You can have a million followers on TikTok and still play to an empty room. Trevor Grimes talks to Wanda Wesolowski about the reality of building a career versus chasing a viral moment. Wanda explains that if you can find 100 people who will always buy your record or merch, you have a sustainable career. She breaks down her approach to "physical" branding with the Wanda Van and why she refuses to rely solely on 15-second clips to prove her talent.

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This conversation bridges the gap between B2B strategy and the raw, emotional approach of an independent artist. Wanda discusses the anxiety of hitting publish, the importance of longevity over quick hits, and how she took advice to lean into her queer identity to finally find her true audience in the South.

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Guest Bio

Wanda Wesolowski is a singer, songwriter, and the manager of The Wanda Band based in Huntsville, Alabama. Known for her "iconic" and "catchy" Southern pop-rock sound, she has been a fixture in the local music scene since she was 14. She is a "spacemaker" who co-founded Boardman HSV and recently released the album Only Feeling. Wanda champions DIY production, sobriety, and queer joy through her music and community work.

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What We Cover

1. The Wanda Van as branding: How painting a Ford Transit Connect became a moving landmark in Huntsville and a better use of free will than driving a standard car.
2. The trap of viral metrics: Why getting 300,000 followers from a single viral video often leads to empty venues because the audience doesn't actually know who you are.
3. Performance vs. Content Creation: Wanda argues that recording a perfect 30-second take for social media does not prepare you to hold a room's attention or handle a soundcheck professionally.
4. Finding your specific crowd: How leaning into her identity as a gay woman helped Wanda connect with a dedicated audience that needed a space, rather than alienating listeners.
5. Longevity requires consistency: A look at Wanda's digital footprint from 2005 vlogs to today, proving that showing up over time matters more than immediate perfection.
6. Overcoming posting anxiety: Why you have to sit with the discomfort of vulnerability after posting and realize that 60% of the internet is just bots anyway.

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Resources Mentioned

1. The Wanda Band
2. Patreon
3. Pomplamoose & Jack Conte

What if your content isn't failing? It might just be unemployed. It lives online, but it doesn't have a job. It isn't creating conversations, leading to opportunities, or building toward anything specific.

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That aimlessness is scary. It is also wasteful because it looks like you are doing everything right from the outside. You are consistent. You are showing up. Yet, you are left asking what it was all for.

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In this solo episode, Trevor Grimes argues that content needs a job, not just better vibes or more polish. He explains why posting without purpose quietly burns people out and how to shift your focus from performance metrics to creative curiosity.

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Trevor explains how to use content pillars as boundaries to save your energy. He also covers how to set goals that actually support your business—such as having thoughtful conversations or clarifying your thinking—rather than chasing follower counts that stifle creativity.

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What We Cover

1. Why content needs a job: Every piece of content should answer the question: "What is this here to do?" It could be to start conversations, clarify thinking, or attract a specific type of person.
2. The real cause of burnout: Burnout doesn't usually come from doing too much. It comes from doing things that feel aimless or from putting effort in without direction.
3. Content pillars as boundaries: Pillars aren't just topics. They are how you decide what not to spend energy on. Ideas must earn their way into your story.
4. The Note Card Method filter: Before turning an idea into content, ask one question: "Does this belong in the story I'm telling right now?"
5. Goals that don't kill creativity: Avoid goals that suffocate you, like arbitrary follower counts. Choose goals such as deepening your understanding of a topic or aligning yourself with a specific problem you solve.
6. Performance vs. Curiosity: Performance asks, "How did this do?" Creative curiosity asks, "What did I learn?" The latter keeps you moving.
7. The Creator Transformation: Becoming someone who notices ideas instead of forcing them, and creates without waiting for permission.

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Resources Mentioned

1. Previous Episode: How to Create More Content (referenced for volume strategies).
2. The Note Card Method: Referenced as a tool for filtering ideas (Check previous episodes/videos).
3. 30-Day Content Sprint: Available in the show notes (referenced in outro).

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Low-Tech, High-Impact Account-Based Marketing

If you’re ready to trade expensive, tech-heavy account-based marketing for a repeatable, revenue-driving ABM program, check out Scrappy ABM. Led by a team of Scrappy ABM experts, they specialize in low-budget plays and programs that deliver high impact—no shiny tools required. Scrappy ABM has built account-based programs that have delivered millions in revenue,...

What was the reason that you kinda sucked at creating content in 2025? Not fear, not imposter syndrome or perfectionism, not a lack of confidence—just friction. The moment you finally have time to create, you sit down, and you don’t know what to work on. Doubt creates delay, delay creates guilt, guilt turns into avoidance, and suddenly weeks go by, and you haven’t even opened LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Trevor Grimes keeps it simple: create more content in 2026 by designing systems that make creation the default. The note card method is a thinking tool—one idea per card, organized and labeled so you reduce decision-making anxiety later. Then the 30-day Content Sprint replaces overthinking with movement: proof that you can finish things, publish things imperfectly, and survive low engagement. Finally, design your environment so content is always one decision away—sit down and press record.

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What We Cover

1. The real reason that content dies: you finally have time to create, you sit down, and you don’t know what to work on
2. Fear shows up after something else fails: doubt → delay → guilt → avoidance → weeks go by
3. “That’s not necessarily a confidence problem… that’s an idea storage problem.”
4. The note card method: physical note cards, one idea per card—thought, question, frustration, something you learned, something you disagree with
5. Label and organize cards (story, lesson, hot take, how-to, question, behind the scenes) to reduce decision-making anxiety later
6. “You’re not building content… you’re just building inventory,” so the inventory removes panic for later
7. The 30-day Content Sprint: proof you can finish things, publish imperfectly, survive low engagement, and replace overthinking with momentum
8. Designing your environment so content is “always just one decision away”: keep the tripod ready, use the window/light, don’t negotiate with yourself—press record

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Resources Mentioned

1. Episode 19: “the note card method for endless content ideas”
2. The 30-day Content Sprint (Trevor says it’s free and he’ll link it in the episode description)
3. Platforms/tools mentioned: LinkedIn, Instagram, Notion doc, Excel, AI prompt library (as examples of what the note card method is not)
4. Set up tools mentioned: tripod, phone/camera, good lighting/window, multicolor pen/highlighter for color coordination

ㅤ

Low-Tech, High-Impact Account-Based Marketing

If you’re ready to trade expensive, tech-heavy account-based marketing for a repeatable, revenue-driving ABM program, check out Scrappy ABM. Led by a team of Scrappy ABM experts, they specialize in low-budget plays and programs that deliver high impact—no shiny tools required. Scrappy ABM has built account-based programs that have...