In this post, we’re giving you five content idea hacks so that you can stay consistent, maintain productivity, and keep the leads and sales flowing—even when you’re not in the mood to deal with marketing.
After all, when you don’t feel motivated or creative, it can be tough to come up with content ideas. Slumps are normal, but they can lead to less productivity and bad habits around time management. And, we don’t want that!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Content Strategy from Scratch Workbook
SEOpressor’s Blog Title Generator
Tweak Your Biz’s Title Generator
Content Row’s Headline Generator
[Meghan] No matter how much planning and preparation you do, there will be messy moments when things go sideways. There will be times when things do not work out. Or, times when you’re in a funk and your creativity is blocked. That’s life!
But you gotta keep things going, including your marketing.
[Theresa] Sometimes these tough moments lead to more confidence and success. Other times, they lead to admitting failure, learning a lesson, and moving forward. Either way, these are growth opportunities. You’ll keep going and be stronger for it.
We’re right there with you! In fact, it’s one of the reasons we started this podcast: to support you in your solopreneur journey and regularly remind you that you’re not alone.
[Meghan] Yes! With that in mind, today’s topic is to offer help when life happens and, as a result, you’re having a tough time with your content marketing.
[Theresa] This isn’t about being short on time and needing a content topic at the last minute.
Instead, these are hacks for coming up with content ideas when you’re in a slump. Time isn’t necessarily the problem. You’re struggling for whatever reason and can’t seem to get motivated to figure out what content will work for your audience. And that can decrease your productivity and your morale.
1) Let Google Autocomplete Guide You
[Meghan] The first content idea hack is one I’ve mentioned before but with a twist. You’re going to do searches using Google’s autocomplete feature PLUS each letter of the alphabet.
Let me explain. You know, when you put keywords into Google search, sometimes you pause while you’re typing, and Google shows a drop down of what it thinks you may be trying to type. These drop down phrases are called autocomplete, and they represent popular search terms. And that’s how autocomplete is a way to generate ideas.
But, take it a step further. Type in a keyword plus a single letter of the alphabet. For example: content marketing a, content marketing b,
content marketing c, etc.
You get the idea.
Go through the entire alphabet. Then you can start all over with a different keyword phrase and the alphabet.
I’ve been doing this for years, but I love the name of the technique that Income School gave it. They call it Alphabet Soup.
Anyway, this is perfect for when you’re in a slump—and even when you’re not and you’re just doing keyword research.
[Theresa] I love this technique so much! First, you’re getting all of these content ideas for free. Second, it doesn’t take too much effort or time. And, you’re discovering what people are searching for so that your time is better spent on topics that are of interest.
It’s a win for productivity as well as marketing.
In a slump and out of topics for your content marketing? Here are 5 actionable tips to find content ideas when you need to be productive but you're not in the mood to deal with marketing. Click To Tweet2) Explore Google’s Related Search Suggestions
[Meghan] Definitely! Another one of my content idea hacks number two is also related to Google. There’s a reason that I called Google the best free content research tool, you know?!
I’ve mentioned this one before as well, but I had to include it again. I can’t emphasize enough how many topic ideas you can come up with using Google’s search suggestions. These suggestions show up on page one after you enter your search term.
- People also ask – near the top
- Related searches – at the bottom
- Related videos or Related podcasts – optional (depends on topic)
And, if you like these suggestions, you can click on them to get more ideas and additional insight.
Of course, there are also all of the articles and content that appear in Google searches too. Those are potential idea generators.
You can try using other search engines as well. Google has a lot of users, so it has a lot of data. But, try using other search engines since they offer similar features.
[Theresa] The content ideas you’ll get this way are free, quick, easy, and backed by data. So, this is another marketing productivity win.
One thing I want to note here, though. Don’t let the amount of content ideas with both of these hacks overwhelm you. Instead of being quick and easy, this could turn into a rabbit hole where one thing leads to another. Before you know it, time’s gotten away from you.
