Clear the fog before you write.
Part Three of a Four Part Mini-Series
If you missed the earlier parts, you can start with Part One: Two Tools That Fix the Hardest Part of Writing Content
and Part Two: Find Your Hook: The Fastest Way to Get From Vague Idea to Clear Message
Why Writing Is the Wrong Place to Start
So, you've got your idea that you want to write about. Perhaps it came from Find Your Hook, perhaps it came from somewhere else.
Time to start writing, right?
Nope. It's time to start planning what you're going to write, and that's where Message Map comes in.
It helps you quickly turn raw ideas into usable outlines. It's not just a writing tool, it's a strategic partner that helps you shape clear, audience-aligned content before you even start to draft.
When Your Writing Wanders Off
- How many times have you started to write then drifted off course and started rambling or over-explaining with no clear idea where you're going beyond the next paragraph?
- How many times have you had to go back and rewrite everything?
- How many times has this made you think that writing content is just a time sink?
Me too.
Planning That Leads to Progress
So, I built Message Map so that I could start with an idea and then have a clear plan of what I wanted to write; aligned with my audience, and without losing my voice.
Message Map has two modes and one goal: Strategic Clarity. All it needs is your idea or hook, and your audience. It will offer you an idea exploration to tease out what matters and a structural outline to shape your idea into a usable form.
The Scaffold, Not The Script
Message Map isn't a content generator. It doesn't blurt out AI generated sludge, it gives you a scaffold, and the direction to get from start to finish. Then you hang your words on it.
It's not a template, it comes to life from your initial idea, and it's your voice that will sound through what you write.
From Hook to Outline in One Smooth Move
Find Your Hook and Message Map work particularly well with each other. It's such an easy start to go from a vague idea to a structured and well planned piece of content.
Let's pick up from the idea in the last episode, where I started by saying I wanted to write a blog post about air conditioners. That was the idea, I had nothing more than that. Find Your Hook helped me zoom in on my audience and I chose "Renters trying to stay cool affordably" from its suggestions.
For this example I'm going to pick this hook from the suggestions: “What to Know Before Buying an AC Unit in a Rented Flat”
Me: "Here's my hook: What to Know Before Buying an AC Unit in a Rented Flat and here's my audience: Renters trying to stay cool affordably"
Message Map: "Good start — sounds like you're targeting practical-minded renters trying to make smart cooling decisions without wasting money or annoying their landlord. Quick check: Is this piece meant to share your own experience, or offer something more research-based?"
Me: "I'm writing a blog to inform those renters about their options"
Message Map: "Got it — informative and helpful, not personal storytelling. Alright — want to explore the idea a bit, or shape it into a structured outline?"
Me: "Let's explore it"
Here's What Message Map Produced
Great — here’s an exploration to sharpen your direction:
🧪 Working Title “Cool Without Commitment: A Renter’s Guide to Buying the Right AC”
🔥 Pain Points (Audience-Aligned)
Unsure what AC types are allowed in rentals
Fear of wasting money on something they can't install or take with them
Landlord restrictions and lease fine print confusion
Electric bills spiking with inefficient units
Overwhelmed by too many technical options (BTUs, energy ratings, etc.)
🧰 Solution Approaches
Breakdown of AC unit types: portable vs. window vs. mini-split (with renter pros/cons)
How to check lease terms or get landlord approval
Tips for energy-efficient cooling in temporary spaces
“Take it with you” options for future moves
Budget tiers: best picks under $300, $600, etc.
🎯 Desired Outcome: Reader feels confident choosing an AC unit that fits their space, lease, and budget — and avoids wasting time or money on options that won’t work in a rental.
🌐 Related Themes
Renters’ rights and landlord negotiations
Summer energy savings
Urban living hacks
Climate adaptation without renovations
💬 Discussion Prompts
“What’s the worst AC setup you’ve had in a rental?”
“Ever had to argue with a landlord about installing something?”
“Portable vs. window AC: which side are you on?”
📚 References & Anchors
Consumer Reports AC buying guide
Energy Star resources
Local renter forums or subreddits (e.g., r/AskNYC, r/renters)
Want to go from here into an outline, or keep unpacking more angles?
Me: "Let's do an outline"
Now You Can Write With Confidence
You have the Strategic Exploration, you have the Outline. All you have to do now is write each section with what you know. Everything is mapped out and you just need to plug in your knowledge, your expertise, and it will flow, from idea to finished piece. Every time you do this it will be unique. Your voice, your ideas.
Guided by AI, not written by it.
Plan First. Write Less. Say More
This is what Message Map does. Your hook transforms into a Core Message, a Transformation Outcome and the steps to go from one to the other.
Don't like the suggestions? Re-run it and copy each version to your notes app, combine the parts you like from each to settle on your final map.
Now, this is when you start to write.
Try Message Map and See How It Can Help You Write With Purpose
You can get it for free from the Tools page [Link to page]
No sign up required and no paywall.
Coming Up in Part Four: How I used Find Your Hook and Message Map to Create This Mini-Series
In the final part of the series, I’ll take you behind the scenes to show how I used Find Your Hook to lock onto the core idea, and then Message Map to plan out the full structure of all four posts, before I wrote a single word.
You’ll see how these tools work together to make content creation feel less like a grind and more like a guided process.
If you’ve ever sat down to write and ended up spiralling into rewrites and second-guessing, Part Four might be the clarity you’ve been missing.