Sometimes the hardest part of being a writer is coming up with fresh ideas. Well, here’s a super simple way to brainstorm content ideas for your blog.
Content creation can be gruelling work sometimes…
As a freelance writer, I create content practically every day, either for myself or for clients. And one thing that can be really hard is coming up with ideas that would fit my blog’s purpose, or suit the client’s needs.
Like me, you probably sell content marketing services and you’ve discovered how hard it can be to think up those content ideas that clients won’t reject.
It’s as if the inspiration comes only once in a while.
Or perhaps, you own a design company and you’re looking to educate your audience about what you do. But getting those ideas for your blog isn’t just happening.
Well, in this super simple post, I’ll be sharing a super simple way to come up with content ideas that fit. And I’ll also show you how I used this technique for a client just recently.
But first, let me clear a common misconception some creators often have.
The Myth Of The Original Idea
As creative professionals, we take pride in our creations. The quality of our work is topmost priority.
But then sometimes, we tend to take this too far by assuming that everything we create has to originally come from us.
If that was supposed to be the case, then the word “innovation” would never exist.
Most people have taken content brainstorming to be, “sit your butt down, get a pen and paper, and start thinking up those content ideas you need.”
You’d agree that with the gazillion things you have to do in your business, this can be really hard.
Two things come into play when you really want to make some headway brainstorming content for yourself and clients:
Research and innovation.
Research simply means taking ideas from other people. Innovation means taking those ideas and making them yours through some tweaks here and there.
And ultimately, this leads to the formula:
Research + Innovation = Originality
The moment you’re able to take an existing idea and infuse it with your personal touch to make it yours, it becomes original again. Someone else can then repeat the process even with your own creation.
Hope you get the picture? In case you don’t, feel free to shoot me in the comments.
[Tweet “Research + Innovation = Originality”]
My Best Source For Ideas
You’re probably expecting me to say ‘Google’, right?
Wrong. Google does have its part to play in research. But when I want to reduce my brainstorming process and use of my precious brainpower, I go to the place people in my field hangout on:
Quora.
Quora happens to be one crazily large forum where professionals from different fields come to share ideas, ask questions and give value. Mostly, I only stay in the marketing, entrepreneurship and tech sections, so I don’t really know much about some of the other fields.
It’s almost impossible to go into Quora and come out “empty-handed”, especially when you go there with a mission.
To make this work for you, you can simply head over to Quora and sign up (if you don’t have an account). Once you do that, pick your interests (I’m guessing categories related to what you do).
Quora would then be able to always dish out the specific content you’re looking for whenever you visit.
If it so happens that Quora isn’t the forum for you (for creative people, I doubt that), then you could simply look for other big forums specifically related to what you do.
A Super Simple Technique For Getting New Content Ideas
I keep saying super simple because it is super simple, and you’ll see why in just a minute.
The good thing about Quora is that, just like Google, you can use search notations for your research. You don’t have to put in just a single phrase or word. You can actually mix up niches.
I’ll show you how.
1. Head over to Quora.com and log in (I’m assuming you’ve signed up already).
2. If you picked your interests, the following page should be filled with threads and questions related to those interests.
3. This is where the super simple research begins. If you’re looking to write a post on graphic design, head over to the search bar and enter your keyword. Then hit “enter”.
4. On the left, you’ll see a few suggestions to filter your results. You can leave as is. However, under the “By Time” section, change it to “Past Year”. This way, you’ll get results that may not be so recent, but are still being answered.
The next thing you’ll see would be nothing but pure gold.
As you can see in the screenshot above, I can already see two potentially awesome topics you could write about.
- The 10 Rules Of Graphic Design.
- 100 Rules Every Graphic Designer Must Live By. Why 100? You can see 19 responses to that one question. That means every person who responded has about 10 rules each. That makes 190 rules. Sure some will be repetitions, that’s why I reduce the number to 100. But even at 100, that’s a huge resource.
- 9 Steps To Building A Successful Design Business. The responses to the question “How do I teach myself graphic design?” not only has tips on how to do this, but also refers to different resources to help the average entrepreneur.
So that’s 3 topics already, and I haven‘t even scrolled down :).
Using This Brainstorming Technique For A Client
I once had to create some content for a client looking to promote an insurance business. Being that I’m pretty active in the freelancing community, I decided to tweak it so it directly benefits freelancers. And also, it’d be easier for me to write.
Combining two industries like this means you have to find an intersection. A nice intersection between freelance and insurance would be frugality, security, etc.
So, just like you’d do in Google, I went over to Quora and entered “freelance + insurance”.
Here are a few results I got:
Here are a few potential topics from this:
- 77 Personal Finance Tips That Can Save Your Freelance Business From Bankruptcy. Why 77? There are 70 responses to that question, each one having about 10 tips. Do the math.
- 5 Places Freelancers Can Get Quality Health Insurance. Once again, the responses had more than 5.
The Techniques Are Inexhaustible
All I’ve done in this post is to show you a simple methodology to research that I use sometimes. You might even already know this technique.
But you’d agree, it’s super simple, right?
You can do the same thing with Google. However, where Quora has an edge here is the responses. You’ll probably have to click several pages deep in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) in order to get the same amount of tips you’d get from a search in Quora.
In fact, it gets better because the responses already provide an outline for your post. You’ll just need to flesh it out.
Feel free to apply this technique in other forums and let me know how it goes :).
And expect more posts on other ways to brainstorm content like a pro.
Hi Lanre,
Thanx for so good piece of advice & coaching.
I wish i could reinvent myself to have an income source though haven’t much faith because there seems to be a lot of competition and I have not been trained in this. I´ll enjoy signing up in Quora and doing some research, anyway.
Sorry, my enthusiasm subsided over the years. I pledged myself to reject any delusions or imaginative approach and stick to reality because I´ve been through many nightmares.
Thanx & rgds,
Carola
Hi Carola,
The truth is most of us have no training in building online businesses. In fact, I’d like to say that no one has. We actually just get out there and do something we believe in, following a strategy we’re convinced would work.
I’m glad I could be of help. I’m still available if you have any questions.
Thanks for your awesome comment :).
Pow!
I got me the Quora app asap and started on to use it. I must confess, though the name has been hanging around me for a while, I never thought Quora was this…awesome!
Thanks for bringing this up again.
And this is also a kick in the butt: Research + Innovation = Originality.
That sort of kills the thought about sitting on hot coals to get new ideas.
Thanks for sharing this super duper simple brainstorming technique. I owe you BIG for this insight.
Lovely week ahead.
Yusuff Busayo
That’s only a small part of how much you can leverage Quora. Thanks for the tweets (I saw them :)).
Hello lanre,
I’ve been struggling so much with using my writing skills make money online. I’ve tried almost everything. From ebates to reviews for shopify to blogging (google adsense) but nothing works. I’m hoping this will be different