I was doing a bit of a deep dive back into my archives recently—seven years of content, videos, articles, and resources—and something really stood out to me.

I've spent a lot of time talking about the tactical elements of content marketing. The individual tools. The how-tos. The templates. 

But I haven't spent as much time talking about strategy at a high level—how it all fits together, and most importantly, what benefits content marketing should really provide for your business.

So let's fix that.

In this guide, I'm going to walk you through what I see as the content marketing flywheel for coworking spaces. 

This is the framework we use at Talemaker to help operators, expanding businesses, and service providers build content ecosystems that don't just attract members—they retain them and turn them into brand ambassadors who help you grow.

Fair warning: this is comprehensive. 

I'm going to:

• Break down the entire flywheel (three phases = three ways content marketing can grow your business)
• Explain the forces of leverage you can apply at each phase to get the flywheel spinning and keep it spinning
• Give you a (hypothetical) 12-month calendar so you can see exactly what this might look like in practice

But here's the thing: this is a blue-sky model.

It's what your content marketing ecosystem might look like if you could do everything. 

That said, this whole concept can be scaled down to meet your bandwidth, your needs, and the resources you have available. Think of it as the north star, not the only way.

Note: every element of this flywheel would be tailored to your exact business and mapped out in a strategy. So, any examples in here are just that: examples. 

Let's dive in.

Why a flywheel instead of a funnel?

If you've spent any time in marketing, you've probably seen the traditional marketing funnel. It typically focuses on awareness, consideration, conversion—and then it just kind of... spits customers out at the bottom.

There are iterations that include loyalty and advocacy. But in my experience, those elements are often afterthoughts.

And here's the problem with that approach for coworking spaces: your members are your business model.

Unlike a SaaS company or an e-commerce brand, where the transaction is largely finished after the sale, coworking is inherently reliant on ongoing relationships. 

Your members' experience, their satisfaction, their willingness to stay and refer others—that's not a nice-to-have. It's the ballgame.

So instead of a funnel that ends at conversion, I prefer a flywheel that keeps spinning.

The flywheel has three phases:

1. Attract: Build your brand, bring in new leads, and convert new members
2. Retain: Engage your community, reduce churn, and optimize the member experience
3. Activate: Turn satisfied members into brand ambassadors who help you attract more members

And then the cycle continues. 

You're attracting new members while retaining existing ones and activating them to help you grow. The flywheel keeps spinning, building momentum over time.

That's the model. Now let's break down what you actually do in each phase.

Before we get into it: Two key concepts

Before I walk you through the flywheel, I need to clarify two things that'll come up a lot in this guide. 

I’ll be honest: I stole these concepts from my friend and mentor Kevin Whelan, and they're incredibly useful for understanding how to structure your content marketing efforts.

Projects vs. processes

Projects are activities that happen periodically throughout the year—quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. They're not ongoing month-over-month tasks. Think of them as the foundation-building work you do to set up systems, capture assets, or optimize your infrastructure.

Examples: conducting a video shoot, updating your website, building out email automations, and developing a referral program.

Processes are the ongoing, recurring activities that happen month over month. These are your standard operating procedures—the content outputs and marketing activities that keep your flywheel spinning consistently.

Examples: publishing blog posts, posting on social media, sending email newsletters, tracking KPIs.

Throughout this guide, I'll break down both projects and processes for each phase of the flywheel so you can see what you'd do once (or a few times a year) versus what you'd do every single month.

Content tools

The other thing to understand is your content toolkit. These are the channels and formats you'll use to execute your strategy across all three phases of the flywheel.

