by
Business owners and content teams need topics drawn from real work. The Topic Wheel sorts them into WHY stories, HOW you work, and WHAT you offer. Use it to plan useful videos and posts, then link that work to the right part of your site.
This guide is part of The Content Factory: How to Turn One Video Into Dozens of Assets That Build Trust and Drive Revenue (our four-stage process for using real content). Next, explore The One-Minute Video: The Simplest Way to Produce Content That Scales, or The SEO Tree Framework: How Every Piece of Content Should Connect (how content links to its main topic).
Where this task fits in the Content Factory
This task belongs in Produce. Its inputs come from the linked work below; its checked result becomes the next worker’s starting point.
THIS TASK1. ProduceCapture real work
2. ProcessTurn sources into useful assets
3. PostPublish and connect approved assets
4. PromoteShare proven work and measure results
Start, finish, and next step
- Start when
- A brand needs to turn its real expertise and stories into a focused recording plan.
- Have ready
- Specific product or service
- Topics supported by real expertise
- Real stories, customer questions and relevant people
- Follow the steps
- Define WHAT the brand sells
- Choose the HOW topics that support it
- Collect WHY stories for those topics
- Map real entities and prioritize the recording queue
Use the detailed instructions in this article for each step.
- Finish with
- A WHY–HOW–WHAT Topic Wheel and a prioritized source-backed recording queue.
- Measure the result
- The central offer is specific
- Topics support the offer
- Stories are real and assigned to topics
- The wheel connects to the site’s SEO Tree
- Hand off next
- Record one-minute videos from the queue, then organize the resulting pages using the SEO Tree.
Reference material for the inputs
- #GCT: Business Strategy (the goal, source material, and audience)
- The SEO Tree Framework: How Every Piece of Content Should Connect
Open this article’s tasks in the Task Library (our directory of tasks and recipes; see current Task Library). The library connects the current recipe, its smaller tasks, and the records of work performed.
Close the learning loop. Write a meta article: the record of this execution with the starting state, recipe version, result, checks, failures, and next owner. Link it back to this recipe and register the run under the same Task Library task. Reuse one execution ID for revisions and retries. A partial or failed run stays labeled that way. Public release follows the recorded publication authority; writing the run record is part of doing the task. Writing and revising that record belong to the original execution; they do not start another meta-article task. Use the findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement. See how recipes and execution records work together.
Definitive framework3 meta-articles · SupportedCanonical system page · Topic Wheel · Produce planning
Outcome: Build a complete WHY–HOW–WHAT Topic Wheel that turns real brand stories and customer questions into a prioritized recording queue aligned to the SEO Tree.
WHY
Stories from you & others
The Topic Wheel — audiences move from the outside in: WHY (stories) → HOW (topics) → WHAT (your offer). Each ring maps to entities that Google’s Knowledge Graph can recognize and connect.
This is the definitive article for the Topic Wheel concept. For how individual articles connect to each other within this framework, see the SEO Tree. For how Google recognizes the people and brands referenced in your Topic Wheel, watch Marketing Mechanic Episode 1: How Google Actually Decides Who Ranks (Entities + Trust).
Connected pages, Greatest Hits, and why the Topic Wheel works
People graph sits with this pair. When the production CMS is not ready, we still map who they are in the room with — privately. Method + worked example: How we map a personal brand privately.
Greatest hits — topics
These three already earn attention for BlitzMetrics. The rest of the wheel is the library. How we pick hits.
Greatest hits live on this map. The three gold cards are the URLs we amplify. How we pick them: Greatest Hits.
On every personal brand site. The method below is now a required companion page pair: a colorful clickable /topic-wheel/ tied to /money-tree/. Coverage and the George Paladichuk worked example: How we put a topic wheel on every personal brand site.
Paired with the topic wheel. The topic wheel is what BlitzMetrics talks about. This money tree is which URLs collect that talk into money. Every chip on the wheel is a link; the tree is the sitemap of those links. Sibling method: Topic Wheel · Money Tree.
The Topic Wheel is the content strategy framework BlitzMetrics uses to organize everything a personal brand or business publishes around a central product or service, so that every piece of content — every video, article, social post, and collaboration — builds authority instead of creating noise. If you have ever published content that felt random or disconnected from your core message, the Topic Wheel is how you fix that.
The framework works because it mirrors how real audiences discover and trust a brand. People do not start by caring about your product. They start by connecting with your story and the stories of people they already trust. The Topic Wheel organizes content into three concentric rings — WHY on the outside, HOW in the middle, and WHAT at the center — so that your content strategy moves audiences naturally from awareness to trust to purchase.
WHY — The Outer Ring
The outer ring of the Topic Wheel is the WHY. This is where your audience first encounters you — not through a sales pitch, but through stories. One-minute stories about what you stand for, what drives you, and what you believe in. These are the stories that make people say “I relate to that person” before they ever care about your product.
The WHY ring has two types of content: stories from you and stories from other people. Your own stories show who you are as a person — the moments that shaped your career, the lessons you learned the hard way, the values that guide your decisions. Other people’s stories come from interviews, collaborations, podcast appearances, and testimonials where someone in your network shares their own WHY while naturally connecting it to you.
Use the WHY ring to document real people and shared work. If Dennis Yu interviews a Knowledge Panel holder, the episode and relevant links can help readers check who took part and what they said. Those links do not by themselves prove that Google or an AI system recognized the relationship or increased either person’s authority. Build the page from real sources and describe only the relationship those sources show.
