We have the best of intentions when we start coming up with content ideas.
We are going to publish more often.
Don't change the schedule. Make sure that all of it is high quality and people want to read it.
The first couple of weeks are good.
The dashboard is on fire. You can add a post. You spend more time staring at that blank white space than you would like to admit.
You have no idea. You don't know where to look for an idea. You really, really don't want to write that post today.
It's not uncommon for people who write for a living to experience it.
They have a secret weapon tucked into their professional writer manifesto that you don't have. If you want to, you can get it today.
The process of capturing interesting thoughts is a reliable one.
Capture more ideas is the best way to get more ideas.
How to make more content.
When you capture as many creative content ideas as you can on the fly, your brain starts to make more ideas.
It is like there is a part of your brain that is responsible for coming up with ideas.
My person is very interested in ideas. The muse in the basement said that he would better start making more of them.
Some of your ideas are garbage. Not a problem. They should be captured anyway. Some of the stupid ideas will turn out to be interesting. The rest won't hurt your system.
If you want to have fun, write down 10 ideas today. Allow yourself to include the stupid ones. For a week, do that.
At the end of the week, you will have a lot of good ideas.
You will feel a shift in your productivity if you do it for a month. It is easy to capture 10 ideas a day.
Professional writers have trusted systems that allow them to catch lightning in a bottle.
There are some options.
The notebook is one of the options.
Some of us dig paper and pen.
I keep a journal to keep track of what I need to do, when I need to do it, and the resources I need to get it done. I keep a running list of ideas for all kinds of content, from lesson ideas for courses to topics for video ads.
It is a great place to draw, use colored pencils, and use a half-dozen different fountain pens.
Some people have bullet journals that are beautiful and designed to look like spreads. I have the other kind. My notebook is messy and stained with ink. A creative journal should be just like that.
A writer's notebook is like a painter's notebook. It is a place to hold ideas, develop them, capture new ones, and spark experiments. It isn't a place to hold yourself to a standard of perfectness, but if you want to practice calligraphy there, go for it.
It is helpful to have a way to find the ideas quickly again if you use a physical book. I use a special color of washi tape to mark my pages. Colored post-it flags would work well.
The second option is the index card.
Victoria Labalme is a big fan of the index card. It is portable, flexible, and can be shifted around when you are planning out your content.
She uses them to plan out presentations and talks, and I think they are well-suited to that. The ability to spread the cards out on your desk or floor works well for complex projects.
They can be used to make notes about creative content ideas. If I don't feel like carrying my notebook somewhere, I keep a few index cards tucked into a wallet or bag. It is a great way to catch fleeting ideas.
The phone app is an option.
A pocket computer can be an excellent tool for idea capture, and most of us carry one around.
An idea, reference, or resource that I will want to refer to later is one kind of idea that I tend to put into a digital format.
It is easier to capture URLs digitally than it is to write them out.
This category includes ideas for courses, series or ebook ideas, useful reference materials, and potential cornerstone content ideas that I want to explore in the future.
The bag of content ideas is the fourth option.
Digital tools make it easy to switch between devices.
It is easy for me to grab an idea on my phone, text, audio, or a quickly snapped photo, then bring it up on my laptop when I am ready to start working.
All kinds of connections, links, sparks, and tangents are included in the bag of content ideas. Like my bullet journal, it is messy and lacks formal structure.
It is easy to find things again when I need to.
The ninja version is the fifth option.
Do I recommend physical capture with ink on paper or digital capture in an app?
I think there is a lot to be gained by combining the two.
The process of making words with ink has a kind of magic. Even if it is just a rough idea capture, there is richness that comes from slowing down and thinking through the words.
Paper and pen is the most efficient way to create drawings, diagrams, and mind maps. There is no software to launch or a learning curve to master.
It is wonderful while you are writing in your first journal. Trying to find an idea in a stack of books is not pretty. I prefer to keep one journal going at a time.