Here's what's in the optimal  toolkit:

Video + Photography:

• Essential across everything—your website, blog, social media, email
• The better your videography and photography, the better your content will perform
• Includes capturing your locations, interviewing members, and documenting the vibe of your space

Blog

• Written content amplified by video and photography
• Mix of organic community content (member spotlights, local round-ups) and SEO-focused content (keywords, search traffic)

Social Media

• Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok (depending on your audience)
• Not all will apply to every business—choose based on where your ideal members spend time

Email Marketing

• If I had to choose one content marketing tool to use, this would be it
• Includes broadcast emails, newsletters, and automated sequences (by the way, here are four automations to try, plus templates)
• Learn more about email marketing best practices

Digital PR

• Guest articles on relevant industry sites
• Traditional media pitches (when you have newsworthy updates)
• Increasingly important for AI search optimization—how your brand is mentioned across the web impacts how AI presents your business to searchers

By the way, after a decade in PR agencies, I never thought I’d be saying that, but alas. Here we are.

Owned Resources

• YouTube channels and podcasts
• These are advanced, heavy-lift content tools, but incredibly valuable if you have the bandwidth

Now that we've covered those foundational concepts, let's get into the flywheel.

Phase 1: Attract

Goal: Build your brand, bring in new leads, and convert new members.

The Attract phase is all about visibility, credibility, and conversion. You want people to discover your coworking space, understand what makes it special, and ultimately decide to book a tour or sign up for a membership.

Just like the traditional marketing funnel, you'll want to think about content across three stages:

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): Generate awareness and educate people about coworking
• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Help prospects consider your space and understand why it's right for them
• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Drive conversion with targeted, product-focused content

Let's break down the processes and projects you'll use to make this happen.

Processes in the Attract phase

These are the recurring content activities that keep your brand visible and bring new leads into your ecosystem month after month.

Blog content

Your blog is a workhorse. It drives SEO traffic, builds authority, and gives you material to share across every other channel.

Here's a very generalized way to think about your blog content across the funnel:

Top of Funnel (TOFU):

• SEO-focused content that answers common questions (e.g., "What is coworking?" "Benefits of flexible office space")
• Content rooted in the 4Es (educate, engage, entertain, empower)
• Helpful content that positions your services naturally without being salesy
• Local guides and community round-ups (e.g., "Best coffee shops near [your location]")

Middle of Funnel (MOFU):

• Deep dives into how coworking works, who it's for, and who else works in your space
• Localized content that shows off your neighborhood and community
• FAQ content that addresses common objections or questions
• Content that communicates your brand, values, and culture
• Member spotlights that showcase the types of people who thrive in your space

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU):

• Comparison posts (e.g., "Coworking vs. coffee shops vs. home offices")
• Case studies showing real results from real members
• Product breakdowns (e.g., "What's included in a dedicated desk membership?")
• ROI calculators or cost comparison guides

Recommended output: 4 articles per month (mix of TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU)

Social media

Social media is where you build your brand, show the vibe, and create FOMO. It's also a powerful vessel for distributing your blog content and engaging your community in real time.

Top of Funnel (TOFU):

• Local and trending posts that tie your space to your community
• Culture and relatable content that resonates with your target audience
• Behind-the-scenes posts that humanize your brand

Middle of Funnel (MOFU):

• Member spotlights and testimonials
• Community stories and event recaps
• Content that shows what it's like to be part of your space

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU):

• Direct offers and calls-to-action (e.g., "Book a tour," "Limited offices available")
• Posts explaining what comes with different membership types
• Case studies or success stories

Important note: On-the-fly content capturing is absolutely necessary here. Part of what sells a coworking space is how lively it is—the programming, the people, the interactions, the vibe. You need to be documenting that in real time.

This is where shot lists come in (more on that in the Projects section), but the point is: your community managers or marketing team need to know what photo and video assets to capture on a weekly or monthly basis.

Recommended output: 12 social media posts per month (mix of TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU)

Learn more about creating content that drives engagement.

Email marketing

Email is where you nurture leads, stay top of mind, and drive conversions. It's also one of the most underutilized tools in coworking marketing.