The WHY ring also serves the tangential audience strategy. Your core audience is the people who will buy from you. But the people who influence your core audience — industry leaders, adjacent professionals, complementary service providers — are your tangential audience. By creating WHY content with and about these tangential figures, you position yourself in front of their followers, who then become aware of your brand through a trusted referral rather than a cold ad.
In practice, the WHY ring is built from one-minute videos — short, authentic clips where you or your collaborators share a single story, lesson, or perspective. These are produced through the Content Factory and amplified through the Dollar a Day strategy.
HOW — The Middle Ring
The middle ring is the HOW — the topics that demonstrate your expertise. These are not about your product directly. They are about the knowledge areas that surround your product and prove you understand the space deeply enough to be trusted.
If your WHAT (the center) is a plumbing service, your HOW topics might be water heater maintenance, drain cleaning best practices, pipe inspection technology, and seasonal plumbing preparation. If your WHAT is a digital marketing agency, your HOW topics might be Facebook advertising strategy, content repurposing workflows, digital plumbing setup, and SEO auditing.
The HOW ring is where your Topic Wheel intersects with the SEO Tree. Each HOW topic becomes a branch on the SEO Tree — it needs a definitive article, supporting content (leaves), and internal links that connect everything. The Topic Wheel tells you which topics to cover. The SEO Tree tells you how to organize them on your website so Google understands the structure.
This is the critical connection between the two frameworks: the Topic Wheel is the planning tool (what content to create and why), and the SEO Tree is the architecture tool (how to structure and link that content once it exists). They are complementary, not competing. You build the Topic Wheel first to map your content strategy, then you plant the SEO Tree to execute it on your website.
The HOW ring groups the WHY stories from the outer ring into coherent topic clusters. A dozen one-minute videos about lessons learned from running Facebook ads for local businesses all cluster under the HOW topic of “local service advertising.” A handful of podcast interviews about entity authority and Knowledge Panels cluster under the HOW topic of “SEO and entity building.” The topics give structure to the stories.
WHAT — The Center
The center of the Topic Wheel is the WHAT — the product or service you sell. This is where the audience journey ends in a purchase, a signup, or an engagement. Everything in the WHY and HOW rings exists to build enough trust and authority that when the audience reaches the center, the sale feels like a natural next step rather than a cold transaction.
The WHAT should be specific and clear. It is not “marketing services.” It is “the Dollar a Day advertising strategy for local service businesses.” It is not “SEO consulting.” It is “the Social Amplification Engine that takes your best content and distributes it across every channel.” The more specific your WHAT, the more focused your HOW topics become, and the more targeted your WHY stories become.
The Topic Wheel works from the outside in for the audience: they encounter WHY stories first, become interested in HOW topics second, and discover the WHAT last. But you build it from the inside out: start by defining your WHAT, then identify the HOW topics that support it, then create the WHY stories that attract the right audience to those topics.
How the Topic Wheel Connects to Entities
The Topic Wheel plans content that shows who you are, what you offer and how you work. The resulting pages can give readers and search systems useful facts about people, businesses and topics. The plan itself is not proof that a system has stored or used those facts.
In Marketing Mechanic Episode 1, Dennis explains his approach to entities and trust. An entity is an identifiable person, organization, place or concept with facts and relationships that can be checked. Use the wheel to plan accurate content about them; keep any claim about a search system’s response separate and supported by an actual observation.
The WHY ring records real relationships. This article uses Dennis’s work with the Golden State Warriors, Content Factory clients, podcast hosts and conference organizers as examples. Link each story to the source that shows the actual role or shared work. A named person, photo or drawn connection does not by itself prove an endorsement or an increase in either side’s search authority.
The HOW ring groups useful evidence of expertise. Support each relevant topic with a definitive article and real stories that help readers understand the work. Five topics is an example, not a threshold that proves expertise to Google or guarantees rankings. Choose the topics the business can support with real knowledge and sources.
The WHAT at the center is the product or service you offer. Clear business facts, useful topic pages and supported relationships can help people understand that offer and who provides it. A Knowledge Panel is a separate Google result, not a promised output of this method. Google explains that panels are generated automatically from information across the web. Check the actual result before claiming that a panel exists or that this work caused it.
This is why the Topic Wheel and the SEO Tree work together. The Topic Wheel plans the entity signals. The SEO Tree organizes them on your website. Entity linking is the specific technique for connecting them at the article level — making sure that when you mention a person, you link to their personal brand site, and when you mention a concept, you link to its definitive article.
How to Build Your Topic Wheel
Step 1: Define Your WHAT
Start at the center. What is the one product, service, or offering that you want to be known for? Be specific. Write it in one sentence. If you cannot say it in one sentence, you have not defined it clearly enough.
Step 2: Identify Your HOW Topics
List the three to seven topics that surround your WHAT. These should be subjects where you have genuine expertise and that your target audience cares about. Each HOW topic will become a branch on your SEO Tree — a definitive article supported by related content.
Use keyword research, customer questions, and your own experience to identify these topics. If you are a plumber, your HOW topics come from the services you perform and the problems you solve. If you are a marketing consultant, your HOW topics come from the methodologies you use and the results you deliver.
Step 3: Map Your WHY Stories
For each HOW topic, list the people, stories, and collaborations that connect to it. Who have you worked with in this area? What results have you achieved? Who are the authority figures in this space that you have relationships with?
Each person on this list is a potential entity connection. Each story is a potential one-minute video. Each collaboration is a potential podcast episode, guest article, or joint case study.
