Producing new content for your brand can feel like a full-time job in and of itself—and sooner or later, you’re bound to come up against a wall. Even the most proficient content creators sometimes have these moments, moments when they feel like they have said all there is to say, and there simply aren’t any ideas left in the hopper.
What you need, in moments like these, is fresh inspiration—but where can you find it? Here are four essential sources for fresh content ideas.
Your Old Content
First and foremost, don’t hesitate to go back through your own blog archives to see if there’s an older topic you could revive or revisit.
Don’t misunderstand: We don’t recommend ever running duplicate content, which can hurt your SEO rankings. But maybe a trend you wrote about three years ago has evolved enough that a follow-up piece is in order. Maybe your 5 things to do… post can be morphed into a 5 things not to do… post. Maybe something will just jump out at you as a worthy topic to relitigate or to approach from a new angle.
Your Competition
Another place to turn for content ideas? Your chief competitors.
Spend some time reading your competitor’s blog posts. See if there are any angles he or she has thought of that you haven’t yet covered yourself. Pay special attention to any posts that seem to get a lot of engagement from readers. These are clearly hot topics, and it may be worth your while to write about them yourself.
Your Customers
Are there certain questions that your customers tend to ask on a regular basis? Any recurring concerns or considerations they bring to the table?
These are the kinds of things you should be writing about on your blog and in your email blasts—because you already know your customers have an interest. Make sure your content ideas take into account real-life interactions with your clientele!
Your Team
You never know when a member of your team might have a winning content idea up their sleeve.
Customer-facing team members can be especially useful here, because they know the kinds of things your clients want to learn more about (see our last point).
Make sure you regularly ask your team members for content feedback.
Transform Your Best Ideas into Compelling Content
Whether you’re stuck for ideas or need assistance turning those ideas into great content, our writers and strategists can help. We’d love to set up a content consultation today. Reach out to Grammar Chic, Inc. now—either at www.grammarchic.net or 803-831-7444.
Amanda E. Clark founded Grammar Chic in 2008. She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and holds degrees in Journalism, Political Science, and English. She launched Grammar Chic after freelancing for several years while simultaneously leading marketing and advertising initiatives for several Fortune 500 companies.