How to generate tons of ideas

Hello friends,

Greetings from the sunny side of Ottawa. And thank you all for the testimonials.

It’s hot 🥲

How has your week been?

Mine—Gmail accounts got hacked.

But Google was gracious enough to get it sorted out within a day.

Work has been fun.

As an immigrant, it takes some getting used to the fact that everyone else wants to go on holidays cos it’s summer.

Whatever the case, let’s get to the business of the day.

Today, we’ll be talking about generating tons of ideas for your blog posts

Let’s first get this out of the way; a topic isn’t an idea.

A topic is much broader than an idea. And when you try to cover a topic in a single blog post, it can be overwhelming for your reader.

Except maybe you are writing one of those Brian Deanesque guides.

This is also why the art of topic clusters has become a big deal recently. Chima Mmeje has a fantastic course on the topic. You can check it out here.

Ideas are much more specific.

They define how your newsletter/blog helps your audience.

Lastly, a great idea helps you generate organic search traffic. Remember, Google needs you to publish content that solves the readers’ problems and answers their questions.

Here are four methods I use to generate more ideas 💡

I like to think of ideation in four buckets:

• What are the goals and aims your audience wants to achieve?

• What problems do they want to solve, and what’s holding them back?

• What questions do they want you to answer?

• Are there any resources they are looking for — templates, checklists, quotes, trends — that improve their life?

Let’s take a close at each of them…

Goals and aims 🥅

Let’s have a look at some examples using a content writer called Lia. A good starting point could be:

• How to use writing to communicate with clarity

• How to create outlines that make your writing better

• How to use writing to win a problematic boss over

Problems and fears 😱

Here, I look to solve the problems and fears my audience might have. We’ll still be using our content writer exemplar.

• 5 reasons why your writing is boring

• How to write clearly, even if you don’t feel up to it

Questions❓

Your audience probably has a lot of questions. For instance:

• How many words do you need in your blog post?

• Is WordPress better than Webflow for blogging?

• Why does simple writing work so well?

When thinking of questions, consider the following:

• What…?

• What if…?

• Are you…?

• Should you…?

• What’s the difference between…and…?

• Is…or…better?

• When…?

• How…?

• Where…?

• Who…?

• Why…?

Resources 📁

Here, you are curating or sharing resources that help and inspire your audience. Some examples include:

• A content brief template for creating great blog posts

• 500 power words that supercharge your writing

• 10 introduction samples you can swipe instantly

Next steps?

Go and create 20 ideas under each of these buckets.

Content tools

A content tool I discovered this week

Ahrefs Keyword Generator helps you generate thousands of keyword ideas in seconds. Plus, it’s free.

A free SEO course

Ahrefs Academy also just released a free SEO course. If your end goal is to rank higher in search engines like Google and get free organic traffic, this SEO training is for you.

Not Enough Writers

Last weekend, we had the awesome Daisy-ree Q talking about crushing customer research as a content marketer.

You can check out our LinkedIn page for highlights from the session if you couldn’t make it.

Alternatively, hit the reply button, and I’ll send you the recording.

Content writing jobs (Remote/Freelance)

✅ Freelance Technical Content Writer, Xayn | Apply here

✅ Freelance Writer, Jerry | Apply here

✅ Freelance Writer, OTR Capital | Apply here

✅ Freelance Copywriter, Housing Scout | Apply here

✅ Affiliate (E-Commerce) Writer, GAMUR | Apply here

✅ Business Content Writer, ContentFly | Apply here

✅ And here’s a Google Docs link that also includes high-paying pitching opportunities.

(Seeing that we all have been learning to pitch our skills, now it’s time to put all you have learned to practice. I’ll update the doc weekly)

All the best, folks. And please share with any of your friends/colleagues who might find this useful. 🙏🏾

My biggest takeaway this week 🚀

Companies that optimize their content to be easily shared and consumed in Slack groups and DMs are winning.

What I’m thinking about?

Starting from zero can be a gift.

What’s your biggest content marketing challenge?

Reply to this email. Let me know what you’d like me to cover next.

I read every reply.

Thanks for reading this far. I am grateful!

Stay safe and sane.

I’ll be back on July 2nd.

Dozie

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