Two days I spent preparing educational materials. Code, diagrams, slides. Everything was going according to plan until the second day when it hit me: nobody will pay me for this. Nobody.
So I'm paying. With my two days. My hourly rate. Missed paid projects.
For an accountant — madness. For a strategist — an investment.
I've always considered myself a strategist. And I realized: free work is either self-deception or territory grab. Strategy decides everything.
Iron rule: if they don't pay you for work — you're paying. With time, energy, missed opportunities.
Time is currency. Two days on materials = two days not on a paid project, not with family, not sleeping. The cost is real.
ROI at First Glance: Negative
I sit down, calculate:
- Time: 2 days × 8-10 hours = ~18 hours of pure time
- Opportunity cost: 18 hours × my hourly rate = a quite specific sum
- Direct income: $0
Classic content marketing story: you invest now, it pays off someday. From a short-term rationality perspective, this is a losing deal. But.
Why This Isn't Charity, But Territory Grab
In business, there's a concept of territorial capture: you occupy a niche not with money, but with presence.
Examples:
- Google gives away free services (Gmail, Docs, Drive) not because they're kind, but so you live in their ecosystem.
- Stripe writes guides for developers not to sell guides, but so you choose their payment system.
- Vercel creates Next.js so you deploy with them.
They invest in your habit. When it's time to choose a solution, you choose them. Because it's the path of least resistance.
Educational materials work the same way.
What I'm Actually Doing
When I spend two days on materials, I'm not writing "content for content's sake." I'm:
1. Capturing Mental Territory
A person read my article, watched my talk, completed my tutorial — I now exist in their worldview. Not an abstract "developer Constantin," but a specific one:
"That's the guy who wrote about FSD. Explained it clearly. Can reach out."
2. Creating a Trust Filter
PostgreSQL + Python? There's my guide. Feature-Sliced Design? I wrote about that. Next.js and self-hosting? I had an article.
When someone needs to solve a task in this area, I'm already the default option: competence confirmed in advance.
3. Transforming the Deal
If there's a comprehensive guide, there's no need to search for a contractor from scratch. They already know I understand, can explain, and do quality work.
This is a passive filter: while competitors cold call and prove competence, people come to me already convinced and ready to discuss a specific project.
Main difference from advertising: I don't say "I'm great, hire me." I show results and give value before the sale. The person has already received benefit, seen how I work, and trusts. The sale transforms from cold to warm.
How the Cycle Works
Gap between publication and money: 1 to 12 months. This isn't instant sales, but a long-playing asset that works without my participation.
Why This Works Slowly (And Why That's OK)
The problem with content marketing is delayed effect.
Wrote article → in a month someone found it → in two months this someone faced a task → in three months reached out.
From quarterly planning perspective, this is a disaster. From long-term strategy perspective — the only way not to trade time directly.
Because:
- Advertising: pay → get traffic → stop paying → traffic disappears.
- Content: do once → works for years → accumulates → creates compound effect.
An article written in 2023 still brings people in 2025. Each new article adds to previous ones. Instead of starting from zero each month, you grow the base.
ROI: Real Numbers and Case
Over the past 2 years:
- ~30 articles on personal site
- ~10 talks and materials on external platforms
- ~50-60 hours of pure time on creation
What it gave:
- 3 clients came with words "read your article about X"
- 5 project invitations through recommendations (chain: article → person remembered → recommended to colleague)
- Dozens of warm contacts — questions, collaboration proposals, interview invitations
In detail: a SaaS product owner wrote after an FSD article: "Your breakdown saved us months of architecture debates. Will you run a workshop for the team?" The workshop and subsequent project covered all 60 hours of content with a margin.
If translating to money, the first three projects fully paid back time costs. Then the compound effect starts working: reputation, recommendations, new cases.
Three Rules of "Free" Work
If you decide to invest time in content, keep three filters.
1. Is There Territory Here?
Not all free work = territory grab.
Bad:
- Endless edits for client "on trial" (they're just using you)
- Work for "thanks" without mention rights (you don't even get reputation)
- "Help out? It's quick" (no, not quick; yes, you're in the red again)
Good:
- Public content with your name
- Speaking engagement where you're the expert
- Open source project others use
Simple difference: territory is when your name stays connected to the result.
2. Does This Scale?
If you wrote an article — it works for you 24/7. If you gave a free consultation — it burned in the moment.
Good content = one-to-many.
One article → thousands of readers → dozens of leads. One talk → hundreds of viewers → recording on YouTube → works for years.
3. Can You Afford This?
If you're broke (like me in 2015, see article about conflict of interest) — content marketing isn't your story.
First — survival. Then — investments.
Beginner trap: spending last energy on "seeds" instead of closing current bills.
Content marketing works when you have runway: minimum 6 months operational reserve and ability to invest at least 20% of time without immediate return.
What This Gives Besides Money
Money isn't the only effect.
- Structuring experience. When you write, chaos turns into system. You become better as a specialist.
- Memory anchors. Content fixes completed projects. Wrote it — won't forget. See article about portfolio amnesia.
- Feedback. Comments and questions show what resonates and what doesn't. This is a free focus group.
- Internal bar. You publish — you take responsibility. This disciplines and prevents sliding into half-baked solutions.
Conclusions
1. Time is currency. If they don't pay money — you're paying with time.
2. But this can be a profitable deal. If you capture territory in people's heads and create content that works for you for years.
3. Content marketing isn't about tomorrow. It's about a year ahead. But if done regularly — the effect accumulates.
4. Three filters:
- Will your name remain? (territory)
- Will it work without you? (scale)
- Can you afford this? (runway)
5. ROI isn't only in money. Knowledge structuring, project memory, feedback, personal brand — all of this is real value.
Two days on educational materials — this isn't a waste of time.
It's an investment so that in six months people come not through cold calls, but with words: "Read your material. We need the same. How much does it cost?"
And that's when ROI becomes obvious.
P.S. This article is my territory grab. If you read to the end — your turn.
Your next step: open your calendar. Block 2 hours this Friday. Take the last complex task you solved and write a draft post following the scheme: "Problem → Wrong Path → Solution → Code/Diagram → Conclusion." Publish before the end of the week.
Not for virality. For territory. When a warm request comes in a couple months, make sure the deal paid back those 2 hours.