Top of Funnel (TOFU):

• Public event invitations (even if people aren't members yet, invite them to open-to-public events)
• Repurposing TOFU blog content in your external newsletter
• Email distribution of blog articles to your prospect list

Middle of Funnel (MOFU):

• Repurposing MOFU blog content (case studies, member stories, community features)
• Sharing event recaps and community updates
• Content that builds affinity and shows what it's like to be part of your space

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU):

• Repurposing BOFU blog content (comparison posts, ROI guides, pricing info)
• Special offers and limited-time promotions
• Tour and trial calls-to-action (e.g., "Book a free day pass")
• Updates about new membership availability or office openings sent to interested parties

Recommended output: 4 broadcast emails per month (mix of TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU), plus 1 external newsletter

Learn more about how to segment your email list and 14 ways to get better click-through rates.

Evaluation

This isn't sexy, but it's critical. Every month, you need to be asking:

• What's working?
• What's not?
• How do we tweak and improve?
• What do the numbers tell us?

Set up a system for monthly reporting and KPI tracking. This feedback loop is what helps you optimize over time and make sure your flywheel is actually gaining momentum.

Projects in the Attract phase

These are the foundation-building activities that set you up for success. They happen quarterly, semi-annually, or annually—not every month.

Develop shot lists

Your on-site team (usually community managers) needs a clear list of photo and video assets to capture on the fly each week or month. Without this, you're leaving content creation to chance.

A good shot list might include:

• 5 photos of people working and interacting
• 3 photos of events
• 2 videos of community moments
• 1 testimonial-style quote from a member

The goal is to create consistency and make sure you're always capturing the content you need to fuel your blog, social, and email channels.

Recommended cadence: Semi-annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Videography + photography

This is a bigger lift, but it's so, so (so, so) important. Conducting an annual video and photo shoot generates a massive library of assets you can use across your entire content ecosystem.

What to capture:

• Space photos and videos for your website and productized services (if you're a multi-location operator, this is especially important for consistency)
• Member interviews to use on your blog and social media
• Video testimonials that you can leverage in your Activate phase (more on that later)

The beauty of doing this once a year is that you create a stockpile of content that can fuel your processes for months.

Recommended cadence: Annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Digital PR

As I mentioned earlier, AI search is changing how people discover businesses. The more your brand is mentioned across the web—in guest articles, in media coverage, in user-generated content—the more favorably AI will present you to searchers.

Digital PR projects might include:

• Pitching guest blog posts to relevant industry sites
• Sharing newsworthy updates with media (as they happen)

This is a bit of a stretch for some operators, but it's becoming increasingly important for long-term visibility.

Recommended cadence: Semi-annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Website updates and admin housekeeping

Your website is your home base. Make sure it's working properly.

This includes:

• Ensuring all forms are functioning correctly
• Adding or optimizing product pages as needed (e.g., new membership types, new office availability)
• Adding new testimonials captured from your Activate phase
• Updating FAQs based on common questions

Recommended cadence: Quarterly (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Gated content

If you've built up an archive of valuable resources—guides, local recommendations, checklists—you can bundle them as gated content to capture new leads.

Examples:

• "Everything You Need to Know About Coworking" (downloadable PDF)
• "The Ultimate Guide to [Your City] for Remote Workers"
• "How to Choose the Right Coworking Space for Your Business"

Put these behind an email capture form, and you've got a new lead generation tool.

Recommended cadence: Semi-annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Email marketing updates

Your email marketing infrastructure needs periodic maintenance and optimization.

This includes:

• Adding, removing, or optimizing automations and drip campaigns
• Managing email list health (removing bounces, inactive contacts, spam reports)
• Reviewing and improving segmentation and tagging

Recommended cadence: Quarterly (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

List-building optimization

Make sure you're capturing every opportunity to grow your email list.

This includes:

• Optimizing list-building opportunities (e.g., ensuring people who sign onto your WiFi are captured in your CRM)
• Reviewing all touchpoints where prospects interact with your business
• Ensuring proper integrations between your CRM, website forms, and other lead capture tools

Recommended cadence: Annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Sales assets

Your sales team (or whoever handles tours and inquiries) needs content to support the sales process.

