When it comes to content marketing the most important part of it is finding ideas for content that you can create.
This is just ONE component of content marketing, but it’s the start of it all.
The first thing you want to do is create a document where you can keep up with all of your ideas.
I simply created a Google spreadsheet and keep all of my ideas in it. Very quick and easy and when I want to create a piece of content for a content marketing campaign I open this up and I’m off to start creating.
But where can you get these ideas?
Here are 11 different resources you can check out to help you get ideas for your content marketing strategy.
1. Experts – Who are the experts in your niche? Find them and follow them wherever they are. Their social media accounts, their blogs, etc.
When you see them produce content take a look at it and see if you can get any ideas from it to create your own content.
Hot Tip: Pay attention to the reactions the content gets. Are their people liking it on Facebook and Instagram. Is it getting shares? If it’s on their blog is it getting comments? If you see a lot of people reacting to content in various ways that’s a HUGE indicator that if you create a piece of content on that topic you could get better results from it.
2. You Tube – Head over to YouTube and do some searches for keywords related to your niche. Find videos that are getting a lot of reactions, and take note of the topics. What content can you create from these topics?
3. Amazon Books – This is a great resource to use, and you could probably use this ONE resource and have a never ending “pool” to get ideas from. Search for books related to your niche. Find the ones that are making the most sales, look at what’s covered in the books, and pull topic ideas from them.
4. Hub Spot Blog Ideas Generator – Now this is for finding ideas for blog posts, but we all know we can take our ideas and create any type of content we want. Put your keywords into this tool and you’ll find a ton of great topics to create content around! https://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator
5. Quora – This site was created for people to ask questions and get answers to them. Search for your niche and see what questions are getting asked/answered. Collect topic ideas, and go create!
Hot Tip: This is a great site for researching too. You can get all the answers you need to create your content.
6. Facebook Groups – Facebook groups are a great tool that can be used in many ways. But if you’re mining for ideas for content then you simply need to go through the groups you belong to that are related to your niche and see what’s being talked about. What questions are being asked? What content is being shared? Take note of all of this and grab as many content ideas as you can.
If you’re not apart of any Facebook groups in your niche now is the time to jump in. Simply search Facebook using your keywords and check out the groups tab. You should be able to find plenty of groups. Hot Tip: If you don’t find any groups for your niche start one NOW! You’ll thank me later. 🙂
7. Google Alerts – I absolutely love Google Alerts. You can simply setup a Google Alert for keywords and get an email anytime something is posted on the web related to your keywords. This is a great way to “spy” on the entire Internet and get great ideas for content to create.
8. Buzz Sumo – This is an expensive tool, but the free version will still provide you with some great information. I like Buzz Sumo because they show you the “engagement” the content you search for gets. Basically with what you find here you’re guaranteed to hit on HOT topics.
9. Ubersuggest – Is pretty similar to Buzz Sumo, but it’s FREE. Simply enter in your keyword. It will give you keyword results, but if you head over to the Content Ideas tab you’ll see a list of content and the engagement that content gets. This is a gold mine! https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest
10. Answer The Public – This is a cool little tool that allows you to input a keyword and get all the questions related to that keyword that people are searching for. Answering questions is the best kind of content you can create, so this is one of those tools you don’t want to forget about! https://answerthepublic.com
11. Ask Your Tribe – Even if you’re just getting started you should have at least a few people in your “tribe”. These are your Facebook friends, your Instagram followers, your YouTube subscribers, your email list, etc. Ask them what they want! This is hands down the best place to get ideas for content that your tribe actually WANTS.
Okay so there are 11 different resources that you can use. The truth of the matter is that most of these could give you a never ending supply of ideas for content, so pick ONE, get started with it. When you get 10-20 ideas, get to creating content. When you don’t have any more ideas on your list, go back to that source for more ideas or pick a different source.
Whatever you do though make sure you’re creating content that your tribe actually WANTS and that you’re putting in the work and creating great content that they’re going to LOVE.
I wish you much success on your content marketing journey!
Liz
Note: If you’re new to content marketing I highly recommend that you grab a spot in the Content Marketing Kickstart Workshop. Getting content ideas is just one of the main components of doing content marketing correctly, and with this workshop you’ll learn ALL of the components you need to make content marketing work for you, and get a ton of traffic from your efforts. You can grab your seat at https://learningim.com/content-marketing-kickstart-workshop
