7 Ways to Generate Content Ideas You May Not Have Thought Of

April 3^rd 2014 Sally Ormond content ideas, content marketing, generating ideas

Content, content, content. You know you need it as part of your marketing strategy, but how on earth are you supposed to come up with a constant stream of ideas?

That fear may put you off the whole idea of content marketing, but it shouldn’t because it’s not that hard to come up fresh content if you know where to look for ideas.

If you just sit in front of your computer and wait for inspiration to strike, you could be there a while. Granted, you may come up with a few ideas that way, but it’s unlikely to be sustainable. So where else can you look?

Sure, reading around your topic helps to get ideas from other blogs, magazine articles and news stories, but if you want to keep your ideas fresh you’re going to have think a bit differently.

Below are 5 sources of ideas you may not have though of.

1. Google

Google is the ideas machine every content writer needs.

Google Suggest and its related search results provide endless ideas. All you have to do is enter your keywords into the Google search box and wait for Google Suggest to do its thing:

Google search

The phrase “How to train a puppy” throws up a list of alternative popular searches offering a wider set of topics that I can write about. Plus, because these are actual search phrases you already know there’s an audience wanting to learn about the topic.

As if that wasn’t enough, after searching that keyword, at the bottom of the search results page Google also give a further reading list of related search terms:

Again, offering a whole raft of possibilities for articles.

2. Yahoo! and Quora

Both of these sites work in similar ways and offer you a plethora of information.

When you browse both sites using your keyword, all sorts of ideas will come your way from the questions asked by users. Again, because they are genuine questions being asked by real people, you have a ready made audience for your articles and blogs.

3. YouTube

Although YouTube is a great place to watch videos and waste a bit of time, it’s also an excellent source for content ideas.

It works in a similar way to Google Suggest. You enter your keywords and a list of related searches appear:

4. LinkedIn Groups

If you are a a member of LinkedIn groups, make sure you check out the questions asked by people because, again, these can generate some great content ideas.

5. Customers

One of the most obvious yet overlooked sources are your customers.

Great ideas can spring from conversations, email questions, social media, in fact through any form of contact you have with them. Again, as with all the other sources already mentioned, by writing an article or blog about themes that come up, you’re creating information that your audience wants.

So you see, generating ideas for your content marketing couldn’t be easier. Keep a note of all the ideas you have and steadily work your way through them and you’ll never be lost for an idea.