Content creation is a great way to bring in more prospects and profits. And you do want more prospects and profits, right?
The struggle for many content marketers, both new and experienced, is consistently coming up with ideas for creating content. I've noticed that many go through a few stages in their struggle to come up with content ideas.
Let's take a closer look at those three stages and more importantly, what to do about each one.
3 Stages
Stage 1 – Ideas are not flowing – When you sit down to create content you have to repeatedly stop and think about what to write about. The flow has not stopped, it's just not as easy as it normally is for you.
What to Do – Step back and brainstorm. Make a list of content ideas. Don't edit – just brainstorm. This is something you need to be doing anyway, so you always have a list of content ideas from which to pull.
Stage 2 – Ideas are a struggle – Even when you look at a list of your ideas, nothing pops out for you. It feels like you are seeing the ideas on a list, but they are not making sense in your head, and not making the trip from your head to your fingers.
What to Do – Take a trip to your supermarket and check out the titles on the covers of the magazines in the checkout line. Thousands of dollars have been spent deciding how to title these articles. Find titles that you can use in your niche and get busy creating great content.
Stage 3 – You are beginning to believe in writer's block, even though it does not exist. Ideas are not only not flowing, ideas are just plain stuck. Your frustration level is high, and you're honestly getting a little bit frightened by your lack of ideas.
What to Do – Go to your topic in EzineArticles and look at some of the top articles in your niche. See which ones are getting lots of traffic. Choose an idea that you know will appeal to your community and simply do a better job with it.This is not plagiarism. This is research because you are simply looking for ideas. You are not copying what someone else has said, you are just going to do a better treatment of it because of your skills.
The Next Step – Your next success step is to grab your spot in the upcoming webinar on Wednesday January 30 at 8 pm EST – “How to Create Prospect & Profit Pulling Content in 20 Minutes or Less with Jeff Herring” Reserve your spot here => http://JeffHerring.com/regina
UPDATE – If you missed this live event, you can still catch the replay at http://jeffherring.com/regina.
Stage 3 is key for me. However, I’d like to add the old fashion method of swinging by the library or bookstore and rummage around the isle of your article topic. Pick up a book and check out the table of contents. You’ll quickly be able to find what other authors are writing about and it may help spark your creative juices! -Pat