So, you've got a list of to-do's as long as your arm; from creating your website to posting on social media.
But you keep hearing how important it is to create content on a regular basis! What the F...!?
You start to wonder, "Hold on, I'm busy enough at my 9-5...maybe this turn-your-side-hustle into your full-time-gig is too much work."
Well, before you throw in the towel - and trust me, I feel you're pain - I think you'll want to check out these 5 Ideas To Help You Create Content With Ease.
Applying some of these strategies should reduce the pressure of feeling the need to be a content creation machine that never comes up for air.
Here's what we'll cover in todays post and show:
5 Ideas To Help You Start Creating Content
Brain Dump
Scan your social posts (and old content)
Ask, listen and deliver
Check out your competitors
Google it
Alright, let's do this!
IDEA 1. Brain Dump
Let’s role play for a sec… put yourself in your ICA’s shoes and ask yourself the following questions:
What am I struggling with right now?
Where am I stuck?
What do I need help on?
If I could figure out this one thing, I’d be good to go...
Then switch back - you’re you again - and ask yourself questions like:
What do I wish I knew when I first started out?
I remember how difficult it was a few years ago when I was struggling with x,y,z,
How can I make [fill in blank] easier for my customers?
The purpose of this exercise is to get you to sympathise, empathise and strategise.
When you ask these questions, especially when you role play, you instruct your brain to do two things:
1. Show compassion for your customers
2. Work hard to find a solution
When you do both things you are on your way to becoming an expert at compassionate marketing.
It’s in the problem solving zone that your ideas for content are born.
The answers to these questions will be your inspiration.
IDEA 2. Scan Your Social Posts (recent and old content)
Look over your old blog and social media posts, old videos and podcast episodes and see what received the most comments, feedback and engagement.
This is an indication of what your customers and followers are interested in.
Side note: This is why it’s so important that you are specifically working to attract your ICAs on your social platforms rather than simply going after numbers. If you just go after numbers your followers will not be a true reflection of the audience you wish to serve in your business.
When it comes to followers it’s quality not quantity that counts
The posts that received the most engagement will be an indication of the type of content your customers want to hear more of.
You can then create new content along the same lines or create a piece that dives a little deeper into the topic that your customers and followers are already showing a liking for.
Basically, listen to them and give them what they want!
IDEA 3. Ask, listen and deliver
Ask your customers directly - I do this all the time and it’s the best!
Drop your subscribers and existing customers an email asking them:
What they’re up to?
What they’re struggling with?
How you might be able to help them
Then the key is to listen to what they say - and I mean specifically listen to the words they use as well as the problem they describe.
This is crucial because you can literally create content using their exact words to address and resolve the issue they’re facing.
Feedback is one of the best ways to spark new ideas and inspire fresh content
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your customers. They’ll appreciate that you care and will really appreciate you helping them to move forward.
IDEA 4. Check out your competitors
Hopefully, you’ve managed to secure a bunch of ideas from the first 3 points but if you’re still stuck then jump on social media and see what your competitors are posting and the comments they’re getting.
It’s important that you’re looking at people with a similar ICA to you.
The point of this exercise is to find inspiration for content ideas that might work well with your audience as well.
Now, I need to caveat this point by saying - set yourself a timer for just 15 mins to safeguard yourself from falling down the rabbit hole of social media comparison.
Protect yourself with the timer and stay on task. Jump in and jump out, OK.
IDEA 5. Google it
Google is a fantastic tool when it comes to generating content ideas.
However, I’ve put it last because in a similar way to Idea 4 you can lose yourself in the world wide web and before you know it you're watching a video of a cat eating with chopsticks on YouTube and you’re wondering how the heck did you end up there!
Don’t beat yourself up, it happens to us all. So, if you know this is a possibility for you then timer the sh*t out of this exercise, like you did in the previous step and stay on your game.
The key to this exercise is to type in the exact words that your ICA would type should they be looking to solve a specific problem.
Get super specific and make a note of the results.
You’ll see at the top of the page the amount of results in the category.
Then at the top of the page you’ll see in the navigation bar a Settings category.
Click on it and select Advanced Search. Fill in the details in a little more detail and fine tune the results.
Have quick - and I do mean quick - read of the top 3 results. If you can gather some ideas to create your own content then great!
The key is to spend no more than 15 minutes doing this either. This isn’t a research exercise so we don’t wanna lose time consuming loads of other people’s content at this stage.
We want to get enough info and inspiration to spark fresh and creative ideas of our own.
OK, Let's Wrap This Up!
As much as I love the fact that you read to the end, it would mean more to me if you took action and turned these ideas into action.
I want to see you build momentum in your business.
Even if you're just starting out then forming healthy and positive habits around creating content for your business is a great idea.
Grab your free Content Creation Calendar here.
Your Content Creation Calendar will help you schedule when you'll create your content. And scheduling your goals turns wishes to action items.
Let me know if you'd like me to do a post on how I use my Content Creation Calendar in the comments below.
Action Steps
Download your free Content Creation Calendar
Using any of the ideas we covered above, list 5-10 content ideas
Then schedule a time that you'll plan each idea in your Content Creation Calendar - aim to plan 2 ideas per week. Remember this is just to plan out each idea so you get down the core points.
Then using the same Content Creation Calendar (in a different colour) schedule when you'll create your content for each idea.
A quick definition of what I mean when I say content:
When I say content I mean either you write a blog post, record a podcast or shoot a video.
Whatever style of content you share with your audience, you can put these action steps into effect.
Let me know how you get on or if you have any questions in the comments below.
You can do this!
Love,
Nat x
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