Break through content marketer’s block

You know you need to produce content as a part of your marketing strategy, but you are struggling to generate topic ideas. It’s a common challenge and a good one to think through frequently, whether you’re just starting content marketing or have been at it for years.

But this challenge doesn’t have to become full-fledged content marketer’s block. Here are a few suggestions to kick-start fresh ideas.

Review online search trends.
Use the Google keyword planner or similar tools to research search terms and phrases in specific geographic areas. Then produce content using the terms to encourage inbound traffic to your website.

Use a topic generator.
Type in generic terms and let an online topic generator, like this one, suggest ideas for you based on search traffic and other content that’s already been published.

Host a brain dump.
Host a team meeting and ask for ideas that might be interesting to your target audiences. You’ll get a few duds, but chances are good you’ll gain major inspiration.

Ask your sales team what common questions they hear.
If your customers are asking the same questions over and over, take the opportunity to respond with published content. This has a double-whammy effect: It will allow your sales team to point customers to your website when the questions are asked and will help those searching for similar information online find your website (inbound marketing).

Ask what is confusing about your business.
If customers frequently confuse your services or don’t fully understand your products, take the time to explain it with content. When explaining complex topics, pretend you’re describing them to your grandmother and skip confusing industry terms.

Survey your competition.
What content is the competition producing? How can you do it better? What holes are they leaving that you can answer? Be nosy and then one-up the other guys.

Share what’s interesting to you.
If you have a passion for your business, share it in a blog article, video or infographic. Doing so will help tell your story and can humanize your brand.