Step 4: Create and Organize the Content
Produce the WHY stories first — they are the easiest to create (one-minute videos require minimal production) and they generate the most engagement. Then use the Content Factory process to repurpose those stories into articles, social posts, and other formats.
As content accumulates, organize it using the SEO Tree. Each HOW topic gets a definitive article. Each WHY story links back to the relevant HOW topic. The WHAT at the center connects to all of them. Follow the Blog Posting Guidelines for every article you publish.
Step 5: Amplify with Dollar a Day
Use the Dollar a Day strategy to put paid distribution behind your best-performing WHY stories. A dollar a day to the right audience gets your story in front of the people who need to see it — including the tangential audiences whose attention brings credibility and new connections to your Topic Wheel.
Topic Wheel vs. SEO Tree: How They Work Together
The most common question about these two frameworks is whether they are the same thing. They are not, but they are deeply connected.
The Topic Wheel is the strategic planning tool. It answers: what content should I create, who should I create it with, and how does it all connect to my core offering? You build a Topic Wheel before you create content. It is outward-facing — you could draw it on a whiteboard with a client or present it at a conference.
The SEO Tree is the architectural execution tool. It answers: how should I organize all this content on my website so that every page strengthens every other page? You build an SEO Tree as you publish content. It is inward-facing — it guides your content team, your AI agents, and your internal linking strategy.
The Topic Wheel tells you what to plant. The SEO Tree tells you where to plant it and how to connect the roots.
In practice, the HOW topics on your Topic Wheel become the branches on your SEO Tree. The WHY stories become the leaves. The WHAT at the center becomes the trunk. When both frameworks are aligned, every piece of content you create has a purpose (Topic Wheel) and a place (SEO Tree).
The Topic Wheel in the Nine Triangles Framework
The Topic Wheel sits within the Content side of the Nine Triangles framework. In the MAA (Metrics, Analysis, Action) cycle, it is the planning layer that determines what content gets produced before the Content Factory executes on it.
When you apply GCT (Goals, Content, Targeting) to your Topic Wheel, the WHAT maps to your Goals, the HOW maps to your Content strategy, and the WHY maps to your Targeting — because the people and stories in the WHY ring define the audiences you are trying to reach.
Where This Fits in the Content Factory
The Topic Wheel is the planning layer that decides what should enter Produce. It is not one of the source-channel boxes, so only the Produce stage is highlighted.
Real Examples of the Topic Wheel in Action
Dennis Yu’s Personal Brand Topic Wheel
Dennis Yu’s WHAT is the Dollar a Day advertising strategy for local service businesses and personal brands. The HOW topics include Facebook advertising, content repurposing (Content Factory), entity building (Knowledge Panels and KGMID SEO), the Nine Triangles framework, and mentoring young adults in digital marketing. The WHY stories include collaborations with figures like the Golden State Warriors’ marketing team, presentations at conferences alongside industry authorities, podcast appearances on shows like the James Dooley Podcast, and one-minute videos from Dennis’s daily experiences.
Each HOW topic should have a checked definitive article. Each relevant WHY story should link to its topic in the SEO Tree. These links help readers follow the work. Use the Google Knowledge Panel guide to check that separate result; this example does not show which page or link caused a panel.
A Local Service Business Topic Wheel
Fictional teaching example. The business and customer quote below show the method; they are not a real client result.
Consider a plumbing company in Phoenix. The WHAT is emergency plumbing repair and installation services. The HOW topics are drain cleaning, water heater installation, pipe inspection, and commercial plumbing. The WHY stories are customer testimonials (“they saved us when our pipe burst at 2am”), community involvement stories, and collaborations with local real estate agents and home inspectors who refer clients.
Each HOW topic maps to the relevant service or topic page (branch) on the website. Each real WHY story can become a case study or testimonial page (leaf) that links back to it. The Thank You Machine starts with a real reason to thank someone. Its process guide preserves the real story and sharing rights. A thank-you you record is not a customer testimonial, and no testimonial is created automatically. A customer recommendation needs that customer’s actual words and the required permission to share them.
A Personal Brand Consultant’s Topic Wheel
Fictional teaching example. This consultant and its results are examples to plan from, not recorded client work.
A consultant building authority in the personal branding space might have the WHAT as “personal brand website builds and coaching.” The HOW topics cover digital plumbing setup, personal branding strategy, website QA and optimization, and content creation. The WHY stories come from the clients whose sites they built, the results those clients achieved, and collaborations with other consultants who serve the same audience.
What Others Are Saying About the Topic Wheel
The Topic Wheel is not just a BlitzMetrics internal framework — it is being taught, applied, and validated by marketers, agencies, and personal brand builders around the world. Here is what people say about it after putting it into practice.
Practitioners Who Have Built Their Own Topic Wheels
Liana Ling, digital marketer and Dollar a Day practitioner, shared on LinkedIn after going through the AdSkills training: “I’m going through what Dennis Yu taught us in AdSkills.com and started to create my Topic Wheel. It is going to be helpful to refocus my [content strategy].” Liana also mapped out the full BlitzMetrics strategy publicly on Facebook, showing how the Topic Wheel connects to Dollar a Day and the Content Factory in one integrated system. Her post received 60+ reactions.
Mark Lack, motivational speaker and personal branding expert, built his own Topic Wheel with topics including public speaking, business coaching, and motivational training. His Topic Wheel is documented at blitzmetrics.com/mark-lacks-topic-wheel and is featured in Devon Hennig’s walkthrough of the framework.
