We have the best intentions when we start thinking of content ideas.
We will publish more often.
Follow a set schedule. Make sure you stick to a schedule.
The first week or so are fine… then…
Your WordPress dashboard is launched. Click to add a new post. You spend more time staring at the depressing expanses of white space than you care to admit.
Out of article ideas. You don’t know what to do to overcome writer’s block, or how to find an idea. You don’t want to write this $%&# article today.
It’s a pain, but it is rare for people who write for a living.
Professional writers have a “secret weapon” that they don’t have. You can still get it today if you wish.
This “weapon”, a reliable, solid process to capture interesting thoughts as they pass your head, is called the “weapon”.
The best way to get more ideas is to capture them.
How to get more creative content ideas
You’ll notice that your brain will start to generate more creative content ideas when you capture them as quickly as possible.
It’s almost like your brain has a part that comes up with new ideas (Stephen King discusses The Muse in the Basement).
“Hmm, it seems that my person is very interested in ideas these days. “I’d better get more of them. ” – The basement muse
Some ideas you have will turn out to be complete garbage. This is not a problem. You should capture them. Some of the most stupid ideas may turn out to be the seeds for something more. The rest of the ideas won’t cause any harm if they are stored in your system.
You can get a creative boost by writing down 10 blog posts today. You are allowed to include the most ridiculous ones. For a week, do this.
You’ll be armed with a lot of good ideas, some nutty, and some gems at the end of the week.
You will notice a real shift in your creativity and how you deal with writer’s block. It’s fun and easy to capture 10 ideas per day.
Although different writers approach the task differently, almost all professional writers trust systems that allow them to catch lightning in a bottle.
These are just a few options.
Option 1: A bullet journal or notebook
Some people just love pen and paper.
To keep track of everything I need, when it is due, and what resources or tools I have, I use a hardcover bullet diary. A running list of ideas is what I use to create content for any type of topic, from blog post ideas to lesson ideas to video ads topics.
You can also use half-dozen fountain pens, which all have different colors of ink, to draw, scribble, or doodle.
Others have beautiful, Instagram-ready bullet journal designs with elaborate headers and “spreads”. I have the opposite. My notebook is messy, ink-stained, coffee-stained, and scribbled. It’s exactly what a creative journal should look like, in my opinion.
A writer’s journal is similar to a sketchbook for painters. It can be used to store ideas, develop them and capture new ones. You can even brainstorm and make notes about how you can create digital products that are related to your blog.
You shouldn’t hold yourself up to impossible standards of perfection here, but if you do want to practice calligraphy there, then go for it.
It’s useful to have a quick way to locate content ideas if you are using a book. To mark my pages of “Content Ideas”, I use washi tape in a specific color. You could also use colored post-it flags.
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Option 2: The index card
Victoria Labalme is my friend and language coach. She’s a huge advocate for the index card. It’s portable and flexible. You can also shuffle them around while you plan your content.
They are used by my wife to plan presentations and talks, which are complex and long-form content. Complex projects can be made simpler by being able to lay the cards on your desk or floor and then rearrange them again and again.
These cards can also be used to take notes on creative content ideas. If I don’t feel like carrying my notebook around, I have a few index cards in my wallet or bag. It’s a great way for me to capture fleeting ideas, no matter where I may be.
Option 3: The phone app
We all have a personal computer that we carry around. This can be a great tool to capture ideas.
One type of idea I will tend to keep in a digital format (I use Evernote but you can use any app): An idea, reference, or resource I’ll need to refer to later.
It is much easier to capture URLs (and click through them) digitally than it is to write them.
This category contains ideas for courses, lessons within courses, series or ebook ideas, helpful reference materials, and possible cornerstone content ideas I would like to explore shortly.
Option 4: A huge bag of content ideas
Digital tools make it simple to switch between devices.
Evernote makes it simple for me to quickly grab an idea from my phone in text, audio or a quick snapped photo. Then I can bring it up on my computer when I’m ready and start working.
Evernote is my “giant bag full of content ideas”, with many connections, links, and sparks. It’s like my bullet journal but with minimal structure.
It’s much easier than my bullet journal to find the things I need again, unlike my bullet notebook.
Option 5: Ninja version
Do I prefer physical capture on paper with ink or digital capture through an app?
Combining the two is a good idea, in my opinion.
Ink is magical in the process of writing words. It’s a rich experience to slow down and think through the words, even if you only have a rough idea.
Simple diagrams, mind maps, and drawings can be created with pen and paper. There is no software to learn and no learning curve.
