Emily Alicia

2019 – the year of content.

In a quick job search, you’ll see several companies seem to be focusing heavily on content: hiring content creators and content strategists. Although content is something that isn’t at all foreign in the field of marketing, it seems that in this ever-changing and competitive workplace, companies are in need of generating not only unique content but TONS of it to stay relevant in the minds of their customers. 

Written content, especially, can be tedious and daunting to create. Copywriters help with emails, websites, blogs, ads, brochures, captions, and just about anything that involves conveying your brand through words. 

Whether you’re starting a content journey or in a creative rut, I have some ways to generate hundreds of content ideas for written content.

Research Industry Topics Online

Your best bet is to do some internet research. Depending on your industry, you’ll want to dig deep for the most talked about topics online and even those that are missing from the “conversation.” 

For example, if you sell a line of vegan products, people want to know where they can purchase your products, the benefits, and maybe some tutorials or tips. 

This is where everyone starts and it’s easy to make a list of things to cover. I love to use Google Trends and even visit some industry blogs and see what everyone is talking about. If there’s an important conversation happening in your industry, it’s vital that you’re a part of it to compete with similar brands.

Research Your Competitors

This goes really well with the first suggestion. Grabbing an idea from a competitor isn’t a bad thing. You never want to let a competitor provide more information to your target market than you are. I actually like to build off of competitors and provide a better perspective or more key pieces of information they might have missed. I want to be known as a better source. 

Research Your Target Market and Create a Buyer Persona 

This is something that should be established at the beginning of a business plan. In the creation stage of a business, it’s important to know your audience, specifically to know how they liked to be informed. Blogs on your site are crucial to your SEO, but what if your audience hates reading blogs? Find ways of easily adapting this information in other ways. 

My favorite is creating a simple infographic for the content I write. It makes it easy for me to share on social media or through email. This generation is very visual and has an attention span that’s basically non-existent. This way, I cover every base and get the most out of the topics I worked so hard to research and write. 

Gather Research from Your Coworkers

This is simply not done as much as it needs to be. A marketing team very rarely gets to contact a customer. Sometimes it feels like we’re marketing to people that don’t exist because we don’t physically see them or speak to them. I love getting in touch with people whose jobs are specifically to hold conversations with them.

I’m talking about sales and customer service representatives. Find out what they’re experiencing in their interactions. Break down that wall that separates our front-of-the-line staff and our back end. Most of my successful pieces have come from these conversations because they are things that OUR customers need or care about. 

Keep an Ongoing List

My last advice is this: keep a list of every idea you’ve had. Good or bad! This is essential to go back to when you’re feeling stuck. Just because an idea didn’t work or you didn’t have the means/information to create it a year ago, doesn’t mean you won’t somewhere down the line.

Wrapping It Up

A creative field isn’t easy. Burnout comes quickly and quietly. I think it’s also important to just unplug and take a break when you feel you aren’t coming up with new ideas.

Most importantly, you aren’t alone. Find a community within your field that can help. You’d be amazed at how helpful and supportive some blogs, podcasts, forums, or career-related communities can be.

As always, I am here as a resource. If you’re in need of any help, you can always reach out to me.

Do you also create content for Instagram? I created a free content calendar just for that! Click here to start creating.