Third-Party Coverage and Endorsements
Devon Hennig, writer and former software executive, published a full guide titled “Tackling Personal Brands with the Topic Wheel” on his website, calling it “a powerful strategy designed by Dennis Yu at Blitzmetrics” that allows you to “produce content faster and leverage word of mouth for your funnel.” His article walks through the five-step process with screenshots of Mark Lack’s Topic Wheel as the primary example.
Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang, educator and LinkedIn thought leader, published an article with 140+ reactions titled “Your Go-to Guide for Facebook Ads: Five Lessons from Dennis Yu and BlitzMetrics” on LinkedIn, featuring the Topic Wheel as a key concept alongside the Dollar a Day strategy and the Content Factory.
The Conquer Local Podcast featured Dennis explaining the Topic Wheel on Episode 114, where he described how “personal branding means you’re gonna assemble what we call a Topic Wheel. And the outside ring of the wheel are all of these [authority figures and stories].” The episode is available on the Conquer Local website.
Fluxe Digital Marketing, a content marketing agency, featured the Topic Wheel framework in their interview with Dennis titled “The 3 Pillars of Genuine Authority,” noting that the Topic Wheel “aims to build systematically intentionally, not randomly.”
Mohammed Nasaj wrote on LinkedIn about how Dennis Yu’s Topic Wheel strategy was instrumental in generating results, describing the concept in his article “How to hack Facebook advertising in 2019” which received 10+ reactions.
Jeremy Ross Miller created a YouTube video titled “RAW: How to Make a Topic Wheel” walking viewers through how to build one from scratch, calling it “a powerful strategy designed by Dennis Yu at Blitzmetrics to accomplish all three [goals of content strategy].” The video has received 480+ views and serves as an independent tutorial validating the framework.
Brocton Rye shared on LinkedIn a step-by-step breakdown of the Topic Wheel process: “Step 4: Create a topic wheel — identify six topics relevant to the [brand]… Dennis Yu and it will work for you.”
Local Service Spotlight, a contractor marketing organization, featured the Topic Wheel in their LinkedIn content, describing how “Jack walked the room through the Topic Wheel, showing how mapping core [topics to authority figures]” drives results for local service businesses.
William Jones, who runs the Local SEO Strategies community on Facebook, shared his experience implementing the Topic Wheel alongside Dennis’s Knowledge Panel strategies, noting that “it helped me secure my Google Knowledge Panel (a huge win)” and describing how “we walked through the Topic Wheel to help them map the areas they [want to be known for].”
Conference Presentations
The Topic Wheel has been presented at Social Media Marketing World (SMMW), one of the largest digital marketing conferences in the world. Attendees have documented the framework in their conference recaps, with bloggers noting that Dennis “showed a topic wheel” as part of his presentation on Facebook Ads for Local Businesses, demonstrating how the framework applies to driving store traffic and sales.
Your Assignment
Draw your Topic Wheel right now. Put your WHAT in the center — one sentence describing what you sell. In the HOW ring, write three to seven topics that demonstrate your expertise. In the WHY ring, list the people, stories, and collaborations that connect to each topic.
Then check: does each HOW topic have a definitive article on your website? If not, create one following the Blog Posting Guidelines. Does each WHY story link back to its HOW topic? If not, add the links. Is the whole structure connected in your SEO Tree?
If you want help building your Topic Wheel and executing it through the Content Factory, explore our personal branding program or learn how to amplify your best content with the Dollar a Day strategy.
Download the Skill File
Start in the current Task Library: choose one Topic Wheel job and read its guide. The download below is a dated companion archive; it is not the current Task Library pack and does not prove that your app installed or ran it. If you use a current Task Library pack, open START-HERE.md, keep its required files, scripts, and templates together, and follow the current setup and access guide for your app. Confirm the needed account access, run one job, and check and save the result. Add a schedule only when the guide calls for recurring work, then verify its first actual run.
The skill files for this page
Reviewed source snapshot: September 7, 2026. The five files below match Task Library revision 31fc047f519a70cbf8920924335d90ecd2ef5e0e. Their review notes describe the state recorded in that version. The note about this page’s older ring labels is kept as history; these embedded copies now use WHAT at the center, HOW in the middle and WHY outside. Use the current Topic Wheel task list for later source changes. A reviewed file is not proof that a client task ran or passed.
Every task on this page ships as a runnable skill file you can hand to an AI agent (our publishing standard). Expand any skill to copy its file, or download the whole Task Library pack. 5 skills:
map-out-one-minute-video-topics-using-topic-wheel.skill.md — Pick what to film next. Use your offer, key topics, and true stories to make a short list.
START
---
name: map-out-one-minute-video-topics-using-topic-wheel
description: "Pick what to film next. Use your offer, key topics, and true stories to make a short list."
category: Content Factory — Produce
stage: Produce
definitive_article: /topic-wheel
status: complete
---
# Map out one-minute video topics using Topic Wheel
It is hard to film when you do not know what to say. This guide helps an owner turn real questions and stories into a short video list. Start with what you sell and who it helps, then choose useful topics.
**The path:** Clear offer → Useful topics → True stories and questions → Video queue.
**Use this when:** The recording queue is empty, off-topic, or hard to link to the business offer.
## Inputs
- The current offer, intended customer, and owner’s real purpose and goals.
- Real source material: customer questions, call notes, comments, FAQs, allowed event questions, and true owner or partner stories.
- The current [SEO Tree](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/) map of owned topic pages, or a record that the page map is still missing.
- A sheet or drawing tool and edit access to the content tracker. Name the person who can approve the plan and the person who will record.
