Content generation may seem simple enough when you’re in the early stages of your content marketing strategy. You’re full of fresh ideas and things you want to share. But what do you do when you start running out of ideas? Here are 4 simple techniques to help you keep generating lots of content ideas quickly.

1. Find out what your competitors are doing

Keeping tabs on your competitors is important. You’ll know what their latest products are, you can identify any upcoming threats to your business, and you’ll stay in the know about the latest news in your industry.

Find out what they’re doing and why their customers like doing business with them. Go through their reader comments and interactions to see what their audience is saying. Browse their websites, their blogs, their social media accounts, their forums, etc. See if you can put your own spin on what they’re doing, and then create new content out of that information.

Beware – don’t fall into the trap of speaking negatively of your competitors to try to make yourself look good. That could easily backfire. Instead, try adding your own value on top of what they’re doing, or presenting your alternative ideas about the latest products or trends.

2. Find out what people are asking

A quick and simple way is to type a general topic into Google and see what suggested topics come up. For example, if you are a personal trainer, type in ‘personal training for’ and Google will list suggestions for beginners, kids, over 50s, weight loss, etc. This will provide ideas for content you can create to address those search questions.

Another great place to look for questions that people are always asking is on a question and answer site such as Quora, Reddit or Yahoo! Answers. There are also plenty of forums, industry-specific pages, Facebook groups and other social media channels you can browse. It won’t be hard to find plenty of questions (and answers) you can use to build your content on. 

You don’t even have to look very far to know what people are talking about. Just go over your blog’s comments and check if anyone’s shared some interesting tidbits. You can even ask people on your mailing list to tell you what kind of content they want to read on your website! Many people will be happy to share if you ask nicely.

3. Do product reviews

Most people depend on product reviews before they commit to a purchase, so that’s a great angle for content creation. Write reviews about products or services you’ve used recently that are related to your brand or industry. Your review can be in the form of a blog or a video demonstration.

Let’s say you’re a yoga instructor. You can write reviews about yoga clothing, meditation music lists, post-workout smoothies, or even yoga retreats. At the end of the article, give a brief overview of the classes you teach and add a link to your website.

4. Tell personal stories

Personal stories bring a strong human touch to your brand. They make you relatable to your audience. Write about successes you’ve enjoyed, and how your clients benefited from a product they bought from you, or learned from a course you taught.

Write also about failures. Explore reasons why something didn’t work, how you felt, and how you moved on from there. When you’re openly honest with your audience, they see you as someone they trust, and your connection with them strengthens.