For me, the answer is to have a consistent process for moving long term ideas from their first capture point to their permanent home.
You can think of it as a sanctuary for ideas. You capture them out in the wild, however it works for you in that moment, and then you move them to a digital system that allows for immediate and permanent access.
Common sense is your friend here. Your to-do list doesn't need to be permanent. The running list of post topics should be updated once a week or so.
A method for finding winning content ideas.
The challenge when selecting your next content idea to write about is rarely finding a topic; it is narrowing down which ideas you should develop and which you should discard.
The basic law of businessBlogging is reviewed.
You have to start.
The best content ideas are uncovered once you start writing. If you keep ideas in your head or wait until they are perfect, you won't get the same insights.
You still need to push yourself creatively and refine your content into the best presentation possible, just don't get too hung up on one post.
A blog post is not an encyclopedia entry.
There are many questions about content marketing that can be answered by a regularBlogging practice.
What do my audience need help with?
Why would they listen to my content?
What can I give you that you can't find elsewhere?
How much should I pay for my services?
Is there a place where I can promote my content?
They guide you to your next steps when you build relationships with your audience.
Your content ideas evolve as you write and publish.
Your competitors can not duplicate this work.
When you have a content idea, start with three steps.
If you have covered a similar topic before, review your post.
Did it work for your audience? It should be a great topic to explore more if that is the case. Do you have room for improvement in a new post?
If you haven't written about the topic before, try it out. At the very least, you will have new content on your site because there is no substitute for that writing practice.
You might post about a topic 10 times before you decide you don't want to write about it anymore.
The content experiments are part of the process of uncovering the winners.
A piece of content that attracts a new group of readers months down the line could be the exact post that you initially view as unsuccessful.
Unless the content is on your site, you will never know.
Your competitors don't have access to:
You have relationships with your audience.
The experience you get from publishing.
If you can see how your audience responds to your written content, you can use it to reach more people.
There are more chances to introduce new people to your content.
It is easy to get into the habit of saying, "I already wrote about that topic" and then searching for new ideas because you are so familiar with the topic.
You don't want to be repetitive.
After covering a topic for the first time, it is not off limits. You can make it a category that you write about frequently to make it a resource on the topic. New readers could be introduced to your site by any one of those articles.
You might have five bullet points in a post you wrote last week. Is it possible that each of those bullet points could become a single post on the internet?
New readers have a chance to discover your original article with the five bullet points, or any of the five more in-depth articles.
Search engines now have more content to serve up that lead people to your website if you pair your new content with sensibleseo. You will have more content to share on social media.
Content types help fill your editorial calendar.
We know that by regularly posting on the internet, you can help generate great content ideas.
The first three types are useful if you don't have a lot of content on your website.
1. Recurring sketches should be scheduled.
The writers of Saturday Night Live bring back a certain set of characters when the show's viewers like them.
Think ofHans and Franz or The Californians.
Since they were hits in the past, no one tunes out and thinks, "We've seen these characters before." They tune in to see the funny characters.
What types of series would you like to have?
2. Tell the next part of your story.
Your content marketing strategy is a puzzle.
That is why each one you write doesn't have to be comprehensive.
You have the chance to experiment with your own ideas and give your audience expert guidance.
Go deeper or wider.
What have you said yet?
What do readers ask you?
What have you learned since your last post?
3. Set content topics can be rearranged.
If you write a single post a week, you can decide on a topic for each week of a month and then repeat it on your website.
If you run a bakery, you can set content topics that you repeat every four weeks.
Week 1: Muffin topics.
Week 2: Croissant topics.
Week 3 topics of jam.
Cookie topics in week 4.
When you are wondering how to start writing and publishing regularly, setting these go-to topics gives you direction.
4. Older content should be promoted to your current audience.
You can promote your older, evergreen content on social media and on your website once your audience has grown.
An article you wrote five years ago is new to someone who has never read it before. If you find it connects with your current audience, you can expand on the topic in a new post.
