Content Stacking: The Designer’s Secret to Never-Ending Content (Hint: It’s Not More Ideas)

If you’ve ever sat down with the best intentions to batch your content and found yourself stuck after post number six, welcome to the club. During our last Race Day - a well-intentioned sprint to create a whole month’s worth of social media content in one short day - many of us found ourselves flagging mid-morning. Not because we lacked ideas, but because the idea of inventing something new for every single post felt exhausting.

I'd like to thank Kat Dooney of Stripe Social for suggesting an alternative approach. 

Kat, who recently ran a brilliant Pinterest webinar for Hothouse (watch again here), asked me about Race Day and how it had gone. When I admitted that many of us had hit a wall, that it had been a bit overwhelming, she gently pointed out what might be obvious in hindsight: we were trying to reinvent the wheel for every post.

“Have you thought about content stacking?” she said.

“Start with one idea, then build the rest from that.”

So here we have a new angle for our next Race Day - I'm launching the suggestion that next time round, we focus on content stacking.  

What is Content Stacking?

Content stacking is a way of working with your brain, not against it. It’s the art of creating one core piece of content — a blog post (watch out for my attempts to content stack this), a finished project, a design dilemma - and using it as the basis for multiple smaller pieces of content across your platforms.

It’s the antidote to blank-page syndrome, and the enemy of scattergun, last-minute marketing. One idea. Multiple formats. Maximum reach.

 Why Content Stacking is Perfect for Interior Designers

Designers are visual thinkers. We work in layers and palettes. We understand the value of a single good idea, repeated or reinterpreted across a whole scheme. Content stacking does exactly the same, but for your marketing.

Instead of feeling pressured to churn out 15 completely different social posts per month, you focus on depth, not breadth. That project you’ve just completed? That blog post you wrote six months ago? They’re not 'done' - they’re ripe. Think Instagram carousel, Pinterest pin, newsletter snippet, LinkedIn article, reel idea, client-facing story…

The gold is already in your archive. Content stacking helps you mine it.

A Worked Example of Content Stacking for Interior Designers

We’ll be exploring this fully on Race Day – Tuesday 27 May (9:30am–3:00pm UK), but here’s example of how you can think in terms of 'stacks' in future.

Let's take the example of a single bathroom, part of a larger home renovation project.

Firstly, here are the assets needed to generate all the content listed below:

• 3–4 wide shots of the bathroom (from very different angles - showing different elevations)

• Detail close-ups

• 'Before' photos 

• Moodboard images

• Short video clips (walkthrough, timelapse, talking head)

• Sketches or plans

• Testimonial quote from the client 

• Product tags or supplier lists

FIRST UP: Foundational Content (Hero Post or Blog)

• Full Story Post: The bathroom transformation as part of a larger project – the client’s vision, the design challenges, and the result. (Blog or carousel)

• Before-and-After Carousel: Showcase the change clearly.

• Mini Video Tour: Walk-through or voiceover explaining the design.

 THEN: Deep Dive Content (Zooming in on Angles) 

1. The Client’s Brief in Detail 

    What they wanted, what they didn’t want, and how you delivered.

2. Moodboard Breakdown 

    Share the bathroom moodboard – the palette, materials, textures.

3. Product Spotlight 

    Why you chose that tap, that tile, that paint colour.

4. Lighting Focus 

    The importance of task, ambient, and accent lighting in bathrooms.

5. Material Performance & Sustainability 

    The why behind the choices (durability, water resistance, recycling, etc.)

6. The Power of Details 

    Zoom in on a tile trim, a brass fitting, or a hidden joinery solution.

7. Professional Touches 

    “This only happens when you hire a pro” – explain unseen value.

8. Styling & Finishing 

    How accessories, towels, plants, and scents complete the picture.

 Marketing-Focused Content 

9. Testimonials & Storytelling 

    A client quote about the bathroom or a problem you solved for them.

10. Process Education 

     Explain how you take a bathroom from idea to installation.

11. Q&A Post 

     Common bathroom design questions answered (“Is marble suitable?”)

12. Design Tip of the Day 

     E.g., “Why wall-mounted taps can transform a small bathroom.”

