wind moment (a call to action). A blog post can be primarily Soil (foundational, who you are and what you do). The framework is a lens for understanding the purpose of any piece of content you create, not a social media specific tool.
How is this different from other content frameworks?
Most content frameworks focus on format or frequency. This one focuses on purpose. The question isn’t how long your post should be or how many times a week you should post. It’s what job this piece of content is doing. When every piece of content has a clear, single purpose, your overall content strategy becomes more cohesive, more intentional, and more effective at moving people through the journey from discovering you to trusting you to hiring you.
