You forgot to post, don't know what to do and have no ideas whatsoever 😅 If this ever happened to
you you're going to want to stick around for this one. I'm talking how to have a never-ending flow
of great ideas for content. LET'S DO THIS! 🔥🔥 Hi my lovely people, it's Natalia and welcome
to my channel where I share super actionable ideas on content creation for entrepreneurs
and creatives! In today's video, I'm solving one of the greatest issues that creators have which is
HOW THE HECK DO I GET IDEAS FOR CONTENT. Let's be honest, I've been there, you've been there, we've
all been there where you're sitting down to plan out your posts and you blank. *Scrolling ensues*
Sound familiar? Fear not, I'm here to give you tons of ideas,
tips & tools to never run out of content topics so grab a notepad and let's dive in!
Before I kick off, one thing I need to emphasize is that in order to be super
efficient in your content marketing, it's crucial to have these three things in place:
a marketing strategy, a system for planning & scheduling content
as well as a database of ideas. Once these three are in place, you no longer scramble to create
valuable content and your marketing ventures are actually bringing results. Have a look at
this playlist which I created for you to learn all the important steps to create content effortlessly
and transform your business. 1. CREATE A DATABASE OF IDEAS
And I'm starting off with the most important one which is to start putting your ideas down!
This might seem like a no-brainer but hear me out. I rarely see
companies or creators have an actual system for gathering, retaining and reviewing ideas
for content. This is super important because nobody is always very creative
and sometimes when you have great ideas they can slip through the cracks and you're loosing these
precious thoughts. Treat your ideas as a well-organized resource rather than just
a fleeting spark of inspiration which comes and goes. Of course, the hardest thing is starting
from scratch, but once you establish a foundation, it's only going to make your work more efficient.
There are tons of ways to get your ideas sorted. You can have a notebook, a running list, a
whiteboard in the office or you can rely on apps. Trello is an obvious one, I used Asana in the past
but now we're working in Notion which I can't shut up about, it's just too good. I have a few free
templates for you to start your own ideas board so check out the link in the description box.
Once you have that system to gather ideas in place,
you'll see how effortless your content creation workflow becomes.
2. ASK YOUR AUDIENCE
This is a true gold mine of ideas! Not only can you keep a constant stream of ideas going,
but it's also a fantastic way to really serve your audience. And you know what happens when
you do that! You get authentic engagement and turn your followers into clients. There are
multiple ways in which you can check what your audience wants to see next. Utilize any of the
platforms you're focusing on in your marketing strategy or where you have the biggest engagement.
Ask questions on Facebook, Youtube, on your blog or even your newsletter.
You can get a Q&A going on Instagram Stories asking what their biggest hurdle is
and create content around that. Polls are also a great way to get ideas from them and
differentiate between the types of content they enjoy or what content they prefer. This way,
your followers feel heard and are encouraged to engage with you which in turn plays into
the algorithm as well and helps your account in general. Moreover, studies show that when
you partially participate in creating a product or service, you're more likely to enjoy it, opt
for purchasing it and actually stick with it for longer. Basically, you value it more. This is a
super interesting cognitive bias that we all have and it's called the IKEA effect - check it out!
If you don't have an audience yet, don't worry, I have a lot of other ideas for you as well so make
sure to watch till the very end. At this point, you should also get creative and ask yourself
what your potential dream audience might want to know from you. Think what you're good at, what
you can share that someone might find valuable or what things do people ask you for advice on?
3. BRAINSTORM
Before you look for ideas externally, utilize your own creativity. First of all, identify main
categories for your content. So for example, if you're a chef, you can have recipes, ingredients,
techniques, presentation, nutrition, **CATEGORIES HERE** . I mean, definitely not a chef here so
you'll know best what your core pillars of content actually are. Aim for anything from 6 to
12 categories. Make one of these YOUR STORY which consists of anything personal that relates to you,
your values, your mission, what drives you, what inspires you... Get what I'm saying? This way,
you're message is unique because there's only one YOU in the world. Make that voice heard!
Then, make yourself a cuppa coffee, get a big piece of paper and start writing down anything
that comes to mind on each of these content categories. Start with a minimum of ten each. And
at this point, don't you dare censor your creative mind. Any idea, big or small, dumb or super
smart is valuable because you never know where it drives you and what actual value you end up with.
Once you have a neat list of ideas, this is what I like to do next which takes me out of that initial
halt. Imagine a roadmap that your follower might take when consuming your content. Think of the
individual pieces of content as small and big steps that they take to get to a desired goal.
It can also be ideas that might lead them to a specific mindset. You can think of this in
so many different ways as long as it is a road leading in some direction. This way,
you can identify any missing steps and create content on these as well.
So for example, on my channel, I create videos relating to creating content. You might find that
actually a lot of my videos form a sort of path for you to take you through a successful content
creation process that delivers actual results. And this is exactly what we're aiming for.
But don't stop on just the main road and think of other smaller branches that might lead from it.
In the end, you end up with a handy tree of content that will get you going for awhile.