You can repurpose existing blog content and create net-new sales materials:

• One-pagers about membership types
• ROI calculators
• Comparison guides
• Case studies
• Testimonial collections

These can be sent post-tour or used during follow-up conversations to answer common questions and nudge prospects toward conversion.

Recommended cadence: Develop or refresh as needed (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Phase 2: Retain

Goal: Engage your community, reduce churn, and optimize the member experience.

Here's where the flywheel really starts to differentiate itself from the traditional funnel.

Most marketing strategies stop after conversion. You brought the member in, they signed up, job done. But in coworking, retention is everything. Your business model depends on members staying, renewing, and feeling like they're part of something.

So the Retain phase is all about using content to keep your members engaged, make them feel valued, and reduce churn.

Processes in the Retain phase

These are the ongoing activities that keep your members engaged, informed, and connected to your space and community.

Member communications

Your members need to feel connected to your space—not just physically, but emotionally and informationally.

This includes:

• Monthly member newsletters with curated content, community updates, and resources they'll actually find valuable
• Event updates (what's happening this month, what they can participate in)
• Housekeeping emails (office closures, building updates, policy changes)

The goal here is to keep people informed, engaged, and feeling like they're part of a community—not just renting a desk.

Recommended output: 1 internal newsletter per month, plus event updates and housekeeping communications as needed

Social connection + community building

Content isn't just for attracting new members. It's also for celebrating your existing members and making them feel seen.

This includes:

• Celebrating members' wins (promotions, product launches, business milestones)
• Event recaps (show the energy, the connections, the fun)
• Welcome posts (introduce new members to the community)
• Member features and spotlights on your blog or social media

You can also create a Slack channel (or similar platform) where you pump in engaging content and give members a forum to connect with one another. The more connected they feel to each other, the harder it is to leave.

Learn more about creating effective member spotlights.

Recommended output: Ongoing as part of your social and blog content

Operations feedback loop

This one's a little different, but it's incredibly valuable.

Every month, review the data you've collected from engagement surveys (more on those in the Projects section):

• What are members loving? 
• What could use work? 
• What are they asking for?

Use that feedback to optimize your operations. Show your members that their voices matter and that you're actively working to improve their experience.

This isn't just good for retention—it's good for your business.

Recommended output: Monthly review and action on feedback

Proactive event-driven outreach

If you really want to go the extra mile, make it a process to recognize milestones in your members' lives and businesses.

This could include:

• Congratulating someone on a business anniversary
• Sending a note when they hit a milestone (e.g., their company raised funding)
• Recognizing personal moments (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)

The more data you have about your members in your CRM, the more you can personalize these touchpoints. And trust me—people remember when you make them feel seen.

Recommended output: Ongoing, ideally managed through your CRM

Projects in the Retain phase

These are the foundational systems you build to support member retention, engagement, and satisfaction over time.

Internal email flows

Automated email sequences can take a huge load off your community team while still providing a high-touch member experience.

Here are the key internal email flows you should set up:

Onboarding Sequences and Welcome Emails

• A series of emails that welcome new members, introduce them to the space, and help them get oriented
• This takes the pressure off your community managers and ensures every member gets the same high-quality onboarding experience

Engagement Surveys

• Send these quarterly (30, 60, 90 days after someone joins, and then regularly thereafter)
• Ask what they love, what could improve, and how their experience is going
• Use this data in your operations feedback loop

Renewal Nudges

• If someone's renewal date is coming up, automate an email reminder
• Make it easy for them to renew and reduce the friction

Exit Surveys

• If someone cancels, send an automated email asking why
• This feedback is gold—it helps you understand why people leave and what you can do to reduce churn in the future

Win-Back Sequences

• If someone left on good terms, you can create a win-back sequence to re-engage them later
• Example: "We'd love to have you back—here's what's new at [Your Space]"

Learn more about email automations for coworking spaces.