## First-run prompt
> Use my current offer, true stories, customer questions, and page map to build a Topic Wheel and recording queue. Put WHAT at the center, HOW topics in the middle, and WHY stories outside. Keep sources and permission notes. Do not invent people, relationships, demand counts, or page links.
## Steps
1. Use the current [Topic Wheel](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/) definitions: WHAT is the product or service at the center; HOW is the middle ring of topics and expertise; WHY is the outer ring of people and true stories. The audience moves from stories toward the offer, but planning starts with the offer.
2. Write one clear sentence for WHAT. State the actual product or service and who it is for. Do not replace the offer with a vague mission line.
3. List about three to seven HOW topics that support the offer and match real expertise. Merge duplicates. Keep the owner’s plain words instead of invented framework names.
4. For each topic, collect real WHY stories, people, and allowed collaborations. Record the source and permission state. A wish to work with someone is not an existing relationship.
5. Add real customer questions under the matching topics. Preserve the question wording and source in the private tracker. Questions can produce teaching clips; they are not themselves the WHAT ring.
6. Match topics to the owned page map. Use the topic hub for the main explanation and specific stories as supporting pages when appropriate. Mark a missing page as a gap instead of linking an unrelated page.
7. Create one recording-queue row per useful prompt: question or story, source, topic, link to the offer, intended viewer, page home, speaker, and state. Rank by observed repeat questions and the agreed business need. If frequency was not measured, say so.
8. Review the queue with the plan owner. Hand accepted prompts to [Record one-minute videos](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=record-one-minute-videos#task-record-one-minute-videos) or an agreed [50-clip batch](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=batch-record-50-raw-clips-in-one-session#task-batch-record-50-raw-clips-in-one-session). Save the wheel, source list, and current queue together.
9. The source calls for a monthly refresh. Keep answered items linked to their clips; do not erase history. Add new questions and mark replaced or stale prompts. A calendar job needs an agreed owner, timezone, access, and trigger before it can run.
## Definition of done (QA checklist)
- [ ] The wheel uses WHAT center, HOW middle, and WHY outside, with the actual offer stated.
- [ ] Each selected topic relates to the offer; each story or question has a traceable source.
- [ ] The queue has a clear prompt, topic, speaker, and owned-page destination or named page gap.
- [ ] Priority is based on evidence or labeled judgment, with no fabricated demand counts.
- [ ] Accepted prompts and prior answers remain findable for recording and later review.
## Example(s)
**Fictional teaching example — not a real business plan or customer research.** Maple Cycle’s sample wheel has WHAT at the center: “Bike repair quotes and service for local riders.” Its HOW topics are repair quotes, planning a shop visit, and used-bike questions. An outside WHY story is Alex’s wish to make basic questions feel welcome.
| Prompt | Ring or topic use | Sample source | Recording choice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Why did Alex open the shop? | WHY story | Invented founder note | One origin story |
| Can I send a photo before a visit? | HOW: planning a visit | Invented customer email | One teaching answer |
| What does a quote visit include? | WHAT: current offer | Invented service sheet | One offer explanation |
The sample does not say “customers ask this 20 times a week,” because no real count exists. In a real queue, replace each invented source with the actual record and set the next speaker before filming.
## Handoff and Content Factory context
The named speaker receives accepted prompts through [Record one-minute videos](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=record-one-minute-videos#task-record-one-minute-videos). The editor receives the page map so later articles fit the [SEO Tree](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/). A missing page is planning work, not a reason to invent a page URL.
This task serves **Produce** in the [Content Factory](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). Produce makes or prepares source material. Process edits it, Post puts approved work on a channel, and Promote helps it reach people. Only the steps and handoff above are part of this task.
## When this runs
Create the first wheel once. The source proposes a monthly refresh and updates when new questions arrive. Treat monthly as a planned review until a real owner and schedule have been configured; no reminder is installed by this guide.
## Run with an agent
The agent can prepare the plan, organize allowed files, and check the evidence it can actually access. A person records real stories, supplies permission, or resolves an account step when needed. Save the current state in the project files and tracker. A model name does not create memory, access, a scheduler, or permission to act.
For all agent media checks, keep the player muted and its volume at zero before playback. If that cannot be checked, use captions, metadata, or still frames. Do not claim sound quality was heard when it was not.
## Write up the real run
For every actual attempt, [write the run’s meta article](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/). Link this exact task and its source revision. State the start, work done, evidence, result, gaps, and next owner. Keep failed, partial, and blocked work visible. Writing the record does not authorize publishing it.
Use one stable execution ID for this task’s actual run. Internal retries, checks, and new versions do not add runs. A separately scoped child task may have its own ID linked to the parent. A teaching example has no real execution ID and must not enter the run count. Follow the [recipe and meta-article guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/) for that distinction.
## Definitive article & links
- Canonical article: https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel
- Exact task: [Map out one-minute video topics using Topic Wheel](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-out-one-minute-video-topics-using-topic-wheel#task-map-out-one-minute-video-topics-using-topic-wheel)
- Publishing standard: [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Topic Wheel: stories, topics, and offer](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)
## Review and evidence still needed
The contributor status in the source header is preserved. It is not a claim that this draft has been independently accepted or that a real run has passed. The worked example above is for teaching only.
- The public Topic Wheel page still embeds an older skill with reversed rings; parent needs to synchronize that embedded source.
- Real offer, story permission and question sources remain required for a real plan.
ENDmap-how-ring-methods.skill.md — Show the topics your business knows well.