4. RESEARCH TRENDING TOPICS
The best way to create value and stay fresh is to mix evergreen content with trending content.
And trending subjects are an amazing way to insert yourself into popular conversations and
get discovered. There are multiple ways to check what's trending in your industry. First, you can
try Google Trends and Exploding Topics which are both free websites. Then, check some platforms for
what's hot at the moment. This can be checked on Twitter where you can switch between locations,
Linkedin which suggests trending subjects in the industry, Youtube with its Trending
Tab on different categories or Tiktok with trending hashtags and sounds. See if you can
create content on these topics but remember to be authentic and do it natively to the platform.
5. SEEK OUT SEARCHABLE CONTENT
Searchable subjects are another rich source of ideas. Similarly to asking questions to
your audience directly, you want to tap into all the questions they might be typing in
in their free time. It's actually very easy to find these and here are some tools you can use
yourself. Ubersuggest is a free keyword tool where you can find various content
ideas. Another website that I absolutely love is Answer the Public. It gives you a variety
of different phrases that people are looking for which are organized into questions, comparisons
(so versus, or phrases) and prepositions (like for, to, without). So for example, if I enter
gardening, you get questions like "why gardening is good for the environment",
"gardening where to start", "which gardening magazine", then you have "gardening with kids"
and "gardening vs gym". It's completely free to use so check it out yourself because it's amazing.
You can also look into suggestions given by Google or Youtube when you search for different subjects.
For example, I searched a few different phrases related to gardening and I can see
that people are looking for "gardening tips in june", "gardening tool sets" or "garden storage".
Try out some of the subjects you think your audience might be interested in and see what
is suggested. Watch out for the numbers though - check Ubersuggest for how many hits the phrases
have. What you want to do is create content around the topics that people are often searching for.
6. REPURPOSE CONTENT
Repurposing content is a life saving approach to content creation. Although I always advise to
focus on one or two platforms to begin with, once the company grows or when you're a professional
marketer, you need to be on multiple platforms at the same time and it can be a huge struggle to
create fresh, valuable content for all of them. That's why repurposing existing content is so
crucial. This can be done in a few different ways. First of all, if you're creating an
evergreen piece of content, say, a blog post, you can turn it into bite-sized pieces for Facebook,
share a direct quote from it on Instagram or record a video on that subject and share
it on IGTV, Youtube, Facebook etc. Think about how you can take the value from that one piece
and translate it to other platforms to provide value for the audiences there without spending
time on creating a completely new post. Make sure that it feels native to the platform.
Another great way is to refresh your old content. Have a look if anything changed
and create an update, especially if the original piece was popular.
For example, if you have a great video from 2017 on tools you loved to use
back then (by the way, are we still on about gardening?), record a new one for 2020 with
things you discovered since then. Same applies to blog posts. You can be honest and open and tell
your audience you're refreshing this subject because there are things that changed since
then. The subscribers will then feel well taken care of as you're providing up to date knowledge.
Have a look at other older popular pieces of content
and check for feedback. Were there many questions about something in particular?
Maybe you can go deeper on the topic as well or touch on some points mentioned in the comments.
I have a video coming up all about repurposing content so subscribe and hit that notification
bell to be the first one to know when this one is out. It's going to help you out a ton.
7. CREATE COMPARISON POSTS
People are always looking for what's best out there and comparing two products, services or
tools is a great way to showcase your expertise and give your opinion of which one is better.
This saves a lot of time for your audience and aids in their decision making process. Moreover,
by showing your perspective and discussing different aspects you liked or disliked,
they get an idea of how this relates to their situation. A lot of Youtubers are creating
comparison videos on cameras, lenses or mics and these are hugely popular types of content. It's a
great idea to create a This versus That video or blog post for your niche to provide some
guidance for your audience. They work really well and since it's a type of content rather
than a singular post, it can be used many times to talk about a variety of subjects.
8. CHECK SIMILAR CREATORS
Before I discuss anything here, that's not to say go ahead and rip off someone else's ideas
completely. That's a huge no no, it's 2020, we're better than this. Have some respect!
Now that that's off my chest, let's see how you can identify what's happening in your niche by
looking at similar creators. Take the time to read comments on their posts, look around at Facebook
Groups, check out forums and Linkedin. See what questions are being asked and where the interest
is going. Moreover, look at other popular creators in your industry and research why they're doing
well. Are they being authentic? Is there anything they're focusing on? How are they providing value?
This can all inspire you to create wholesome content for your audience. And remember,
everyone is different, everyone has their own unique characteristics and selling points
so focus on how to serve your audience in a similar way.
9. EXPLORE OTHER CREATORS
We're not stopping within our industry. Expand your scope and see what other creators are doing.
Analyze what gets traffic, see how this can work in your niche and do it better and more
thoroughly. Maybe there is a specific format of posts that drives a lot of engagement for these
creators. Maybe there's a cool trend within that industry and you can think of a way to
translate it to your niche. Create content using your voice, knowledge and perspective.
