How do you source new content ideas? Let’s say you are planning on creating and releasing a video series for an email drip campaign or challenge. You know what your call to action (CTA) is “subscribe here” or “join the challenge”. The challenge is to now create multiple content pieces that can all drive readers, viewers and followers to your one call to action without repeating yourself a million times!
Coming Up With Ideas for Content
Creating a comprehensive content marketing campaign that won’t bore is our goal! But I think we have all had the experience of the social media equivalent of staring at a blank sheet of paper. It is usually easy to come up with one or two ideas and then I find myself asking:
- What should I write about?
- How can I keep from repeating myself?
- I can’t think of ONE MORE POST!
Staring at a blank screen with questions going through my mind is not my idea of fun…and it takes up WAY too much time in the day. That is why I came up with this content generation system that can turn any one call to action into literally thousands of content ideas.
Content Generation Machine!
Having a system for creative content generation is the key to creating solid social media posts, web content ideas, and blog content that really engage and are evergreen (stand up to the test of time).
In order to successfully capture your audience when you have the same call to action you will need to have a variety of content ideas. Coming up with all those content ideas can be daunting, but brainstorming ideas can help it be less overwhelming.
How Do You Come Up With Good Content?
Let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to start when it comes to blog and social posting. A content idea is anything from a topic for a blog post to an idea for a picture on Instagram.
Creative content ideas aren’t limited to topics you can write, shoot a video or post on social media. I really look at them as freedom to create. When you aren’t limited by one specific topic related to your call to action, a world of brainstorming opens up!
Sourcing Good Content Ideas
My content generation system is super simple and is the secret to building unique marketing campaigns. Even if all those marketing campaigns end with the same call to action. There are three sources for related content topics that can get you started posting things that can connect with other people:
Content Source 1: Pre-Training
So often this content source is overlooked! And it is one of the best and most natural for a call to action.
An example would be that you are about to run a 12-day weight loss challenge and your content marketing goal is to sign up new challengers. Instead of dancing around what to expect in the challenge and the challenge benefits for the only source of content, think about pre-training. What does your new challenger need to know first to be successful in the challenge? Creating social media posts and blog posts around that can be interesting to your target client while making it easy for you to naturally say the next step is to join the challenge.
By educating your audience on what they need to be successful, you are putting yourself in a position of mentorship where it is logical for them to take the next step. Often this pre-training is mindset. By addressing their wrong ideas and objections, you can reset their thinking on the subject and help them be more successful due to the training. That is a win-win.
Content Source 2: Related Topics
Let’s say that you have your plan outlined. It may be a product, or it may be a service. While tackling the main subject might be the most obvious, often you will be doing that in whatever you are sending them to: your newsletter or your challenge. That is where related topics are a really good source of content marketing ideas. Let’s take the example of a series of newsletters you will be sending on the topic of: Three Ways to a Cleaner House.
You don’t want to give away your top 3 tips in your content! There would be no reason for someone to sign up for the newsletter. That is where it is best to look at related topics and creating social media posts and website content that aligns with that. Some ideas might be:
- Pick-up zones
- Organizing and planning your day out the night ahead
- Other aspects related to a clean home
- Strategies for specific rooms like the garage or laundry room
- Products that you love for cleaning
- a 5 minute emergency cleaning plan
When talking about related topics make sure you are including stories. Stories from your life and ones that resonated with you to illustrate the issues. People connect with stories and when they are connected to you, when they know, like and trust you, it is an easy thing for them to follow your instructions for the next step.
Where to Find Related Topics to Generate Content
There are four places I use all the time to find related topics for ideas for YouTube videos, writing and social media:
- Google: People Also Asked
- Google: Related Searches
- AnswerthePublic.com
- Amazon book list – find related book and look at the chapter list
All these places are free and easy to use. With one simple keyword google, you can come up with tons of ideas to keep you writing and recording for a long time.
Content Source 3: Pain Points & Redemption Stories for Content Marketing
The last step that I like to focus on is the Pain Point. What is it that is causing your potential customer or client pain?
