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Hello Reader,

Understanding Educational Content in 2026

If you’re a coach trying to get seen in 2026, here’s the deal:

Your audience can ask AI for “10 tips” and get an answer before your latte cools.

So if your educational content is mostly “here’s what to do,” you’re going to feel like you’re posting into the void and then blaming the algorithm like it stole your car! But as usual, its not the algorithms fault, its yours but we can fix it.

The goal now is not to be the internet’s nicest textbook.

Your goals is to be the real human that can guide a real human.

Because your ideal client is not wondering:

• “Does she know the steps?”

She’s wondering:

• “Does she get my situation?”
• “Can I trust her judgement?”
• “Will this actually work for me, with my life, my brain, and my chaos?”

That’s what educational content needs to do in 2026.

Redefining Educational Content

Educational content used to mean: teach the thing.

Now it means: show me your experience, your understanding, and how you can apply that to my situation.

Your audience does not need more information. They need:

• clarity
• confidence
• context
• a plan that feels doable

If your content delivers those, you win. This is also what your audience is looking for when deciding if they are going to hire you, so its kind of a good thing to prove and share in your content.

Levels of Educational Content

Level 1: Information

Definitions. Basics. “What is X?”

This is fine, but it’s also what AI does all day, every day, in seconds

Level 2: Interpretation

Your perspective. Your standards. Your “here’s what matters and why.” This is where you start sounding like a leader instead of a repost account.

Level 3: Implementation

Real examples. Real decisions. Real trade-offs. Real coaching moments. This is the level that makes someone think, “Oh. She’s the one.”

In 2026, Level 3 is your secret weapon.

Stop the Generic Tips

1) Teach decisions, not definitions

Instead of: “3 ways to create content pillars”

Try: “How to pick content pillars when you’re multi passionate and already tired”

Give people your decision filter:

• If your goal is leads, do this.
• If your goal is trust, do this.
• If your goal is sales, do this.

This makes your content feel like guidance, not noise.

2) Teach the trade-offs

Real life has constraints. Your audience trusts you more when you admit it.

Examples:

• “This works faster, but it takes more energy.”
• “This is easier, but it converts slower.”
• “If you hate video, here’s the non video version.”

That’s not negativity. This is understandig real life. That’s leadership.

3) Teach with proof, not perfection

Your audience is not impressed by polished anymore. They’re impressed by specific.

Receipts can look like:

• a mini case study (problem, decision, result)
• a client win with context (what changed and why it worked)
• “here’s the post I would fix and how”
• “here’s what I would do if I were starting over”

Specificity is what makes people trust you.

4) Teach in public, in real time

This is the stuff AI cannot copy. This is one of my favorite things to do and the reason that I host Hot Seat Coaching and Q&A Sessions in all of my paid programs!

Try:

• live audits
• hot seat coaching
• “fix this caption with me”
• Q and A where you actually answer the question

When people watch you think, they stop shopping and start following.

5) Turn education into a series

One post is a cute. A series is a storyline.

Series ideas you can steal:

• “Visibility Clinic: why coaches feel invisible and the fix”
• “Content Rehab: taking real posts and making them clearer”
• “Overthinking to Posting: 5 decisions that make content easier”

Series build familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust builds sales.

The simple gut check before you post

Ask yourself:

“If AI wrote this, would anyone know it was me?”

If the answer is “probably not,” add one of these:

• a real example from your work
• a decision you would make (and why)
• the mistake you see all the time
• what you would do differently for a beginner vs someone advanced
• the one step you’d have them take today

That turns a generic tip into a coaching moment.

Keep Creating,

Jonathan