Building an audience · Lesson 2 of 3
Content formats and channels
4 min read
Draft lesson — under editorial review
Once you know who you are serving, the next question is where and how to reach them. Every format has strengths and pitfalls, and every platform has its own rules about financial content. This lesson helps you choose a small number of channels that suit your audience and your available time.
Formats at a glance
| Format | Strengths | Pitfalls |
|---|---|---|
| Short video (vertical clips) | Reaches new people quickly; good for single ideas | Little room for nuance or risk context; tempts creators towards hype |
| Long-form video | Room to explain properly; builds deep trust; searchable | Time-consuming to produce; needs clear structure |
| Articles and blog posts | Searchable for years; easy to update; good for worked examples | Slower to grow; need consistent writing |
| Email newsletters | You own the list; direct and personal | Must follow consent and data-protection rules; needs regular sending |
| Telegram or WhatsApp communities | Close contact; fast answers; strong sense of belonging | Hard to moderate; impersonation scams; pressure to post trade calls |
| Live sessions | Real-time questions; very personal | Risk of off-the-cuff advice; mistakes are public and recorded |
Short and long-form video
Short clips work best as a doorway: one concept, explained clearly, with a pointer to a longer resource. "What is a pip, in 45 seconds" is a good short video. "How I made 300% this month" is not.
Long-form video is where you can teach properly — walking through a position-size calculation, explaining a central bank decision, or reviewing common mistakes. Structure each video around a single question and include a spoken and written risk warning.
Articles and newsletters
Written content is slower to grow but lasts. A clear article on "how to read an economic calendar" can be found through search for years. Written material also suits worked examples, which are easier to follow on a page than on screen.
A newsletter gives you a direct line to people who have chosen to hear from you. Collect addresses only with clear consent, explain what people will receive, and make unsubscribing easy.
Telegram and WhatsApp communities
Chat communities can be the most valuable and the most risky channel.
Strengths: quick answers to beginners' questions, a supportive group, and a strong connection with your audience.
Pitfalls to manage:
- Impersonators. Scammers copy group names and admin profiles and then message members privately offering "account management" or asking for deposits. Tell members repeatedly that you will never ask for money, passwords or private trades.
- Signal pressure. Members will ask "buy or sell?". Answer with education — how to analyse a setup, how to size a trade — not with calls.
- Moderation. Set written rules: no trade calls, no promotions, no sharing of personal financial details. Remove posts that break them.
Live sessions
Live streams and webinars build trust because people see you think in real time. Prepare an outline, decide in advance what you will not do (such as tell people what to trade), and repeat the risk warning at the start and end. If you show a trading platform, use a demo account and say so.
Platform rules on financial content
Most major platforms have policies covering financial products. These commonly include:
- restrictions or bans on certain financial claims, such as promises of returns;
- rules that require verification or proof of authorisation before advertising financial services, which can vary by country;
- requirements to label paid partnerships or affiliate relationships;
- limits on directing people to unregulated products.
Policies change often and differ by platform and country, so read the current rules for each channel you use, and check the requirements of your local regulator as well. Breaking platform rules can lead to removed posts or a lost account — and with it, the audience you built.
Choosing your channels
Start with one main channel and at most one supporting channel. Spreading yourself across six platforms usually means doing all of them badly.
Worked example: a five-hour weekly budget
Suppose you can spend 5 hours a week on content. An illustrative plan:
| Task | Time |
|---|---|
| One long-form video (plan, record, edit) | 3 hours |
| Three short clips cut from that video, 20 minutes each | 3 × 20 minutes = 1 hour |
| Answering questions in your community | 1 hour |
| Total | 3 + 1 + 1 = 5 hours |
This plan uses one long video as the source for several short pieces — a technique covered in the next lesson. If the long video takes longer than expected, cut a short clip rather than skipping community replies: answering questions is where trust is built.
Key takeaways
- Each format has strengths and pitfalls; short video attracts, long-form and written content teach.
- Chat communities need clear rules, active moderation and repeated warnings about impersonators.
- Live sessions build trust but require preparation and firm boundaries on advice.
- Platform rules on financial content vary and change; read them, and check your local regulator's requirements.
- Start with one main channel and plan your weekly time realistically.
Educational content only — not financial advice. Trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.