13. Myth-Busting Post 

     Challenge a misconception ('Small bathrooms must have small tiles.')

14. Pinterest-Optimised Pins 

     Each image becomes a clickable pin linking back to your website.

15. Behind-the-Scenes Reel 

     Time-lapse of the installation or day-in-the-life at the photoshoot.

16. Client Journey Story 

     Where they started, how they felt, how they feel now.

17. Sourcing Story 

     A post or video about how you found a unique item or sourced a tricky finish.

18. Budget Transparency Post 

    A gentle explainer about how much a bathroom like this might cost (ballpark figures, with caveats).

19. Designers’ Secret Reel 

     A quick tip on a detail most clients wouldn’t think about.

20. Call-to-Action Post 

    “If you’ve been dreaming of a bathroom like this, let’s talk.”

 Lead Generation & Brand Building

21. Newsletter Feature 

     A deep-dive story in your email newsletter.

22. Blog Series 

     Create a “Room by Room” series across your blog — one per space.

23. Case Study PDF 

     Turn the bathroom into a downloadable project case study for your website (a lead magnet!)

24. Pinterest Board 

     Curate a whole board inspired by this project’s style.

25. Long-Form Article 

    “How to Design a Spa-Like Bathroom at Home” using this project as an example. 

 How This Helps Your Business? 

• Fills your content calendar for weeks from just one room*.

• Builds authority (sharing expertise) and trust (showing results).

• Demonstrates attention to detail - what clients pay for.

• Helps SEO and Pinterest visibility.

• Educates your audience and attracts the right clients.

• Positions you as the go-to designer for clients who want more than “just a pretty room.”

*Now, obviously, unless you specialise in bathrooms, you'll want to mix this up a bit. Taking the same approach with a sitting room, bedroom, and kitchen, would create literally months of material. 

What's key is to plan this approach (it's the opposite of spontaneous panic posting), and to anticipate the need for future marketing materials. To make sure that you always take the 'before' shots, that you photograph or keep pdfs of presentation boards, that you ask your client for testimonials. Collecting assets for marketing activities should be a regular part of your business activities. This is an incredibly efficient way of working. 

 Is Content Stacking Just Repurposing? 

Not quite - but they’re definitely cousins.

👆 Milla suggested I repurpose this high performing post into new content.

Repurposing is about taking one piece of content and transforming it into something else. For example, turning a blog post into an Instagram caption, or a set of project photos into a Pinterest board.

In a recent consultation with Milla of Pink Storm Social (discussing the Instagram strategy for my business) she recommended that (1) I look for the highest performing posts in my feed, and (2) find new ways to present this content again, in a slightly different context or medium. That's repurposing, and apparently the audience rarely notices! 

Content stacking goes a step further — it’s a strategy. You start with a single, strong idea - with the intention of reimagining it over and over again - then plan out in advance how to stretch and layer it across your platforms. Stacking is intentional, structured, and scalable.

Myths (and Truths) About Reusing Content

Myth: People will get bored if I repeat myself.

Truth: Most people miss it the first time. Repetition builds recognition and trust.

 Myth: I don’t have time for this.

Truth: Content stacking saves you time — because one idea fuels many outputs.

Myth: I’ve got nothing new to say.

Truth: You don’t need new ideas. You need new angles on what you already know and do best.

 Join Us for Race Day: Tuesday 27 May

This month’s Race Day will be a creative, collaborative session where I'll be focusing on  content stacking as a possible solution to marketing overwhelm. In an ideal world you’ll bring one project, one story, or one piece of expertise, and leave with a stacked bank of content that works hard across all your platforms.

🕤 When: Tuesday 27 May, 9:30am–3:00pm UK time

🛠️ What to bring: Images, testimonials, plans and sketches, drafts, Canva, your various logins, coffee

Final Thoughts

Marketing your design business shouldn’t feel like punishment. Content stacking offers a smart, energy-efficient way to show up online with consistency, clarity, and style — using assets you already have.

Thanks to Kat’s brilliant nudge, we’re making this our theme for Race Day III and I’d love to see what you create when you start stacking your content with intention.

Race Day is the perfect time to start.