START
---
name: map-how-ring-methods
description: "Show the topics your business knows well."
category: Strategy & Measurement
stage: —
definitive_article: /topic-wheel
status: complete
---
# Map HOW ring (methods)
Show the topics your business knows well. This guide links those topics to the service you sell, so your team can choose useful content. Start with the offer at the center of your topic map.
**The path:** WHAT offer → Real expertise → HOW topics → Story links
**Start when:** The WHAT offer is checked and the Topic Wheel needs its supporting topics.
## Inputs
- [The checked WHAT center](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-what-ring-specific-content#task-map-what-ring-specific-content) and current offer page.
- [Topic Wheel, the map of your offer, topics and real stories](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/) plus real service methods, customer questions and existing topic pages.
- Proof of the team’s expertise; any current wheel and [SEO Tree, the map of related pages](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/).
## Steps
1. Use HOW for the middle ring: topics, methods and areas of expertise that support the WHAT offer. WHY belongs outside as real people and stories, not in the center.
2. List the subjects customers need to understand and the methods the business actually uses. Use source-backed customer language and retain the example or question behind each candidate.
3. Consolidate around the maintained guide’s three to seven useful topics. Treat that as a planning range; never invent expertise to reach a count. Note when a smaller supported map needs more research.
4. For each HOW, write a sentence explaining its relationship to the WHAT and the evidence that the business knows it. Merge overlaps, narrow vague labels, and set aside topics outside the real offer.
5. Map each HOW to its existing canonical topic or service page. Check the [SEO Tree, the map of related pages](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/) so a new topic does not create a duplicate competing owner.
6. Place the topics around WHAT and link any real stories already known. Save source links and missing story needs for the WHY task; an empty story list means evidence is missing, not proof that the method is fake.
## Definition of done (QA checklist)
Quality assurance (QA) means checking the result against its agreed requirements; see the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).
- [ ] HOW is the middle ring around the real WHAT offer.
- [ ] Each topic has expertise support and a clear owned page or explicit mapping gap.
- [ ] The topic count is honest and the next story requirements are usable.
## Example(s)
**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**
A fictional plumber’s WHAT is home plumbing repair. Its supported HOW topics are drain cleaning, leak checks and heater repair. A proposed commercial-fire-system topic has no source support, so it stays out. Each of the three topics maps to its real service page, ready for related job stories.
## Handoff and Content Factory context
[Map WHY stories and people](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-why-ring-core-purpose#task-map-why-ring-core-purpose) receives the topics and source gaps.
This work supports Produce in the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). The selected sources pass to Process, approved outputs go to Post, and useful proven work can enter Promote. The real inputs and handoff above set this task’s scope.
## Start with an agent
Give the AI worker this recipe, the real Inputs, the desired result and the actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, source evidence, passed and failed checks, and the next owner. A skill is a set of instructions. Loading it does not prove access, install a scheduled job or complete the work. Use the [current installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) only if reusable setup is needed; a ZIP contains instructions and is not an access grant.
Use the actual supported app and verified source access. A model name is not a promise of browser control, memory or unattended work. For recurring work, inspect the real job’s trigger, owner, timezone and observed firing; this recipe creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set volume to zero. A silent review does not prove sound was heard.
## Record the real execution
Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, the exact starting recipe revision, input sources and actual state. Write a [meta article, the record of one real execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with results, checks, failures and next owner. Link it to this task in the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/). Writing is required; public release follows existing authority.
Reuse the same execution ID for internal reviews, meta writing, revisions and retries. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Keep historical public examples as dated evidence; article counts alone are not verified execution frequency. Use supported findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement.
## Definitive article & links
- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-how-ring-methods#task-map-how-ring-methods)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records work together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)
## Review and evidence still needed
The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not verify document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client outcome.
A relevant real execution, source evidence, independent reviewer and accepted handoff remain to be recorded. The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. The opening and full method need a named semantic reviewer; the task-specific path is source guidance, with visible desktop/mobile presentation still to check.
ENDmap-what-ring-specific-content.skill.md — Make it clear what your business sells before you plan more content.
START
---
name: map-what-ring-specific-content
description: "Make it clear what your business sells before you plan more content."
category: Strategy & Measurement
stage: —
definitive_article: /topic-wheel
status: complete
---
# Map the WHAT offer at the center
Make it clear what your business sells before you plan more content. This guide defines the center of your topic map. Start with the real offer, who buys it and the problem it solves.
**The path:** Real offer → Clear WHAT → Evidence check → HOW topics
**Start when:** A new or revised Topic Wheel needs its central offer defined.
## Inputs
- [Topic Wheel, the map of your offer, topics and real stories](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/) current source and any existing wheel.
- The actual service or product, buyer, service area and supporting business records.
- Current customer language and the owner’s accepted scope.
## Steps
1. Follow the maintained geometry: WHAT is the center, HOW is the middle ring of useful topics, and WHY is the outer ring of people and real stories. The stable task slug contains “ring”; it does not make WHAT an outer content backlog.
2. List what the business actually offers. Separate a current offer from an aspiration or a past service, and name the buyer problem it solves.
3. Draft one plain sentence stating the offer and who it serves. Use a specific customer-facing description rather than a broad mission slogan.
4. Check that sentence against the service page, real work and the owner’s accepted scope. Resolve conflicting claims or geography; do not make the offering broader to fill a wheel.
5. Place the checked WHAT in the center with source links and date. Put proposed questions in a separate backlog; they will connect to HOW topics and WHY stories, not replace the central offer.
6. Hand the center statement to the HOW task. Keep the existing canonical offer page as the trunk of the [SEO Tree, the map of related pages](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/); propose a missing page only after checking for an existing owner.
