Content marketing ideation: Where do good ideas come from?. Anyway, one of the most common questions I hear is, “How do you keep coming up with new ideas for content topics?” Let’s be honest — this can be a tough one. Think about your customer When I’m starting the content ideation process for myself or a client, I always start by thinking about the audience first. Once I’ve come up with a list of questions I think should be answered, I reach out to others who might know my audience. If I have six questions that all center around a certain topic, there’s a good chance that’s a piece of content I should write. So for today’s post, I started with Content Marketing, then went to Content Marketing Ideas, and as you can see, Google suggested the following topics: …which led me to write this column on content marketing ideation. This site lets you enter your keyword ideas and provides you with a list of questions about that topic. Once I have a list of potential topics, I go through and determine which ones I want to focus on first and start writing. When they engage with your site, Google sees you as a resource for those topics and, in turn, often ranks you higher — because, like you, Google wants to provide its customers with the best, most relevant content every time they search. Focus on providing great content that’s useful, and you’ll start seeing the results.
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already in 2017 … wow. The start of a new year is a great time to review your current content marketing program and see how you’re doing. Is it time to change things up a bit for the new year or are you A-OK just cruising along as is? Let me give you a hint: it’s the former, not the latter in most instances. When you just cruise along, your results normally reflect the level of effort.
Anyway, one of the most common questions I hear is, “How do you keep coming up with new ideas for content topics?” Let’s be honest — this can be a tough one. Have you ever had an assignment due and no clue what you were going to write about? Yeah, me, too.
If we’re being honest, we’ve probably all been there before. It’s normal. Being creative can be tough, and sometimes you’re just not in the right mindset to come up with a great idea. But there are steps you can take that can help.
I recommend taking a bulk content ideation approach. Rather than focusing on coming up with just one great idea, I try to focus on an area and generate multiple ideas during a brainstorming session.
If I have other people to work with, great! I love collaboration. But sometimes you’re stuck working alone, and you still need to figure out what to write about.
Think about your customer
When I’m starting the content ideation process for myself or a client, I always start by thinking about the audience first. What information does the audience care about? What questions do they have? If you think about them and their questions, you’ll often find that topic ideas will emerge pretty easily.
Once I’ve come up with a list of questions I think should be answered, I reach out to others who might know my audience. If you have an active social…
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