Stop Chasing Trends: Build Content That Compounds

A trend is already halfway over by the time you feel the pressure to post about it.

That’s the paradox Seth Godin points to: the leading edge is defined by the fact that most of us aren’t on it. If you’re a solopreneur in the U.S. trying to grow through content marketing, this hits extra hard—because you don’t have a team to research, produce, edit, and distribute “on-trend” content at speed.

Here’s my take: trend-chasing is often disguised procrastination. It feels productive because you’re busy reacting. But it’s a bad trade—short-term attention in exchange for long-term trust and a coherent brand voice.

The “on-trend” paradox (and why solopreneurs feel it most)

Being “on trend” usually means you’re late. If you’re seeing it in your feeds, it has already passed through early adopters, influencers, and brands with social teams. By the time you plan a post, record a video, and ship it, the conversation has moved.

For solo businesses, the cost isn’t just time. It’s positioning. When you pivot your messaging every week to match what’s hot, your audience can’t answer a basic question: “What do you help people do?”

And if they can’t answer that, they can’t refer you, buy from you, or remember you.

Trend velocity vs. solo capacity

Solopreneurs don’t lose because they’re less talented. They lose because the trend cycle is built for scale:

• Trends reward volume (more posts, more angles, more rapid testing)
• Algorithms reward recency (fresh takes, fast replies)
• Attention rewards familiarity (people already following the trend)

A one-person business can absolutely grow on content. But it grows on clarity and consistency, not constant reinvention.

Snippet-worthy rule: If your content strategy depends on being fast, you’ll eventually be outpaced. If it depends on being clear, you’ll eventually be trusted.

The hidden cost of chasing trends: trust, focus, and conversion

The biggest downside of trend-chasing isn’t embarrassment—it’s dilution. You end up publishing content that’s “relevant” but not useful to the people most likely to pay you.

Here are three costs I see repeatedly in SMB content marketing in the United States:

1) You train your audience to expect randomness

If your last five posts are about five unrelated topics because each one was trending, you’re building a following that’s there for entertainment, not outcomes.

Entertainment audiences are fickle. Outcome audiences stick.

2) You burn your limited creative energy

Solopreneur marketing strategies live or die by sustainable execution. Trend-chasing forces you into a reactive workflow:

• Monitor
• React
• Post
• Repeat

That workflow crowds out deep work: developing offers, improving onboarding, building partnerships, and creating content that ranks in search.

3) You attract the wrong leads

Viral reach feels great—until discovery calls are full of people who don’t need what you sell.

A practical definition: A good lead already believes the problem matters. Trend content often attracts people who only believe the trend matters.

A better approach: “compounding content” that stays useful for years

Compounding content is content that continues producing leads long after you publish it. Think: practical guides, checklists, frameworks, teardown posts, and case studies that answer recurring questions.

This matters in the “SMB Content Marketing United States” series because most small businesses don’t need more posts. They need posts that keep working while they’re busy running the business.

What compounding content looks like in real life

Here are examples that keep paying off:

• “How to price a service offer (with 3 pricing models and numbers)”
• “Client onboarding checklist for a one-person business”
• “How to write a landing page that converts for local services”
• “The 12-email nurture sequence I’d use if I started over”
• “How to choose a niche without boxing yourself in”

None of these require a trending hashtag. They require thinking clearly about the audience’s recurring pain.

Trend vs. timeless: a simple filter

Before you post, ask:

1. Will my ideal buyer care about this in 6 months?
2. Does this connect directly to what I sell?
3. Can I add an opinion or a method that’s actually mine?

If you can’t answer “yes” to at least two, skip it.

Use trends strategically (without letting them hijack your brand)

Trends aren’t evil. They’re just expensive. The right move is to treat a trend like seasoning, not the meal.

The 70/20/10 content mix that works for solopreneurs

Here’s a mix I’ve found sustainable:

• 70% Evergreen (compounding): core topics tied to your offer
• 20% Proof: case studies, client wins, behind-the-scenes, process posts
• 10% Trend-informed: only when it clarifies your point or creates a useful example

This protects your voice and keeps your marketing aligned with revenue.

How to “ride” a trend without copying it

When a trend is relevant, don’t mimic the format. Translate it into your framework. Examples:

• A trending platform change → “What this means for service businesses that rely on referrals”
• A viral tactic → “Why this fails for high-trust offers (and what to do instead)”
• A hot topic in your niche → “The part nobody budgets for (with numbers)”

Your audience doesn’t need your reaction. They need your interpretation.

One-liner: Your job isn’t to be early. Your job is to be useful.

A 3-step plan to avoid the trend paradox and keep leads flowing

If you want solopreneur growth, you need a system that produces consistent signals of expertise. Here’s a simple plan you can run every month.

Step 1: Pick one “content lane” tied to revenue

Choose one lane where you can publish repeatedly without forcing it. Examples:

• “Client acquisition for local service businesses”
• “Email marketing for coaches and consultants”
• “SEO content strategy for niche B2B”

The rule: If it doesn’t relate to your paid offer, it’s a hobby.

Step 2: Create 12 evergreen post ideas from customer questions

Pull them from:

• discovery calls
• proposal objections
• support emails
• DMs
• client onboarding

Then write titles that promise an outcome. For example:

• “How to follow up after a proposal (3 templates)”
• “What to post when you have nothing to announce”
• “A simple weekly content plan for a one-person business”

Step 3: Build a repeatable production cadence

A sustainable cadence beats bursts. For many solopreneurs:

• 1 blog post/week (evergreen)
• 2–3 short social posts/week (repurposed from the blog)
• 1 email/week (the opinionated takeaway + the link)

This is how you build a content engine that doesn’t depend on being “on trend.”

People also ask: common questions about trends and content marketing

Should solopreneurs ignore trends entirely?

No. Ignore trends that don’t map to your buyer’s problem. Use trends when they provide a timely example for an evergreen point you already teach.

What if my audience expects me to comment on industry news?

Then create a simple “news response template”: what happened, what it changes, what to do next. Keep it short, and link back to your evergreen resource.

How do I know if a piece of content is evergreen?

If the post answers a question that new prospects will ask next month and next year, it’s evergreen. If it only makes sense in the week it was posted, it’s not.

The real goal: be recognizable, not trendy

The promise of trend-chasing is attention. The reality is that attention is rented. Trust is owned.

If you’re building an SMB content marketing system in the U.S., aim for recognition: a clear point of view, a consistent set of topics, and content that helps people make decisions.

Seth’s paradox is a helpful gut check: by the time you’re trying to be “on trend,” you’re probably already behind. So the smarter move is to publish what only you can publish—your process, your standards, your lived experience, your specific advice.

What would happen to your business this year if you stopped chasing what’s hot—and doubled down on what stays helpful?