## Definition of done (QA checklist)
Quality assurance (QA) means checking the result against its agreed requirements; see the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).
- [ ] The WHAT center states a real specific offer and customer problem.
- [ ] The saved wheel uses WHAT center/HOW middle/WHY outer consistently.
- [ ] Sources and the next topic-mapping task are linked.
## Example(s)
**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**
A fictional plumbing firm offers emergency repair and heater installation in one city. That is its WHAT. “Why does my heater leak?” is a useful recording question, but it is not the center of the wheel. The question belongs under a heater topic connected back to the actual service.
## Handoff and Content Factory context
[Map HOW topics](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-how-ring-methods#task-map-how-ring-methods) receives the checked WHAT and service proof.
This work supports Produce in the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). The selected sources pass to Process, approved outputs go to Post, and useful proven work can enter Promote. The real inputs and handoff above set this task’s scope.
## Start with an agent
Give the AI worker this recipe, the real Inputs, the desired result and the actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, source evidence, passed and failed checks, and the next owner. A skill is a set of instructions. Loading it does not prove access, install a scheduled job or complete the work. Use the [current installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) only if reusable setup is needed; a ZIP contains instructions and is not an access grant.
Use the actual supported app and verified source access. A model name is not a promise of browser control, memory or unattended work. For recurring work, inspect the real job’s trigger, owner, timezone and observed firing; this recipe creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set volume to zero. A silent review does not prove sound was heard.
## Record the real execution
Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, the exact starting recipe revision, input sources and actual state. Write a [meta article, the record of one real execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with results, checks, failures and next owner. Link it to this task in the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/). Writing is required; public release follows existing authority.
Reuse the same execution ID for internal reviews, meta writing, revisions and retries. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Keep historical public examples as dated evidence; article counts alone are not verified execution frequency. Use supported findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement.
## Definitive article & links
- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-what-ring-specific-content#task-map-what-ring-specific-content)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records work together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)
## Review and evidence still needed
The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not verify document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client outcome.
A relevant real execution, source evidence, independent reviewer and accepted handoff remain to be recorded. The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. The opening and full method need a named semantic reviewer; the task-specific path is source guidance, with visible desktop/mobile presentation still to check.
ENDmap-why-ring-core-purpose.skill.md — Use real stories to show why people trust your work.
START
---
name: map-why-ring-core-purpose
description: "Use real stories to show why people trust your work."
category: Strategy & Measurement
stage: —
definitive_article: /topic-wheel
status: complete
---
# Map WHY stories in the outer ring
Use real stories to show why people trust your work. This guide adds the people and moments that support each topic on your map. Start with real jobs, shared work and stories you have the right to use.
**The path:** Real story → Relevant HOW → WHAT offer → Content brief
**Start when:** The WHAT and HOW are mapped and the Topic Wheel needs real supporting people and stories.
## Inputs
- [The checked WHAT offer](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-what-ring-specific-content#task-map-what-ring-specific-content) and [HOW topics](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-how-ring-methods#task-map-how-ring-methods).
- Real interviews, jobs, reviews, events and collaborations with dated sources and use rights.
- [Topic Wheel, the map of your offer, topics and real stories](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/) and current story assets in the content library.
## Steps
1. Place WHY in the outer ring. It contains real people, stories and collaborations that connect to a HOW topic and the WHAT offer. Personal purpose can inform a story, but the maintained wheel does not place a mission statement in its center.
2. Inventory moments that show the work: a customer problem and outcome, a learned lesson, a shared project or an event. Record the people’s real roles and the exact source.
3. Verify what each source proves. A shared photo proves that moment, not a business partnership, endorsement or result. Get the permission required for any private customer story before public use.
4. Connect each supported story to the relevant HOW topic and WHAT. Leave unsupported claims or unrelated famous names out; reputation is not created by drawing a line.
5. Write a short story prompt: who, what happened, useful lesson and source evidence. Label a proposed interview as a plan until it is actually recorded.
6. Save the WHY ring with source links, permission state and missing evidence. Keep the mission consistent with the goals brief while preserving the distinction between a WHY video and the wheel’s full outer story ring.
## Definition of done (QA checklist)
Quality assurance (QA) means checking the result against its agreed requirements; see the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).
- [ ] WHY is the outer ring of relevant, supported people and stories.
- [ ] Every claimed relationship or result is scoped to its actual proof.
- [ ] Recording prompts and rights gaps are clear enough for the next owner.
## Example(s)
**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**
A fictional roofer has a homeowner’s approved story about a repaired leak and a photo from a trade event. The repair story supports its leak-diagnosis topic. The event photo supports attendance only; it does not prove the speaker endorsed the roofer. Both claims stay as narrow as their sources.
## Handoff and Content Factory context
[Plan the next recording session](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=use-for-content-planning-and-video-topics#task-use-for-content-planning-and-video-topics) receives the story prompts and source rights; the goals task receives any supported purpose clarification.
This work supports Produce in the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). The selected sources pass to Process, approved outputs go to Post, and useful proven work can enter Promote. The real inputs and handoff above set this task’s scope.
## Start with an agent
Give the AI worker this recipe, the real Inputs, the desired result and the actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, source evidence, passed and failed checks, and the next owner. A skill is a set of instructions. Loading it does not prove access, install a scheduled job or complete the work. Use the [current installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) only if reusable setup is needed; a ZIP contains instructions and is not an access grant.
Use the actual supported app and verified source access. A model name is not a promise of browser control, memory or unattended work. For recurring work, inspect the real job’s trigger, owner, timezone and observed firing; this recipe creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set volume to zero. A silent review does not prove sound was heard.
