Content Actually Is...All Around
X (formerly Twitter) is filled with people asking where to find content ideas. Here’s one example:
Underrated places to find new content ideas:
— Alex Llull🕵️♂️ (@AlexLlullTW) August 26, 2023
- YouTube titles and thumbnails
- The replies to your emails
Where else?
LinkedIn is brimming with this inquiry as well, though you’ll find it more in user comments than in posts.
Many times, this discussion centers around a tool or a tool stack to generate content ideas.
But let’s back up for a moment.
You will save time not going down a rabbit hole of tools — and have a more pleasant ideation experience — if you just observe and listen. If you’re open to what the universe provides, your time at work, as well as at home and wherever you go, will bestow you with great, original content ideas. You just need to be open to this “channel” — and to pounce when an idea enters your brain.
This is another way of saying that content actually is all around. (Yes, I paraphrased the famous title line from Love Actually. I love that movie!)
What does being a “content sieve” mean in practice?
Here are posts on this blog that originated with things I heard and saw:
The Business Case for Watching TV: As I watched an episode of Escape to the Country with my wife, while thinking of business ideas and enjoying both experiences simultaneously, the idea for this post popped into my head.
Three Reasons Why I Dumped Photoshop for Photopea: My decision-making process for this tool switch was the basis for this post. If you feel strongly about your own switch from one tool to another, or one workflow to another, that’s a great post idea, my friend!
Two Tips for Successful Sales Discovery Calls: This post was born after I noticed a few things about a call I had with the rep of a sales tool that could be improved so that both he (the vendor) and I (the prospect) can have the best experience on future calls.
Have We Reached ‘Post Proofreading’ Thanks to AI?: This post is an example of riffing off an industry-relevant social media post whose POV differs from mine, doing a little research from there to find another post in support of my POV, and then driving to a conclusion that acknowledges the truth of both positions to provide thought nuggets for my readers.
Capturing your ideas
When an idea strikes, you need to capture it ASAP — before you lose it, and in case it transitions to something less substantive and powerful (yes, the latter is a thing in my experience).
Here’s what I’ve trained myself to do in moments of inspiration:
If I’m at my computer and I have a minute: I email myself the idea, which in many cases becomes the post title, along with anywhere from 1-4 sentences on how I’ll flesh out the idea. If I know the piece of content is best for my blog, a social media post, an email, or whatever channel, I include the specific channel(s).
If I’m at my computer or on my phone and I have no additional time: I simply email myself the idea as the subject line. I’ll come back to it later to flesh out additional thoughts and select the distribution channel(s).
If I’m on my phone and don’t even have time to compose a quick email, I jot down the idea as a new item in my Notes app.
If I see something on X, LinkedIn, or elsewhere that gives me an idea, I email it to myself or screenshot it and come back to the screenshot in my Photos app later.
If you take action in ways like the above when ideas hit you, you’ll quickly build a personal library of content topics. (And then you can happily ignore all those social media posts that share methods to generate content libraries that are weeks or months out from “now.”)
