One of the greatest challenges with content marketing is coming up with enough ideas to provide a steady stream of useful, relevant content.
The problem isn’t one of idea generation, though. It’s in not understanding how to approach content marketing.
In reality, content marketing is publishing. To make it work, you must think like a publisher.
How do publishers approach content?
Let’s take magazines as an example. The most successful magazines have a narrow focus. Just one or two ideas.
Yet they crank out article after article, month after month, year after year.
One idea, yet thousands of pieces of content.
Each article approaches the idea from a different angle. One may look at it as a whole. Another may expand on it. And yet another pulls out the magnifying glass to examine a tiny portion of the idea.
The magazine, or publisher, presents new ways to think about the idea, which makes it a thought leader for its readers. And it reports on the evolution of that idea as it changes throughout the years.
Idea v. Content
Most people think of an idea as an entity in itself. It’s like a rare gem that must be set aside and polished all by itself. Content marketers see ideas differently. Each idea is a mine that can produce thousands of gems.
The distinction, perhaps, is in what constitutes an idea.
An idea isn’t a web post or special report. It isn’t a great headline either. An idea is, well, just an idea. But it’s more than a topic. It’s a fresh way to see something… a unique take on a common theme… a story no one else is telling.
And that one idea can provide a blog post, a newsletter article, a video, a magazine article and even a webinar. So your idea is a mine, and each gem is the content you develop from that idea.
Think about it.
Assume one idea = 50 pieces of content (a conservative estimate).
Two ideas = 100 pieces of content.
And just 10 ideas = 500 pieces of content.
The secret is to re-purpose your current content
Or, to extend the metaphor, dig out more gems from your existing mines. Let me explain…
Let’s say you write a newsletter article. When you’re done, you not only have an article, you also have a fair amount of research. If you had to do any editing (and are smart about it) you may have some paragraphs that got cut from your final article — not because they weren’t good but because they didn’t fit.
Edited paragraphs can be the start of a new piece of content. When you write, rather than using the delete button, cut the misfits and paste them into another document. Save them along with your research. Then use them to approach your idea from another angle.
Research can also be the start of new content. What else can you say about your topic with that research? Or what other topics can the research be applied to?
Re-imagining requires imagination
Like painting, re-imaginging can be hard if you’re too close to your subject. Every now and then take a step back from your ideas as well as your content.
Perhaps start working with another idea or another medium. Read other people’s ideas. Look at how other people use the same medium in different industries.
Don’t be afraid to start mining in an area that doesn’t initially look promising. Who knows? You might strike gold.
What are your idea-generating tricks?
It’s always good to hear how other people solve the problems we all deal with. Where do your best ideas come from? Have you found a killer way to re-format your content? Post your ideas below.
