How to Plan Content That Sells, Set Personal Boundaries With Social Media and Stay True To Your Brand With Michelle Ong
Dear Creator,
Have you ever sat down to create content and just… stare at a blank screen? You have a lot of ideas but no clear direction, no plan, or system to actually create it?
Or maybe you’ve been posting consistently on social media for your business, but it feels like you’re constantly spiraling. You’re showing up, but some times you’re like… “Wait, why am I sharing this?” And somewhere in the middle of trying to keep up with it all, you’ve started to lose a little piece of yourself.
If that resonates, this episode of Dear Creator is for you.
I sat down with Michelle Ong, again, who’s a a social media content strategist. After a decade in corporate marketing, she left it all to create Hello Lemon, by turning her skills into a business -- and socials became her go-to way to grow it.
Now, she helps solo entrepreneurs make Instagram content the easiest part of their business with a plan they can stick to and ALWAYS a beverage in hand.
Last time she was on Dear Creator, we talked about showing your face when create content. This time, we went way deeper into the systems, structure, mindset shifts and the personal reasons behind why we create content in the first place.
Here’s what we covered and what I want you to take with you.
Key Highlights From the Conversation
Showing Your Face Online Is No Longer Optional
When Michelle was previously on the podcast, she had a strong point of view that showing your face was non-negotiable in the social media landscape. And I asked her this time if she still thought that was true.
For one, I believe she actually said, “Yes, 500%” But also, she noticed a shift in her clients. They actually were asking how to finally show up on camera and wanted to. When a couple of years ago, many entrepreneurs were trying to avoid it. B-roll with text on top and trendy audio isn’t cutting it anymore.
The content landscape has changed and audiences are craving the human behind the brand.
Content Themes: The Filter That Clears The Noise
As a Creator, Creative, Entrepreneur — whatever you consider yourself… you might be jotting down 100 ideas a day. It’s in your nature too. Though Michelle brings up a good point to how at least 50 of those are probably overlapping, and another 20 don’t align with your brand.
So when you look at your content strategy, which consists of your content themes (or buckets, pillars, content conversations… they all mean the same thing) You can use them as a filter.
Let your themes do the sorting for you and speak from the heart instead of recycling trends all of the time.
Why Structure Is A Creator’s Best Friend
Sometimes it might feel like structure is rigid or keeping you in a box, but that’s not actually what’s doing.
“Having structure gives you more room to be creative and play because you have the confidence of knowing where it’s all leading.”
Reaction-based content creates resentment. Planned content creates freedom. And the most important part of this conversation was the fact that it’s not about having all of these rules and rigid structures to your content, but overall having a rough plan that you can be flexible with or adapt to in the moment.
The Personal Vs. Professional Blend (and How to Find Your Ratio)
I love watching Michelle’s Instagram stories. It’s like watching a tv show. Overtime, I’ve noticed that she posts photos or videos with her husband, but she always puts an emoji over his face. She explains that she likes to keep certain things private and some aspects of her life, she enjoys sharing.
Because of that, we talk about how you get to choose how much of life and business you want to infuse. She mentions that there are different ratios you can use as guidelines and there’s no one-size-fits-all ratio. Whether it’s 50/50, 70/30, 80/20. But the key thing is to always have some type of blend.
As an online business owner, you’re not selling a product on a shelf. You’re selling your perspective, process, and presence. People buy from people. Those who they can trust and / or relate to.
The Creator Mindset: Making a Big Deal Out of Ordinary Moments
To expand more on the previous highlight of this episode, we talk about a creator mindset and how it doesn’t mean sharing everything. It actually means seeing opportunity in the mundane things you do every day. Which could make content feel easier and interesting to your audience.
Let’s say your morning coffee routine. A quick check-in at the airport. The small moments that might feel boring to you but could be interesting to someone else watching.
The “Enough Goal” Method for Sustainable Posting
The “Enough Goal” method is really great. I worked with Michelle last summer in 2025 and I remember us setting my own “Enough Goal”. Basically, you choose how many times you post per week. So for example, Michelle posts with three goals in mind. Her ideal week is three times per week.
Her enough goal is two times per week. And her go hard goal is four times per week — especially during launches. Having that middle layer means she’s never beating herself up for meeting the minimum. And she sets the realistic goals to show up which helps with consistency.
When we worked together on my own content strategy, I was very ambitious with my goals, but I’m glad Michelle was there as an outside perspective who guided me to choosing sustainable posting goals.
Launch Strategy: All Roads Lead to the Offer
Michelle is incredible at launching her services on social media. I swear, whenever I’m watching her launches, she makes it very immersive and engaging with her community. And she’s been doing it for awhile now!! She actually worked in corporate marketing before her she opened her own business. From what we talked about, she also carries a lot of that knowledge and experience into her marketing strategy today.
When we were talking about her launch strategy, she mentions that every platform, post, and email should point to one thing. All road leads to a single goal.
What’s really important through it all is building that tough skin to be able to repeat yourself, over and over again. Repetition with variety builds recall and trust with your audience. If they just see it once, it most likely not going to be enough for them to buy.
What to Do When You Feel Like You’re Losing Yourself
If you ever feel like you’re losing yourself to your business, daily life, content creation, or just in general… ask yourself whether the struggle is intrinsic (with the work itself) or extrinsic (with your circumstances).
If it’s intrinsic, it may be time to reassess your direction. You can simply do this by planning a 1-2 hour coffee date with yourself, grab a journal, and map out your next steps.
If you feel like it’s extrinsic, like overwhelm, lack of support, or confusion, those are problems that can be solved. Maybe you need 1-1 support, learn from a course, read some books, watch tutorials, or phone a friend.
They’re all problems that can be solved, but don’t confuse the two.
Final Thoughts
Michelle wrapped up our conversation with something that has stayed with me since March (when we recorded). Zoom out and get honest about why you’re doing this. Not the surface level answer… but the real one… the creative freedom, the brand you’re building, the community you want to grow.
When things get hard (and they will), that’s the anchor that keeps you going, motivated, and build momentum.
Structure isn’t the enemy of creatives. It holds your ideas long enough for them to become something real.
Now go make the plan and then give yourself permission to be human within it.
Connect with Michelle ↓
Build Your Series Workshop | how to create your IG series on May 19th: https://hellolemonmedia.com/series
Working In Public on IG Stories Freebie: https://hellolemonmedia.com/igs-freebie
Open for Business | IG content strategy and marketing group program launching Q3 2026: https://hellolemonmedia.myflodesk.com/group
Free 5-Day Content Challenge: https://hellolemonmedia.com/break-the-block
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byhellolemon/
Website: https://hellolemonmedia.com/stories