Recommended cadence: Set up initially, then review and optimize semi-annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Member resources

Make it as easy as possible for members to use your space. Create resources they can refer to whenever they need help.

This might include:

• How-to guides (e.g., how to use the printer, how to book meeting rooms, how to access the WiFi)
• Member portal content
• FAQs

These resources reduce friction, improve the member experience, and free up your community team from answering the same questions over and over.

Recommended cadence: Develop initially, then update annually (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Event-driven automations

These are the little touches that make members feel special.

Set up automated emails for:

• Birthdays ("Happy birthday from the [Your Space] team!")
• Sign-up anniversaries ("Congrats on one year with us!")
• Seasonal wishes (holidays, end-of-year messages, etc.)

The more data you collect about your members, the more you can customize these communications. And the more personalized they are, the more impact they have.

Recommended cadence: Set up initially, then refine semi-annually as you collect more data (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Phase 3: Activate

Goal: Turn satisfied members into brand ambassadors who help you attract more members.

This is where the flywheel really starts to build momentum.

If you've done a good job in the Attract phase, you've brought in quality members. If you've done a good job in the Retain phase, they're happy, engaged, and feel like they're part of something special.

Now it's time to activate them—to turn them into advocates who spread the word about your space, refer new members, and amplify your brand.

Processes in the Activate phase

These are the ongoing activities that turn your satisfied members into active promoters of your brand.

Community marketing

Community marketing is all about leveraging the people and businesses you feature in your content to expand your reach. Cat Johnson talks about this a lot, and I couldn’t agree more.

Here's how it works:

Cross-Tagging

• When you feature local businesses in blog posts or social content, tag them
• When you spotlight members, tag them on social
• This increases the likelihood that they'll engage with your content and share it with their own networks

Shareability

• Follow up with featured members and businesses and ask them to share your content
• The more they share, the more you get in front of net-new audiences
• This is exponential exposure at zero cost

Learn more about 6 essential ways to distribute your content.

Recommended output: Ongoing as part of your content publishing process

Sharing testimonials in content

Don't be shy about showcasing testimonials and member success stories across your blog, social media, email, and website.

Testimonials aren't just for attracting new members—they also reinforce to your existing members that they made the right choice. It's social proof that works both ways.

Recommended output: Incorporate testimonials into your regular content calendar

Projects in the Activate Phase

These are the systems and programs you build to systematically encourage referrals, testimonials, and word-of-mouth growth.

Develop and manage a referral incentive program

Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool you have. But you need to actively encourage it.

Set up a referral program that:

• Incentivizes members to refer friends, colleagues, and other businesses
• Makes it easy for members to refer (simple process, clear benefits)
• Tracks referrals so you can reward members who send business your way

And here's the key: make sure you have a way to capture whether a lead came from a referral. 

Add a "How did you hear about us?" field to your tour booking form or inquiry form.

Recommended cadence: Set up initially, then promote and optimize ongoing. Review and refine as needed (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Automated testimonial and Google Business Profile solicitation emails

Don't wait until someone's about to leave to ask for a review. Build it into your member journey.

Set up automated emails that:

• Go out 90 days after someone joins (when they're settled in and likely happy)
• Ask for a Google Business Profile review with a direct link
• Request a short testimonial you can use on your website and in marketing materials

This puts your marketing on autopilot and ensures you're consistently collecting social proof.

Learn more about email marketing automations.

Recommended cadence: Set up initially (annually), then review and optimize as needed (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Event-driven automations

Anytime someone books a meeting room, hosts an event at your space, or uses a premium service, follow up with an automated email asking for feedback or a testimonial.

This serves two purposes:

1. You collect valuable feedback about their experience
2. You capture testimonials and reviews while the experience is still fresh

Recommended cadence: Set up initially, then optimize as needed (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Lead flow review and optimization

Periodically review how leads are flowing through your ecosystem and look for opportunities to optimize.