## Record the real execution
Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, the exact starting recipe revision, input sources and actual state. Write a [meta article, the record of one real execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with results, checks, failures and next owner. Link it to this task in the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/). Writing is required; public release follows existing authority.
Reuse the same execution ID for internal reviews, meta writing, revisions and retries. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Keep historical public examples as dated evidence; article counts alone are not verified execution frequency. Use supported findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement.
## Definitive article & links
- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-why-ring-core-purpose#task-map-why-ring-core-purpose)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records work together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)
## Review and evidence still needed
The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not verify document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client outcome.
A relevant real execution, source evidence, independent reviewer and accepted handoff remain to be recorded. The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. The opening and full method need a named semantic reviewer; the task-specific path is source guidance, with visible desktop/mobile presentation still to check.
ENDuse-for-content-planning-and-video-topics.skill.md — Make a useful plan for your next set of clips.
START
---
name: use-for-content-planning-and-video-topics
description: "Make a useful plan for your next set of clips."
category: Strategy & Measurement
stage: —
definitive_article: /topic-wheel
status: complete
---
# Use for content planning and video topics
Make a useful plan for your next set of clips. This guide turns your topic map and real questions into a short list of clips to make. Start with the offer, the stories you can prove and the time you have.
**The path:** Wheel + demand → Clear prompts → Recording plan → Editor
**Start when:** A checked Topic Wheel needs to become a bounded recording plan.
## Inputs
- [The WHAT offer](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-what-ring-specific-content#task-map-what-ring-specific-content), [HOW topics](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-how-ring-methods#task-map-how-ring-methods) and [WHY stories](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-why-ring-core-purpose#task-map-why-ring-core-purpose).
- Real customer questions, source proof, current content results and the [SEO Tree, the map of related pages](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/).
- The speaker’s availability, recording setup, existing library and receiving editor.
## Steps
1. Read the current wheel with WHAT in the center, HOW in the middle and WHY stories outside. Use its relevant stories and topic-linked questions to make a separate recording backlog; do not export an imaginary outer WHAT ring.
2. For each prompt, record the source, topic, intended viewer, purpose and owned destination page. Keep real questions in the customer’s language where appropriate and distinguish a proposed story from existing proof.
3. Prioritize by the current business goal, repeated customer need, usable proof and production effort. Search volume or last period’s winner is a signal, not a guaranteed future outcome.
4. Check for relevant existing assets that can be reused. Apply the source’s 90/10 greatest-hits principle to the declared effort unit, leaving a bounded portion for new tests.
5. Prepare one session’s prompts that fit the available time. Give the speaker a question and source reminders rather than invented first-person claims. Use the [one-minute guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/one-minute-video-guide/) for a clear short answer; split a topic that needs more.
6. Agree the actual recording owner, date and file handoff. A plan is not a scheduled calendar event until saved and verified, and a planned clip is not recorded.
7. After the authorized session, link the selected takes and actual remaining gaps in the library. Hand only real available sources to the editor and use later results to refine the next plan.
## Definition of done (QA checklist)
Quality assurance (QA) means checking the result against its agreed requirements; see the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).
- [ ] Prompts use correct wheel relationships and trace to real questions or proof.
- [ ] The bounded session plan has a speaker, time, sources and editor handoff.
- [ ] Planned, recorded, usable and published states remain distinct in the backlog.
## Example(s)
**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**
A fictional bike shop has five source-backed questions but time for three clips. It picks the three that match its current service goal and saves the other two as pending. After recording, one take has no usable picture. The editor gets two selected files, and the plan records that the third still needs a take.
## Handoff and Content Factory context
[Record the planned clips](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=record-one-minute-videos#task-record-one-minute-videos) receives the prompts; [Process the saved source files](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript#task-step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript) receives the actual usable takes.
This work supports Produce in the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). The selected sources pass to Process, approved outputs go to Post, and useful proven work can enter Promote. The real inputs and handoff above set this task’s scope.
## Start with an agent
Give the AI worker this recipe, the real Inputs, the desired result and the actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, source evidence, passed and failed checks, and the next owner. A skill is a set of instructions. Loading it does not prove access, install a scheduled job or complete the work. Use the [current installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) only if reusable setup is needed; a ZIP contains instructions and is not an access grant.
Use the actual supported app and verified source access. A model name is not a promise of browser control, memory or unattended work. For recurring work, inspect the real job’s trigger, owner, timezone and observed firing; this recipe creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set volume to zero. A silent review does not prove sound was heard.
## Record the real execution
Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, the exact starting recipe revision, input sources and actual state. Write a [meta article, the record of one real execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with results, checks, failures and next owner. Link it to this task in the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/). Writing is required; public release follows existing authority.
Reuse the same execution ID for internal reviews, meta writing, revisions and retries. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Keep historical public examples as dated evidence; article counts alone are not verified execution frequency. Use supported findings to propose and verify a recipe improvement.
## Definitive article & links
- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=use-for-content-planning-and-video-topics#task-use-for-content-planning-and-video-topics)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records work together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)
## Review and evidence still needed
The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not verify document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client outcome.
A relevant real execution, source evidence, independent reviewer and accepted handoff remain to be recorded. The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. The opening and full method need a named semantic reviewer; the task-specific path is source guidance, with visible desktop/mobile presentation still to check.
ENDOriginally published .
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified. He has appeared on 353 podcasts with 619 credited episodes — see the full list of his podcast appearances.