It’s all great while you fill your first creative journal. It’s not easy to find the right idea in a pile of books. (That’s why I prefer to keep just one hardbound journal at a time.
My answer is to create a consistent, reliable process to move “long-term” ideas from their initial capture point to their permanent homes.
It can be thought of as an ideal sanctuary. The first step is to capture them in the wild. If it works for you, you then move them to a digital platform that allows them immediate and permanent access.
Here, common sense is your friend. The to-do list this week does not need to be saved in a permanent place. The blog post topics list should be updated once per week on your digital system.
This is a reliable way to consistently find great content ideas for your blog
After using the above-mentioned system, it is often difficult to find a topic. It’s more about narrowing down the ideas that you should use and discarding the rest.
Let’s now look at the basic law for business blogging.
It is not enough to start.
The best content ideas can be discovered once you begin blogging. You won’t get the same insights if you keep your ideas in your head and delay publishing posts until they are “perfect. ”
You need to continue pushing yourself creatively and refining your content to the best presentation — but don’t let one blog post get you down.
A blog post is not an entry in the encyclopedia, and it should not be.
Regular blogging can answer many of your content marketing questions.
- What do my target audiences need?
- Why would they listen to/watch my content, and why?
- What can I offer that you won’t find anywhere else?
- What price should I charge for products and services?
- Where can I promote my content?
You can build trust with your audience members and they will guide you in your next steps.
As you write and post, write and publish, write and then publish again, your content ideas will naturally evolve.
This work is not possible to duplicate by your competitors
These are the steps to follow when you have a good content idea.
- Check your blog to see whether you have covered the same topic before.
- Did your audience resonate with it? It should have been a topic worth exploring further. Do you think there is room for improvement?
- Try it out if you haven’t written about this topic before. You won’t find a substitute for the writing technique. At most, your site will have new content.
It is possible to post on a topic ten times before you stop writing about it.
All of these content experiments are not a waste. It’s all part and parcel of the process to find the winners.
A piece of content that you initially consider “unsuccessful,” could end up being the post that attracts new readers months later.
Without the content on your site, you won’t know.
Your competitors don’t have access:
- Your relationships with your audience members
- Publishing is a great way to gain experience
You can monitor how your audience reacts to your written content and then repurpose it to reach more people via podcast episodes or videos.
Increase your chances of introducing new people to your content
It’s easy to become so familiar with your blog posts that it’s easy for you to say, “I’ve written about that topic before,” and then move on to find new ideas.
You don’t want your repetitive actions to become boring.
A topic isn’t off-limits once you’ve covered the subject. To make your blog an authoritative resource on the topic, you can make it a category that you write about frequently. You might be the one who introduces people to your site through any of these articles.
In a blog post that you wrote last week, for example, you might have five bullet points. Each bullet point could be a blog post.
The five bullet points and five additional in-depth articles are then available to new readers.
Your new content will be paired with sensible SEO so search engines have more content to offer people who are interested in your site. Your website will also contain more content that readers can share via social media.
Five content types to help you fill your editorial calendar
We now know that blogging can be a great way to generate content ideas. Let’s take a look at five ways you can fill your editorial calendar.
The first three types of content are particularly helpful if you don’t have much content yet.
1. Schedule “recurring sketches. ”
Writers bring back characters that resonate with viewers in comedy series like Saturday Night Live when they are a favorite set of characters.
You can think of “Hans Franz” and “The Californians. ”
Because they were hits in the past no one tunes in thinking, “We’ve seen them before. ” Instead, they tune in and think, “We get to see these funny characters in different situations. ”
What series could you use on your blog?
2. Reveal the next chapter of your story
Each blog post is an element of your content strategy.
This is why every one of your entries doesn’t need to be as extensive as an encyclopedia entry.
There are many opportunities to experiment with new ideas and offer expert guidance to your audience.
Go wider or deeper:
- What have you not revealed yet?
- What questions do readers have?
- What have you learned from your last post?
3. Rotate through a set of content topics
Write one blog post per week. You can choose a topic to cover each week and then continue to build your content.
If you own a bakery, for example, you could set content topics you will repeat every four weeks.
- Week 1: Muffin Topics
- Week 2: Croissant topics
- Week 3: Jam topics
- Week 4: Cookie topics
These categories will likely be changed as your blog develops and readers respond to you. However, these topics give you direction when you start writing and publishing regular content.
4. Promote older content to your existing audience
After your audience has grown, you can promote older, more timeless content via social media or curated posts on the blog.
A five-year-old article is still relevant to someone who has just read it. You can expand on the topic in another post if you find it resonates with your audience.
