Tips on Generating Content Ideas

You’re crazy busy. You feel like you’re waiting for that perfect idea to pop into your head, but your mind is drawing a blank. You don’t have time for this! So, what do you do?

Generating content ideas doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth. All you need is a process. This blog gives you a step by step tutorial on how to do just that.

So, first off, why is a process helpful?

It allows you to come up with ideas that may not be obvious. You should know the best way to generate content ideas because…

1. Your days are busy—It’s helpful to have some level of predictability

2. Uncover ideas that you may not have come up with on your own—use colleagues, friends, even the competition!

3. You will run out of good ideas—it’s inevitable. Give yourself a way to keep the creative juices flowing.

4. Keep up with increased demand—never feel content-stressed again.

So, what does this process include?

1. Gathering raw material—read, consume, and watch content from as many different places as you can. And not just marketing content! From snapchat stories to the New York Times, take it all in and keep a log of content that resonates with you.

2. Digesting the material—look for relationships, connections, and combinations.

3. Unconscious processing—let your mind organize itself.

4. Eureka moment—the best ideas come when we least expect them. Make sure to jot these down when they come.

Next, the question is HOW we actually do this.

You can either do it on your own, or with a group. Test out both to see which works best for you.

1. On your own

   1. Understand your buyer persona’s reading habits. In addition, using tools like Buzzsumo can help you know which type of content has the best social media performance.

   2. Look at what your competitors are doing. If they have a similar target market, it’s likely their type of content that has been successful will work for you as well.

   3. Research what people are asking on Quora. This will allow you to see common challenges and questions people have.

   4. Learn from your SEO efforts. Look at what keywords people are using to search you and your industry.

2. With a group

   1. Brainstorm! Have someone direct a brainstorming session with a clear agenda to ensure you don’t veer off track.

   2. Create an inviting atmosphere where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas. One way to do this is using ice-breakers like a basic word association game. For example, someone can say “football” then someone else says “Sundays” and then it snowballs from there. You might be amazed with the connections people can make.

   3. Utilize the “braindump”. This is when you sit down for a short, uninterrupted, period of time and write down all of the ideas the come to mind. The purpose of this is so you can make connections and maybe have some thoughts you never would have thought of using before.

   4. Use visual aids, especially sticky notes. This will help you group ideas together by topic and easily track themes.

Remember that your main goal, no matter your tactic, is to generate new, unexpected ideas. With these tips, you will be able to generate content ideas not only faster, but in ways you may have never even thought about before. So, there you have it. Happy creating!