During my time in Mexico last week my web designer and I had a mini-mastermind meeting going on. One of the things we talked about was the need for online business owners to spend time brainstorming content ideas.
This is true regardless of whether you’re a writer, coach, web designer or consultant. It also includes blogs, social media content and, depending on what you do, content for clients. The reality is, constantly creating content is just another part of building your brand.
Constantly coming up with content ideas is also an area where many people become scared – especially if they aren’t used to creating content on the spot. Here are some of the ways to ensure that you never run out of content ideas.
Use Your Life as Inspiration
We’re living in an age where clients and audience members want to see a lot more personality behind a brand. This is actually great news because it means you can use your life as inspiration for content.
For example, I just took my first international trip while trying to run a business from my laptop. It’s already turned into a Periscope broadcast (behind the scenes of running a business from the road), an article for a major publication (what systems business owners need to run a business from the road) and content for my own blog (how to pay for an international flight with credit card points).
That’s already at least three content ideas from one trip. The reality is our lives our full of great content we can use, we just need to be open to pay attention.
Keep a constant flow of communication with your audience.
One sure-fire way to make sure you never run out of content ideas is to keep a constant flow of communication with your audience. That means engaging with them on social media, asking them what they want from you and occasionally sending out a survey to see where their heads are at.
I did the latter in 2015 while I was in the middle of a rebrand. It was by using this method that I found out my audience wanted more entrepreneurship content versus personal finance content. By using this data, I was able to come up with content ideas that fit their needs.
Additionally, I make sure to take note every time someone asks me a specific question on Periscope, Twitter, Facebook or via email. Sometimes I’ll even take notes if someone asks me a specific question at an event. This helps me never run out of content ideas while simultaneously giving my audience what they need.
Practice makes perfect.
At this stage in my business I can come up with content ideas almost on the spot. This was not the case just a few years ago.Trust me, I recently just did a blog audit and read over what I used to publish. What a mess.
The reason I’m able to come up with content quickly is because I’ve been doing it for years. I’ve gotten better at it as time goes on. The key is I never stopped or allowed myself to feel defeated. I simply kept trying to create content. With time it started to become second nature.
Final Thoughts
By following these tips you’ll never have to worry about running out of content ideas. Simply make these techniques a habit and it will become second nature in no time.