Don’t be afraid to be repetitive. Even if you give pointers that you have already given, your new post will contain updated information.
You might be able to share advice that you have previously shared with a reader and make it more meaningful when they hear it again.
5. Optimize your old headlines for republishing
Someone who may have skipped your content previously might be interested in a new headline.
Rachel Reader might have seen one of your headlines three months ago on Twitter. She didn’t find it interesting so she decided not to check it out. It was a shame because the article had all the information she needed…
You can republish this post today with a compelling headline that Rachel likes. She’ll click on it and visit your site.
You might consider optimizing headlines that you have already published to make them more appealing to new readers if you are short on time.
How you can save your best content ideas and why you are missing out
If you’re feeling creative, imagine this:
A woman nearing the end of her days. In a fleabag apartment, without heat in winter, she is shivering. To bring home unmarked cans full of mystery meat, I walked four miles to the food bank.
Cat food is too expensive for even one cat.
One day, she dies and her neighbors discover $2.7 million in her mattress.
It is a human instinct to keep what we have. We think we can handle any discomforts that we may be experiencing right now. Who knows what it might get down the road?
We hoard and save our wealth for a mythical time in the future.
What does this all have to do with content ideas?
Everybody who learns how to be a freelancer has faced this problem at one point. We have a strong idea that we believe will attract a lot of attention.
This is the type of content that we know we need to grow our blog as well as our business.
We can’t spend it on our 300 subscribers (or 100, and 12).
We begin to think about how to make it a guest blog post on a site that has a large audience or convince an influencer to link to it.
So that we can remember to write it down when we reach a certain number of subscribers, 500, 1,000, or 10,000 — we write our brilliant idea on a Post-it note.
The Post-it becomes dusty.
That magic number has never been reached. We took our best content ideas and put them on a mattress.
We believe our small audience is not enough to produce amazing content so we don’t get more.
The muse is spiteful
Your muse can be a fascinating being, but she may not always be very kind. If she sends you an idea that is great and you don’t act on it, she might be downright mean.
Because you broke her heart last time, she won’t send you any more great stuff.
Your muse doesn’t care if your job, mortgage, or weight are all fucked up.
If you are a flake about your writing she will turn a cold, hard shoulder.
She is volatile and has a bad temper. You should be able to laugh at her sometimes.
(If you find this a drag, I am sorry. You are about to enter the world of a person who makes something from nothing. (Well, you knew there would be a catch.
You must do something when your muse gives you an incredible idea.
Write down the idea as soon as you can.
You can capture the idea or at least write down details that you find interesting. You might think of some subheads.
Schedule creative time so you can concentrate on writing a great blog post.
Ideas go stale quickly. Grab your keyboard and write that post as quickly as possible.
Your best content ideas will bring you more value
These additional content ideas will help you get the most from your best work today, rather than saving it for later.
Make a series
Spend some time mind-mapping and coming up with five to seven ideas that are based on the original post.
A captivating content series can be a huge traffic generator, especially if it starts with a strong idea.
To start generating search engine traffic, you might consider using a relevant keyword phrase in each title.
It can be expanded as a free ebook
Offer it to subscribers as a bonus.
Make sure you include the URL of your blog in the footer. This will make it easy for new readers to find you when the ebook is passed on.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to increase the content. Just format it in a PDF.
It can be a guest post…this week
Many of us get caught up in pitching guest posts for the largest sites.
It is exhausting trying to get the attention of the big men.
While all that is great, you should not overlook guest posting opportunities if your blog is small.
You should look for blogs that have at least two to three times the number of subscribers as yours.
Write the post first and then decide who to pitch it to.
It is possible to modify it to fit your blog’s readers. Just follow best practices for guest posting and then offer it to other bloggers interested in the same topic until you find the right match.
It is like throwing away content ideas.
Sometimes, you may have brilliant ideas that are too out of the ordinary or too personal for others.
Or, worse, you might find them perfect for your next project, so you don’t want to waste them on the one you are working on right now.
Even if they don’t get published, you should still write them. You don’t need to share every brilliant idea you have. You shouldn’t keep your best stuff.
Based on your actions now, you can build your reputation.
You can imagine the grandiose things you will create when you have a beautiful new design, a wise mentor, and enough time to focus on your true work.
Your greatest wealth is your imagination, but your imagination without action is a poison that will destroy the best parts of your life.
Do not save the best content ideas for later. It’s possible that you won’t get the content you want later.
Your most brilliant, sharpest work will be published now and your obstinate muse will become a trusted ally.