[Meghan] That’s true. Ideally, you’d be capturing these content ideas, fleshing them out, and putting them in your content calendar. Then you have that calendar to fall back on when the poop hits the fan.
[Theresa] But, if you’re in a slump and barely scraping by, grab an idea and run with it. That’s what this episode is about.
3) Use a Headline Generator Tool
[Meghan] Another one of my content idea hacks is to use title or headline generator tools to find content ideas.
There are plenty of free headline generators online. You don’t have to download anything. It’s like doing an online search. These tools often ask you for a topic or keyword. You put it in, then they spit out headline suggestions.
I’ve found that even if you don’t have a clue about a topic, looking at the headline results can spark content ideas. I’ll put in a fairly broad word and see what the tools come up with.
Not all of these tools are created equal. Some give you one suggestion, others require an email. I usually don’t bother with those.
So, check out these three different headline tools:
These sites don’t require an email address, and they offer more than one headline per search, which is helpful when you’re looking for content ideas.
[Theresa] This is a handy hack in that you get content ideas plus fairly decent headlines to use.
Remember, headlines are super important since people decide whether or not to consume content based on headlines.
If a headline doesn’t attract attention or pique interest, your content can go unnoticed.
So, you’re getting two things done at once with this hack. You know I love that!
4) Peruse Other People’s Content
[Meghan] Okay, this next content hack is definitely more time consuming than the first three. But I still recommend it. And that’s looking at other people’s content in your industry.
[Theresa] Looking at industry content can spark thoughts and help you come up with things you want to talk about. And these subject areas are often relevant to your audience too since they are industry related.
Obviously, though, the idea here is to gather inspiration to jumpstart your creativity. We’re not suggesting copying or plagiarizing.
[Meghan] Exactly.
Your content should reflect you, your experience, and your unique take on things.
Anyway, back to using other people’s content. Try looking at:
- Industry or competitor blogs, YouTube channels, podcasts
- Blogs, videos, or podcasts from related businesses who support your industry, such as tools, apps, or products that aren’t your competition but serve your same target market
- Amazon books
- Online course websites (ie. Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare)
You don’t need to consume all of the content. You’re going to check out:
- Topics
- Titles/headlines
- Descriptions
- Chapters/headings/outlines
- Reviews or comments
Anything that can get your neurons firing and point you in a direction.
[Theresa] Again, this is a potential rabbit hole situation. Consider blocking time off on your calendar and setting a timer for this hack.
5) Try the “Content Splinter”
[Meghan] The last tip I’m suggesting as a content idea hack is to splinter off a topic from an existing piece of your content.
For this suggestion, you need to know what content of yours has been popular and has performed well. Then, you use that content and come up with a topic to splinter off from it. The splintered topic becomes your content.
This can work really well if you have a list post where you can turn one of the list items into a separate but related piece of content.
Here’s an example. We did an episode about five ways to promote your content. Any of those five ways could be an episode of its own. We talked about outreach, syndication, paid social sharing apps – each of these is a candidate for another idea.
[Theresa] It doesn’t have to be a list post either.
We had an episode where we briefly mentioned choosing marketing tactics when you’re a solopreneur. When we re-read that episode, we thought that would be a content topic and worthy of its own episode.
Your existing content can be a really good resource for ideas.
[Meghan] I actually re-read my old content and often look at the comments to motivate myself and gather content ideas.
Content Idea Hacks Aren’t a Substitute for Planning
[Theresa] Even if you aren’t in a slump, these content idea hacks are actually also good uses of time and effort. That means they boost your marketing productivity.
Of course, it’s never ideal to do anything last minute. Like we’ve said, one of the podcast lessons we’ve learned is that planning ahead is key.
We have a content calendar, and if we don’t set time aside to choose our episode topics in advance, we definitely feel the pain.
Interested in more information about creating a content calendar for your blog, vlog, or podcast?
[Meghan] But, although hacks aren’t a substitute for planning and prep work, they’re still good to have. Because we all know we’re not always prepared and life happens.
If you need help with content planning and strategy, check out my Content Profit Plan strategy service.
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