How long is a piece of string?
This is the answer a guy I once worked with used to give to clients. He’d say this in response to any question that had an almost infinite number of variables.
At the time I thought he was being evasive. Dodging the question, so to speak. Now, I understand where he’s coming from (cheers, Joe!).
The question I’m answering today though isn’t a question that has an infinite number of answers. It actually only has a few. And thanks to the fact I’ve been chipping away at this marketing racket for over a decade and the rise of AI, I can give very, very specific answers.
So, here it is. The solution to the age-old problem of knowing how much content you actually need to create. But first…
Why do I need to know how much content I need to create?
Because getting this number wrong costs you (either way)!
Guess too high and you waste time and money creating an unnecessary amount of content. Guess too low and you become invisible… all the while your competitors get quoted by AI and win more business.
Nail it and well… you’re on easy street. Almost. Here’s why this matters to you specifically:
- Why do I need to know this if I’m flat out already? Because knowing the real number means you stop wasting hours on content that was never going to move the needle
- Why does it matter now and not last year? Because AI search has changed the game, yo! The old “just publish more” playbook is cooked. Throw it out
- Why should I care when the big brands out-post me anyway? Because you can’t out-publish them, but this article shows you how to out-specific them. Clever, no?
- Why is this different from every other “make more content” lecture? Because I hate lecturing. This is more of a “I’ve made all the mistakes and now you can avoid them and learn faster!” kinda article
What do I classify as a “small business”?
On paper, you’re still “small” until you’re pulling serious coin:
- Australia: Under AUD $10 million turnover a year (ATO)
- EU: Under €10 million a year
- US: Around USD $7.5 million for a service business (SBA), higher in some niches
Ten million dollarydoos. If your surf business is turning that over, mate, you don’t need my blog. You need an accountant and a power nap. So let’s use the bracket where surf brands actually live: the micro business tier.
- Australia: Under AUD $2 million a year
- EU: Under €2 million a year
- US: Roughly under USD $2 million a year
Who that actually includes
Pretty much the whole surf world:
- Surf camps and retreats
- Shapers and board builders
- Apparel, wax, fin and accessory labels
- Surf schools and coaches
- Surf therapy, travel operators, photographers
One to ten staff. Probably just you and a few seasonal legends and crusty hangers-on. Healthy but somewhat fluctuating revenue. A marketing “budget” that’s mostly your own time after the last guest checks out or the last order ships.
If that’s you, this one’s for you. And being this size is exactly what makes the approach below work in your favour.
Not all content is equal (the bit I reckon we all get wrong)
Here’s the mistake that’ll send you into a tailspin.
Treating “content” as one giant to-do.
It isn’t. A blog article, a social post and a newsletter are three different tools doing three different jobs. And when it comes to actually ranking in AI search, they’re absolutely NOT created equal.
Think of them as three team members, not three versions of the same job:
- Blog articles → get you found
- Social posts → keep you visible
- Newsletters → turn interest into revenue
So “How much content do I need?” is the wrong question until you say which kind.
Let’s take them one at a time, in the order they matter for AI search.
Blog articles: Your ticket to the pearly AI gates of guest/customer/client acquisition
This is the type people mean when they ask about AI search (even if they don’t realise it).
So this is where the “How much?” question really matters.
For your small surf biz, you don’t need a spray-and-pray approach. You need 10 to 20 genuinely useful articles per year… each answering a real question better than anyone else in your niche.
Not 200. Not two.
The number isn’t the magic. Here’s what is: when an AI assistant builds an answer, it’s not counting your posts. It’s hunting for a source that answers that exact question clearly enough to repeat with confidence. A hundred thin, samey posts give it a hundred chances to find nothing worth quoting. Fifteen sharp, lived-in articles give it fifteen easy wins.
Google’s been spruiking this for years, by the way. AI search runs on the same core ranking and quality systems as regular search.
Brilliant news if you’re small. You can’t out-publish a big brand. But you can absolutely out-specific them.
What your articles should cover
Dead simple: write out the real questions people ask you. Not a polished FAQ version. Suss ones. Weird ones. The messy, 11pm-before-they-book-or-buy ones.
- “I’m a solo female traveller… is your camp actually social or will I be sat alone at dinner?”
- “I can surf beach breaks but I’ve never touched reef. Do you make surfing over reef easy?”
- “Do I need to be fit for a surf and yoga retreat or is it fine if I’m fat?”
- “What board should I actually buy as a second board after a foamie?”
- “What happens if the swell goes flat for three days of my trip?”
Every one of those is an article. And every one is a question someone’s typing into an AI assistant right now.
Answer it clearly, honestly (in your voice… with your inputs and not too much AI help) and you’ve handed the AI something to repeat. Dodge it or bury it in sales fluff and you’re invisible for that search.
Stuck for ideas? Here’s the easiest way I’ve found to find blog topics for a surf biz.
The quality test
My rough test for whether an article is worthy of being published:
- Does it answer one specific question, fully? Not five badly. One, properly
- Could only you have written it? If a generic surf site in another country could’ve run the same words, ditch it
- Does it have an actual point of view? Google rewards unique, expert content over recycled waffle. Be slightly decisive. You don’t want to piss people off, but you should have a POV
Social posts: Great for reach but not so much for ranking
Now the type most people over-invest in.
Social feels like doing marketing and it’s for sure valuable. But damn… I have such a love-hate relationship with social media! I know it keeps you visible, shows your style and culture, gets people hooked on your vibe (if you’re doing it right).
But let’s put all our cards on the table here. Social posts don’t really get read or cited by AI assistants the way your blog does. You don’t own the platform either (RED FLAG, RED FLAG)
So the question isn’t “How much do I need to rank?”, because it basically won’t. It’s “How much keeps me visible without cutting into my family/travel/surf time?”
A sustainable rhythm beats a heroic one-off effort that you can’t sustain. I’ll say that again. Consistency beats hard and fast bursts of action.
A few posts a week you can actually keep up with does more than a daily blitz that burns you out. Social’s job is relationship and reach. Let your blog do the ranking.
Newsletters: My personal favourite for turning website lurkers into loyal frothers
The third type barely helps a stranger find you. That’s not what it’s for. BUT… I’ll go to war to prove it’s still one of the most valuable things you can do.
Your newsletter goes to people who already know you and like you. That makes it the best tool going for turning interest into actual bookings and sales.
It won’t get you discovered in an AI answer, no siree, but it converts the people your blog and social already sent your way.
How much? Again, consistency beats volume.
One genuinely good email a month that people open and enjoy will out-earn a weekly one you resent writing. The list is the asset. I’ve written about using it to run simple surveys and make smarter decisions. Treat it like the goldmine it is, baby!
So how much do you actually need?
Put the three crew members back together and the answer’s clear:
- Blog articles: 10–20 useful ones per year then a new one every month or two. Your AI-search workhorse.
- Social posts: A rhythm you can sustain forever. Reach and personality, not ranking.
- Newsletter: One good email a month to your existing crowd. Revenue, not discovery.
And that’s it, folks! Your whole plan for most small surf businesses. Not “Make more of everything”. More “Make the right type doing the right job at a pace you can keep up with”.
You can’t out-publish the big surf brands. Chasing them is how you burn out and throw in the towel. Being quotable is the whole shebang for AI search now.
Need help wrapping your head around all this?