When you identify this and then relate it to a story, it is incredibly powerful. Your potential customer/client self-selects because they see themselves in your story. They also see the solution in a non-salesy way.
One of the best things you can do is to tell a story from personal experience that has your reader, viewer or follower say, “Wow, she sounds just like me!”.
That is one of the ultimate compliments and a solid way to connect. Think of the reason you are friends with someone from high school or why you chose your spouse, it was because of the things you have in common and the experiences that you shared.
Creative Content Marketing
When you have an unlimited number of things you can talk about on social media, write about on your blog or post pictures portraying, it is super easy to add in that call to action without feeling fake or pushy. You also won’t feel like you are repeating your self over and over and over!
With this technique, you never have to worry about content generation ideas and running out of topics to discuss. You can successfully create, build, and attract your target audience, without the fear of ruining your CTA or weakening your message.
When it is OK to Repeat Yourself
Don’t be afraid to repeat your CTA. Research has shown that many people need to be presented with something 7-10 times before they take action. This gives you the freedom to make sure you are consistently offering whatever it is that will help your potential customer/client! In fact, it is a call to action for yourself to make sure they have seen it at least 10 times.
Another thing you may not think about is how common experiences online are created. I learned this when we were selling clothes on FaceBook Live. We used the same short “paragraph” of information to talk about sizing and pricing. We repeated this 45 second-long instruction set every 10 minutes or so in a three hour show, nightly, for months. What happened next was crazy…people started typing in the instructions word-for-word to new customers.
What I realized was it was now part of our show’s culture. Almost an inside joke. Our regular customers were finishing our sentences! And when you are finishing someone else’s sentences, you are at a relationship level WAY beyond acquaintance!
How Do I Make Good Content Consistently?
My first tip for creating good content consistently is to have a lot of ideas! That is why it is important to have a system for finding content ideas vs. just leaving it up to inspiration. Inspiration can often be fickle! The more things you can talk about, the less you will feel like you are repeating the same points over and over. It will also give those who follow you on social platforms to see diversity in your content. Google likes this too. If you are writing a blog and have depth to each subject, it shows Google that you are an authority on the subject.
My second tip for consistent content generation is to set a schedule. I know that seems super simple, but often we don’t produce content because we don’t feel like it. If you always release a YouTube video on Monday and always post a blog post on Wednesday, you will have motivation to make sure it happens.
How Do You Create Good Content?
One of the best ways to make sure your content is at a level you desire is to take notice of how content is structured and performed by those you admire. When consuming content, ask yourself questions like:
- How did the topic get introduced?
- What percentage of time was spent on teaching vs. story-telling?
- How did the speaker connect with the viewer/reader?
- What examples will I remember…which will I not? Why?
- What level was the content? Could a beginner understand? Did you need a base of information to understand?
- How long was the video? Blog post? Social post?
- Was it something you would have shared on social media? If not, was there something that could have changed that?
- Was it something you would bookmark and refer back to? If not, was there something that could have changed that?
- Was there a call-to-action? Did you respond positively to it?
Learning from others who are ahead of us in our content-generation journey can be one of the most valuable resources. Don’t just rely on your area of expertise to seek out experts to observe. Check out other areas and use some of their strategies to adapt to your topics.
Evergreen Topics are the Best
Don’t overlook creating evergreen content pieces–even on social media. Often, these are the most sharable and bookmarkable (totally a word) because they have a much longer lifespan. I try to make sure at least 50% of my content can stand the test of time. These articles and social posts can get more traction with search engines and on Pinterest. Both Google and Pinterest are more long-games. This means the longer the content is relevant on the platform, the better the results.
I hope this will inspire you to get creating! Creating awesome content that your reader/viewer/follower can consume and look to your CTA for more. It takes practice to be really good at this. In the beginning you will create content that will make you cringe, but don’t worry! Learning is part of the process. You will be honing a skillset that will make it easier for you to create in the future.
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