This includes:

• Analyzing where leads are coming from
• Identifying drop-off points in your conversion process
• Testing new lead capture methods
• Ensuring all integrations are working properly

Recommended cadence: Annually or as new elements are added to your marketing ecosystem (these are hypothetical recommendations and would need to be tailored based on your specific strategy)

Putting it all together: Your 12-month content calendar

I know this is a lot to wrap your head around. It can be hard to distinguish what projects you'd do when and what your ongoing monthly processes would be.

So here's a full 12-month calendar that shows exactly what this looks like in practice. This is what we'd recommend for a well-resourced coworking operator or multi-location business that wants to run a comprehensive content marketing flywheel.

Again—this is blue-sky, very genralized, and would need to be defined by your strategy, bandwidth, and resources. 

December

Projects:

• Video + photo shoot
• Shot list development

Processes:

• 4 articles (mix of SEO and community content)
• 12 social media posts
• 4 broadcast emails
• 1 internal newsletter
• 1 external newsletter
• Proactive event-based communications
• Ongoing shareability and community marketing
• Review data from surveys
• KPI tracking and evaluation

All automated processes are running in the background

January

Projects:

• Website updates
• Email process updates

Processes:

• 4 articles
• 12 social media posts
• 4 broadcast emails
• 1 internal newsletter
• 1 external newsletter
• Proactive event-based communications
• Ongoing shareability and community marketing
• Review data from surveys
• KPI tracking and evaluation

All automated processesare  running in the background

February

Projects:

• Digital PR push
• Event-driven automations review

Processes:

• 4 articles
• 12 social media posts
• 4 broadcast emails
• 1 internal newsletter
• 1 external newsletter
• Proactive event-based communications
• Ongoing shareability and community marketing
• Review data from surveys
• KPI tracking and evaluation

All automated processes are running in the background

March

Projects:

• Gated content development
• Sales asset refinement

Processes:

• 4 articles
• 12 social media posts
• 4 broadcast emails
• 1 internal newsletter
• 1 external newsletter
• Proactive event-based communications
• Ongoing shareability and community marketing
• Review data from surveys
• KPI tracking and evaluation

All automated processes are running in the background

April

Projects:

• Website updates
• Email process updates

Processes:

• 4 articles
• 12 social media posts
• 4 broadcast emails
• 1 internal newsletter
• 1 external newsletter
• Proactive event-based communications
• Ongoing shareability and community marketing
• Review data from surveys
• KPI tracking and evaluation

All automated processes are running in the background.

What should you take away from all of this? 

While this might look like a massive undertaking—and yes, there's a lot to it—what it really distills down to is this:

• 1-2 projects per month to maintain and optimize your infrastructure
• Plus ongoing processes (content outputs, community engagement, evaluation) that you execute based on your strategy

And the beauty of this flywheel model is that the more you do it, the easier it gets. Your automations run in the background. Your content library grows. Your community does more of the marketing for you.

The flywheel builds momentum.

What this really means for your business

Content marketing isn't just about publishing blog posts or posting on social media. It's about creating an ecosystem—a system that attracts the right people, keeps them engaged and satisfied, and turns them into advocates who help you grow.

And it's not just about new member acquisition. It's about retention, which directly impacts your bottom line. It's about activation, which amplifies your reach without increasing your marketing budget.

That's the power of the flywheel.

So whether you're a single-location operator just getting started, a multi-location business looking to systematize your marketing, or a service provider trying to reach more coworking operators—this framework can work for you.

You just need to adapt it to your bandwidth, your resources, and your goals.

If you're interested in learning more about specific elements of this flywheel, check out our full archive of resources on the blog.

And if you want help building out a content marketing strategy tailored to your coworking business, book a free discovery call. We'd love to chat.

If you want to start adding forces of leverage to your flywheel, check out our courses, Blog Writing Basics for Coworking Spaces and The Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Coworking Spaces.

Thanks for sticking with me through this guide. I hope you found it valuable—and more importantly, actionable.

Now go build that flywheel.

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