5 Effective Tips to Generate More Content Ideas

After all, value-packed content that leaves your target readers wanting more is one of the best ways to guide prospects through your marketing funnel and turn interest into sales/conversions. Content idea generation, thus, is integral and can level up your marketing collateral, whether that’s your blog and landing pages or your social media and emails.

But besides conducting keyword research, which is still undeniably important, there are numerous other creative ways to generate content ideas.

In this article, explore five effective tips to help you generate more content ideas for your marketing channels that your audience will love.

Content Idea Generation – Tip #1: Create Listicles of Related  Products or Services

Create content around complementary—but non-competing—products or services to yours to reach audiences who are likely to be interested in your offering. This can help you amplify your brand presence among relevant audiences and open the door to backlink opportunities, especially if you create well-researched, informational content and naturally weave in your product/service as a solution to a customer problem.

For instance, a boutique hotel in Covent Garden may decide to create a listicle that ranks popular nearby restaurants or write an article reviewing top attractions in the neighborhood—both are highly relevant to its target customers, as well as to the thousands of tourists in London. In its content, the hotel could even position itself as the most convenient accommodation (and include a subtle call-to-action or two!) based on its proximity to these tourist attractions to attract more guests.

Content Idea Generation – Tip #2: Find Inspiration From Your Competitors and Industry Leaders

Discovering what topics your competitors are writing about and adding your unique perspective and expertise is another great way to generate new content ideas. After all, your competitors will naturally produce related content to yours.

Of course, you should avoid plagiarism at all costs since it can negatively impact your SEO efforts, but sourcing competitor sites can spark content ideas relevant to your audience.

One simple way to do so is by observing how they organize their content: Are there any categories or sub-categories they have written about that you haven’t yet?

Other questions to guide your ideation process include:

• What types of content are your competitors producing? (i.e., are they writing long-form articles, listicles, reviews and/or case studies?)
• Have they covered a topic at an angle that you haven’t explored before? Note it down!
• Have you checked their comments and FAQ sections? If your competitors have these on their site, check them out to identify what topics or questions are in demand and see if you can address them in your own content.

Moreover, you can go beyond competitors and look at industry leaders in your field, who often have a better pulse on industry trends. By doing so, you can set yourself a benchmark for the quality and scope of content to strive towards to one-up your competitors in terms of value and thought leadership.

Content Idea Generation – Tip #3: Switch Up Your Narrative

Harnessing the power of storytelling to portray experiences that your audience will resonate with is a golden opportunity for your brand to shine through a different lens. It can help you nurture a long-lasting relationship with your audience, particularly if your story is focused on their pain points and relatable challenges.

For example, if you run a business in eldercare, you could share the joys and struggles you experienced when you worked as an elderly caregiver before becoming a business

When telling your story, you’ll want your persona to come alive—so use language that will click with your audience and avoid overselling your products or service. The key is to ensure you come off genuine and that you connect with them on both an emotional and personal level.

And if you’re struggling to fuel your storytelling, start by leveraging customer comments, reviews, and testimonials to visualize your brand from their perspective. Similarly, if you don’t have a relevant personal story to share, you can interview someone who does and have their experience form the basis of your storytelling.