Category: content ideas

content, content ideas

5 Ways to Get Content Calendar Ideas

1. Use the time frame – What day is it? A little word association can boost your brainstorming for content calendar ideas. For instance, the word “refresh” might inspire ideas about making a new start. January and the springtime are appropriate occasions for that theme.

2. Check an almanac – Consider how important times connect to certain events. Does your industry follow traditions during the year? Do your patrons? If you’re stuck, an almanac can tell you what happened today in history and about upcoming holidays. Daysoftheyear.com offers trivia on little-known national days, weeks, and months. For example, for National Pizza Day (February 9th), you could offer facts about the pie.

3. Get informed – For timely content calendar ideas, consider what’s affecting your industry now. Trade association publications often feature the latest news. Otherwise, search Google Trends or scan hot topics on social media for ideas.

4. Go undercover – Visit forums related to your industry or topics you cover for ideas. Quora, Reddit, and similar forums include questions people have posted.

5. Listen – To see what lies ahead, find out about upcoming events at the water cooler or on Slack. Ask questions in meetings or at the dinner table. Make small talk at the grocery store or chat with neighbors.

Lack inspiration? Contact me for help creating your content calendar.

How do you compile your content calendar? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“One thing is certain: if you don’t keep an editorial/content calendar, the content doesn’t get done.” ~ Joe Pulizzi, Founder of Content Marketing Institute

“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” ~ Anonymous

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

content ideas

5 Ways to Get Writing Ideas

1. Target “pain points” – To find good writing ideas, if people don’t already ask you questions, poll your audience to see what they want to read. Check which social media and blog posts you’ve written have been popular. Hang out in forums, like Facebook Groups, where your target market meets regularly.

2. Time it – Slant your topic to the time of year you expect to publish. For example, for April, growth, rainy days, or other appropriately seasonal subjects can seed some good concepts.

3. Talk it out – Sometimes the best ideas come from a conversation. For instance, at an industry networking event, you can ask people about the problems they face in their work. It also helps take the focus off of you. This has helped me generate article ideas.

4. Do some digital digging – Search engines can be your best idea spinners. Whether you type a topic into Google and use some of the suggestions or find something interesting in the “answer box” at the top, you can strike gold quickly. And because they’re among the most often searched for subjects, they can improve your own search engine rankings. AnswerthePublic groups similar questions together to help you see what people search for.

5. “Borrow,” but don’t steal – Looking at what others have written can inspire you, such as borrowing a title from an article and writing your own.

How do you generate writing ideas?

For more suggestions, check out 8 Ways to Generate Great Content Ideas.

Quotes

“Hobbes: Do you have an idea for your story yet?
Calvin: No, I’m waiting for inspiration. You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes: What mood is that?
Calvin: Last-minute panic.” ~ Bill Watterson

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com