You can have a look across various platforms for this and apply it to another platform.
But again, remember to make it feel native to the platform you're using it for.
10. CHECK OUT OTHER SOURCES
You know what my two other favorite sources of inspiration are? Quora and Reddit.
Quora is a question and answer based website where experts and regular folks share their knowledge.
You'd be surprised how many amazing questions are posted there daily. They're usually more in depth
because you get a short description below the question and the answers are often very
insightful too. It can give you a different angle to a question you might have been asked before.
I don't think I need to introduce Reddit to anyone. It's literally an
ocean of ideas. Just go to any subreddit related to your industry and see how many questions or
interesting posts are out there. There's a ton of inspiration there all the time.
For both Quora and Reddit, go ahead and type in the subject
your audience is interested in or keywords for your niche,
and you'll be flooded by questions. These can be turned into content straight away.
11. DOCUMENT WHAT'S AROUND YOU
This is a great piece of advice from the one and only Gary Vee. Again, another person I
probably don't need to introduce but if you don't know him, check him out right now.
Gary always says to document what you're currently doing and this way you're creating content in and
of itself. And you don't need to always do amazing unique things, go out of your way to put yourself
in amazing situations which you yourself deem worthy of your viewers attention. This can be
a good thing but is not necessary. Focus on the behind the scenes and actually capture
what's currently happening. You don't know how interesting someone else might find it.
For us creators, the daily stuff around us can sometimes feel boring or uneventful.
But remember, what's obvious and prosaic for us, is not necessarily so obvious to someone else.
Document your process and journey and see how your audience responds. For example,
if you're a photographer who just painted their own backdrop, show a hyperlapse or
describe it in a blog post. It can provide some insight on the value of what you're creating and
make things even more personal between you and your audience - after all, they've just seen
the behind the scenes of how something in your studio was created and the fruit of your labor.
12. COLLABORATE
Collaborations are a great way to boost your following and put yourself out there for another
audience to discover you. As long as they're done in a supportive and authentic spirit, by working
with another creator, you can both help each other out tremendously and create interesting and fresh
content for your respective audiences. Reach out to other creators who have a similar following,
either from your niche or another industry which might go well with your brand. Direct collabs can
be one way of approaching content creation, but you can also do roundups. If you get in
touch with other experts to accumulate their knowledge on a single subject, you provide a
lot of value for your audience and help enforce the expert status of these creators. This can be
in the form of their opinions, favorite tools, trend predictions, strategies and so much more.
13. CONDUCT INTERVIEWS
Interviewing someone is also a great way to create content. This is such
a well-established format for podcasts, but think of ways to translate it into
other platforms. You don't need to be a podcaster after all to have a meaningful conversation.
It can be done in a written form like a classic blog post or
an actual livestream. Asking questions not only gives a fresh perspective and therefore
value on a particular subject you're discussing but for you, it can stimulate other ideas for
content to create later on. Remember to save your notes to your ideas board ;)
14. USE YOUR SENSES
When we're creating content, we can often go into our little hole and ideate all day long,
forgetting that there is a lot of inspiration where you least expect it. That's why one of
my favorite ways of getting my creative juices flowing is to actually explore with my senses.
Our creativity comes from the prefrontal cortex, a part of our brain related to
personality expression, memory, decision making and other very important cognitive functions.
This part of the brain can get stimulated by physical activity. This can be exercise, dance,
yoga or even a simple brisk walk. Taking action can lead to a ton of great ideas coming your way.
Go for a walk on your own and allow yourself to think and let your imagination float. You can have
someone join you later because having stimulating conversations again can be a great source of
ideas, too. Nothing like bouncing your thoughts off of someone else to get a fresh perspective.
Look around you for inspiration in your environment - colors that catch your attention,
patterns, things like that. You might see a billboard on your way which has something
interesting to it. Think, feel, see and take action. You'll thank me later.
15. SHARE LIFE LESSONS
All of us have a very unique perspective not only because how our brains work but also how
we were brought up and what experiences we had in our lives. I really encourage you to share
that part of your story and see it blossom into beautiful pieces of content. Is there anything
from your past that taught you a valuable lesson? Is there something on your mind?
Go ahead and create around it. This makes you relatable as a human being. I truly believe that
if we show up as our gorgeous, authentic selves with integrity, we can create beautiful
spaces to share our ideas and experiences with others. And that's very important.
There are so many other ways in which you can source ideas for content. Think reviews,
your own data, opinions, what works, controversial statements. Take action yourself, experiment,
test things out and share it or take a challenge. Heck, you can play around and try predicting
the future of what's to come for your niche. And remember, if you have an idea, implement it soon,
because that's always the best way to test it out and see if it works for your audience.
I'd love to hear how you get your ideas for content so leave a comment below - let's help each
other out. Make sure to check out THIS playlist for more actionable tips on content creation,
leave a thumbs up if you enjoyed this video and subscribe to my channel for more
wholesome content. Thank you so much and I'll see you next time!