13 Feb 11 Ways to Generate New Content Ideas
Every content creator has faced an empty editorial calendar. Filling can seem like a big undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be as challenging as you think. There are easy ways to generate ideas that will resonate with your audience.
Use these11 strategies to break free of your writer’s block and generate creative ideas that work.
Repurpose something you’ve done before. This should be at the top of every good content marketer’s list when inspiration hits a roadblock. Use the subject matter from something you have already created — like a blog post — and create a video, an infographic, or an eBook, or break a larger piece into several smaller ones.
Tap into social media conversations. Pay attention to what your audience is saying and the questions they’re asking on social media. Social channels can offer new insights into today’s pain points. If your own channels are too quiet, dive into other social media platforms within your industry and search for trending topics. Just remember, you’re not digging simply to regurgitate, you’re there to delve into why those topics matter and why your readers should pay attention. It’s all about adding your unique perspective to the conversation.
Create crowdsourced content. Send an email to your industry pals and colleagues, introducing a thought-provoking question. Then, weave their responses into your content creation process. The insights you receive might just spark inspiration for other content formats as well. It’s like tapping into a collective brain trust for a surge of fresh content ideas.
Hold a brainstorming meeting. Your team and colleagues are likely probably sitting on a treasure trove of ideas that you haven’t tapped into yet. A brief brainstorming session not only makes everyone feel like they’re part of something bigger, but it may also uncover unexpected volunteers itching to contribute. And it’s an efficient way to churn out a lot of content. Just make sure you follow brainstorming best practices and leave the door open for out-of-the-box ideas and unusual formats or suggestions.
Make a prediction. Predicting the future is a tricky business, and even the most insightful content creators strike out occasionally. But here’s the thing: being undeniably interesting and offering valuable insights, even if your predictions aren’t always spot-on, are surefire ways to spark a conversation. So don’t be afraid to take a bold stance or explore an intriguing angle. Even if your prediction takes a left turn, the buzz and discussion it generates will keep your audience coming back for more.
Talk to your salespeople. Your sales crew is on the front lines, talking with customers and prospects every day, The questions they get can turn into some of your most valuable content ideas. These are the burning issues your audience is most concerned about and the topics that influence their buying decisions. Compile a list of those FAQs and transform them into effective content. Each question that a salesperson gets can blossom into a blog post, a thought-provoking video, or even a handy how-to guide. Using their questions as a basis for content is giving your audience the information they crave, in a format they love.
Check out what your competition is doing. Looking at what your peers are producing will spur some ideas that you can spin off. It’s important to keep an eye on what they’re doing, and you might be surprised to see that it’s not as good as what you are producing. Just be sure to borrow ideas, not the content itself.
Recap an event. Craft a story that highlights key takeaways from a tradeshow or conference event or panel Quote attendees and experts, making sure to give them credit. What from the talk is getting a lot of attention on social right now? Leverage that to decide where to focus your piece.
Interview an expert. Who are the experts in your field? Email them a few questions and turn the answers into a post. Or approach it as crowd sourcing content (see #3) and ask several experts to comment on the same subject. If you’re willing to put a little more effort into it, set up an interview to dive more fully into the subject. Make sure your expert is happy with the piece and then ask them to promote on their own social channels to expand your reach.
Be newsy. Pay attention to what is trending in your industry by subscribing to blogs, monitoring social media, and visiting websites that cover news related to what you do. See if something’s going on that is worthy of commentary but keep it timely. And make sure you don’t just report the news— have an opinion on it. People can get straight news in many places. They are looking to you to add valuable perspective to it. Tell them why it’s important to them, how the news will affect them, and what they should do about it.
Ask AI for help. Use today’s technology to help you. Assign the task of generating new content ideas to your favorite generative AI platform. Use some of the information that you’ve gathered via the tips above, include details about your personas, pain points and goals, and see what AI delivers. Remember, the better your prompt, the better the response. But as always, vet everything you get. Just because AI gave you a long list of new content ideas doesn’t mean they are all good. But they can be a great starting point for the development of really solid ideas.
Try a few of these ideas to alleviate your idea drought. You’ll be creating better content from a fully stocked editorial calendar.
If you’re looking for help in crafting compelling, creative content that engages your audience and drives results, contact us today to learn more.