Don't be afraid of being repetitive. Your new post will give you updated information, and even if you mention pointers before, we need reminders.
When you share your advice again, it can touch a reader in a more profound way.
5. Old headlines should be adjusted and re-posted.
A new headline might get someone to read your content.
Three months ago, Rachel Reader may have seen one of your headlines. She didn't check it out because it didn't interest her. That was a shame, because the article contained the information she wanted.
When you republish the post today, with a good headline, she will click on the article and discover your website.
If you don't feel creative, consider publishing more headlines to see if they hook new readers.
If you save your best content ideas, why don't you?
If you will, imagine this.
A woman is near the end of her life. In the winter, there is no heat in the apartment. Walking four miles each way to the food bank, carrying cans of mystery meat.
Not even a cat to keep her company because it's expensive.
She died and the neighbors found over $2 million in her mattress.
Humans hold onto what they have. Who knows how bad it will get, and we figure we can handle it.
We save up our money for later.
What does this mean for content ideas?
At some point, everyone who writes faces this. We came up with a powerful idea that we think will catch the attention of a lot of people.
This is the kind of content we need to grow our business.
We can't waste it on our 300 subscribers.
We start scheming about how we can make it a guest post on a site with a huge audience, or convince someone to link to it.
When we hit a certain number of subscribers, we write our idea down on a Post-it.
The post-it is dusty.
We never hit that number. We stuffed our best content ideas into a mattress.
We don't think our small audience is good enough for great content, so we never get a larger audience.
The muse is not nice.
Your muse is fascinating, but not very nice. She can get mean if you don't do anything with the idea.
She won't send you any more great stuff because you blew her off last time.
Your muse doesn't care if you're a liar about your job or you're trying to lose 10 pounds.
She will turn a cold, cold shoulder if you are a flake about your writing.
She has a bad temper. You need to lighten her up a little.
Sorry, if this sounds like a drag. A person who creates something out of nothing. You always thought there had to be a catch.
You have to do something with the idea that your muse sends you.
If you can, sit down and write the idea down.
If that is not an option, at least capture the idea and write down any exciting details you find. Think of a couple of good subheads.
When you can focus on how to write a good post, schedule creative time.
The ideas are not new. You should get that post written as soon as you can.
Get more value out of your ideas.
Instead of saving your best work for later, get the most out of them today with these additional content ideas.
You can create a series.
Take a few minutes to think about the original post and come up with a number of spin-off ideas.
A fascinating content series is a great traffic builder when it starts with a strong concept.
If you put a relevant, well-chosen, and relevant phrase in the title of each post, you can start getting search engine traffic.
As a free ebook, expand it.
Offer it as a bonus to subscribe to your email list.
New readers know where to find you when the URL is in the footer of the ebook.
Just format the content nicely in a PDF and you don't have to expand it.
Offer it as a guest post this week.
We get hung up on pitching guest posts to the biggest sites.
We try to figure out how to get the attention of the big guys.
Don't overlook guest posting opportunities that are closer to your website when you're just starting out.
If you have the same number of subscribers you have to two-to-three times your numbers, look for a blogs with that.
Write the post first, then figure out who to pitch it to.
If you follow guest posting best practices and give it to your guests in your topic, you can always adjust it to fit your readers.
Throwing away content ideas is the same as having them.
Sometimes you have ideas that are too far off topic or personal to share with the world.
You don't want to waste them on the project you're working on now, they're perfect for that.
Even if they never get posted, write them up. You don't have to post every great idea you have. You can't keep your best stuff.
Your reputation is built on what you are doing now.
When you have a gorgeous new design, a wise and loving mentor, and enough time to work on your true life's work, there are schemes.
Your imagination is part of your wealth, but it is a drug that will waste away the best part of your life.
Don't save your best ideas for later. You might not get any later.
If you put your best work out now, your muse will turn into a trustworthy ally.
