How to Make Content for Instagram That Actually Feels Like You
TBH, "just be yourself" isn't the best content strategy!
Here's a question I find myself asking often:
When did posting start feeling like a damn performance?
Somewhere between the content calendars, the optimal posting times, endless analytics, and the "every caption needs a hook" situation... it stopped feeling fun (and more like that job I quit so I could start freelancing)…
OK, enough trauma dumping ;)
The good news? Making Instagram content that actually feels like you isn't about finding the perfect strategy or constantly interpreting analytics. It's about making the whole process feel a little less like a board meeting… and a little more like a board game.
Here's how to do it!
Step 1: Start with an idea, not a format
Most people open Instagram, panic, and start designing something before they know what they actually want to say. That's backwards.
Before you open Canva (or anything else), ask yourself one question: what do I already have to say today?
It could be a win, a frustration, something you noticed, recent musings, something your client said, or even an opinion you've been sitting on.
That's your content! The format of that post comes after.
(If you're completely stuck, spend 10 minutes in your DMs or your comments… your audience is basically handing you your next post every time they ask a question or respond to a story. An idea bank or even a simple notes app list means you're never starting from zero.)
Step 2: Then, pick a format that grabs attention (+ write a caption that gets you found)
Nowadays on Instagram, your visual and your caption now have two completely different jobs:
Your visual grabs attention.
Your caption gets you discovered.
Instagram is increasingly working like a search engine. It reads your captions the same way Google reads a webpage.
That means leading with the words your audience is actually searching for, not "okay so..." or a string of emojis. Think "small business content ideas" or "how to post consistently on Instagram" and flow that into natural language at the top of your caption, where the algorithm weights it most.
In other news: hashtag dumping is officially dead, as Instagram has now limited hashtags to 5 per post. This means you should definitely be prioritizing keywords instead. If you can’t kick the hashtag habit, just sprinkle 2–3 relevant ones per post.
That's the caption sorted. Now the visual! Because that part still matters enormously.
You could write a thought on a plain background or inside a slot machine that spins "new client / paid early / five stars" — and one of those is going to make someone pause mid-feed. The other one isn't.
It’s not gimmicky… it's giving your idea a container that matches its energy & tells a story. The words on your graphic count too! Instagram's AI reads on-screen text the same way it reads your caption. So when you find a format that fits the way your brain works, stick with it, because consistency builds recognition faster than variety does.
Two formats worth trying if you want content that feels like you:
Scratch-off Lottery Ticket
Use it when: you want to be aspirational and self-aware at the same time.
Your 3 scratch off areas = the 3 things you're sending into the universe.
Just make it highly relatable, because that’s the kind of content that makes people laugh at their own situation (which means it is likely to get saved, shared, and tagged!)
The Bingo Card template
Use it when: you want your audience to feel seen.
For example, “Small Business Bingo” works because it's painfully, specifically true (and gives you lots of SEO real estate!)
Content that makes people laugh at their own experiences gets shared without you asking.
Both of these work because the format already has personality. All you have to do is just show up with something honest!
Step 3: Keep it simple to edit and post
The longer it takes to make something, the less likely you are to post it. That's just a fact of life, ma’am… so find ways to keep it simple:
Use templates you can edit in under five minutes.
Write captions that sound like how you actually talk, not how you think you're supposed to talk on Instagram.
Add a CTA that feels like a natural next step, not a hard sell.
If you're using audio, find something trending in the Instagram app directly rather than spending 20 minutes hunting for it elsewhere or trying to find “the perfect one.”
At the end of the day, this is just one post of many. Not all will go viral, but each one will give you data to improve your next piece of marketing content. If you wanna steal my marketing strategy, check out this post or read this post on how to get clients on Instagram.
The goal is to remove every possible reason to procrastinate. The more frictionless the process, the more consistently you show up.
Step 4: Publish it before you talk yourself out of it
Hehe! This is the step everyone skips.
They tweak the graphic one more time. They rewrite the caption. They decide it's "not quite right" and save it to drafts where it will live (or die) forever, never seen by anyone.
Post the dang thang! Add your keywords, location tag (if it's relevant), precious alt text for your image (which also helps with SEO) and a caption that ends with an actual question or a clear next step. Then close the app and go do something else and enjoy life. :)
And if you’re ahead of the game, I recommend scheduling content with Later to make your life even easier.
The accounts that grow consistently aren't the ones with the most “perfect” or polished content. They're the ones that show up with personality.
Ready to make your content creation feel like a game again?
I literally created the The Feeling Lucky Collection for this purpose!
It has five templates designed to make posting feel less like a chore and more like something you actually want to do in your free time: slot machines, lottery scratch cards, bingo, playing cards, and a board game that's basically a map of building a business.
Drop your idea in, adjust the text, and post something that sounds like you.
Already a member? These are already waiting for you in the vault. You lucky thang. 🎰
