"Curiosity Killed the Cat"

This old saying has been coming up in my life recently and it dawned on me... what if curiosity didn't kill the cat?

Cats are known for their inquisitive nature, and they often explore their surroundings without fear or hesitation. I feel this is the same way we should approach content creation.

The best creators I know all point to curiosity as the spark that got them to where they are.

Curiosity helps you discover new ideas

It is the fuel that drives creativity. When you're curious, you're more likely to explore new topics, ask questions, and think outside the box.

This can lead to the discovery of new ideas, insights, and perspectives that can make your content more interesting and engaging.

Curiosity makes your content more relevant

It helps you understand your audience's needs and interests.

By asking questions and seeking feedback, you can gain valuable insights into what your audience is looking for and tailor your content accordingly.

This can help make your content more relevant, useful, and valuable to your audience.

Curiosity will keep you engaged in the process

Creating content can be a long and sometimes tedious process.

However, if you're genuinely curious about the topic you're writing about, it can help keep you engaged and motivated.

We have gone over the importance of consistency before, but at the end of the day if the content you are making seems 'boring' to you, you'll soon run out of reasons to keep going.

So with that being said how do you keep coming up with endless ideas for your content, to keep you and your audience engaged?

Generating Unlimited Ideas

The social media space is crowded, everyone is competing for attention and because of this it makes it harder to stand out at a new creator.

It is the combination and connection of information online that will help you create your own niche, perspective and content style that will separate you from the crowd.

You can't copy it from someone else, you have to pull the pieces together. It’s best to start with the people you already view as 'mentors' online. If you are consuming their content, something in there is keeping you coming back to explore more.

Content creation can come down to a scientific process - endless ideas are out there waiting for you to discover them and piece them together.

I love how Dan Koe broke this process down in his recent letter.

"A personal brand is just discovering yourself in public and getting paid for the research you do."

Research

It all starts with research, the below methods will give you a starting point.

Then you can test, experiment, discover, and document to create an endless loop of content for your channel.

The YouTube Method

Explore Channels, Trending and Popular Videos

Looking at trending and popular videos on YouTube can help you identify what topics and themes are resonating with audiences.

• Look for videos that are trending or popular in your niche. You can type in
"[your niche] tips" look at the channels with the most views

• Analyse the content of these videos and take note of the topics they cover

• Use this information to create your own content around popular and relevant topics

Look for Gaps in the Content Available on YouTube

Identifying gaps in the content available can help you find opportunities to create unique and valuable content that sets you apart from other creators.

• Identify topics related to your niche that aren't covered or aren't covered in-depth on YouTube

• Create content that fills the gap and provides value to your audience

Use YouTube's Search Suggestions

Search suggestions can give you insights into what topics are popular and what people are searching for on the platform.

• Start typing a keyword or phrase into the search bar on YouTube

• Take note of the related search terms that YouTube suggests

• Use this information to create content around popular and relevant topics

Read the Comments and Feedback

Looking at comments and feedback on videos can help you identify the questions and concerns your audience has, you can then create content that addresses those issues.

• Look for comments and feedback on videos related to your niche

• Take note of the questions and concerns your audience has

• Use this information to create content that addresses those issues

The Blog Method

Medium is a popular platform for blogs and articles, covering a wide range of topics, and perfect for research.

Explore the Homepage

The homepage showcases a variety of curated articles, recommended by the platform's editors. This is a great place to start exploring and finding new blogs to read.

Follow Topics You're Interested In

The platform allows you to follow specific topics that you're interested in. Once you follow a topic, Medium will suggest articles and blogs related to that topic, making it easy for you to discover new blogs.

Check Out the "Popular on Medium" Section

This section showcases the most popular articles and blogs on the platform. This is a great place to find blogs that are currently trending and getting a lot of engagement.

Follow Other Readers and Writers

By following other readers and writers it can help you discover new blogs and articles that they recommend. Does your favourite twitter profile have a Medium page?

You can also join groups related to your interests and engage with other members to find new blogs and articles.

Use The Search Feature

This platform has a powerful search feature that allows you to search for blogs and articles based on keywords or topics.

You can also use the advanced search filters to narrow down your results and find blogs that are most relevant to you.

The Observation Method

"Everything is content" and one of the easiest ways to come up with new ideas is the simple act of Observation.

Observe your thoughts

Observe your environment

Observe your relationships

Observe your day-to-day habits

The content that will make you truly unique will come from your experience, story and worldview.

When something interesting happens throughout your day, take a note of it. Store it somewhere you can come back to later.

A little challenge you can set for yourself - Try to write one observation from your day, every day for at least a week.

By shifting the lens onto your life and looking for content 'nuggets' throughout your day, you'll soon find infinite ideas that come out of the seemingly 'mundane' that you can turn into content.

The AI Method

With the rise of Chat-GPT its time to use this tool to your advantage. I'm not telling you to just copy and paste what gets spat out, but to use it as the tool it was intended to be.

Here are 5 prompts you can use to get started

1. Suggest topic ideas for [your niche]

2. What are x things my [audience] struggles with

3. How do I help [target audience] with x

4. What are the biggest pain points when it comes to [your niche]

5. What are x top tips for [your niche]

Keep asking questions until you have new content ideas to riff off. I would advise doing any extra research into what the AI comes up with.

Use this as the base to form new ideas - I repeat, don't just copy and paste from ChatGPT. Put in your flare, your tone of voice, and inject your personal stories and humour into the content.

The Audio Method

If you're struggling to find the time to read, get listening!

Use the time you spend

• Cooking

• Cleaning

• Commuting

To listen to the top podcasts and audio books related to your niche. The more places you can pull content from the more connections you will start to make that will form the basis of new ideas.

Make sure you have a note taking app on hand and write down all the interesting thoughts, quotes, anecdotes that catch your attention.

... Except if you're driving... don't take notes while you're driving.

Store these in one place and block off a time in your week when you revisit your notes and generate ideas through them.

The Recycle Method

It's hard not to fall into the trap of feeling like we have to come up with fresh new ideas with every post. Social media is a game of saying 1 thing 1000 different ways.

Once you have a good idea you can re-use it, just present it in a different way.

People consume so much information on a daily basis on social media that one tweet or one post will be forgotten in the next hour, let alone the upcoming days and weeks.

People also need to hear the same message presented many different ways in order to find the one that sticks with them.

Once you have been posting for a while, look back at the analytics on your posts.

Take the ones that have performed well and find a way to recycle the content.

• Try adding an image this time

• Change the hook

• Present it in a new format

Take a look at your favourite mentors or accounts online and if you scroll back through their content you will start to see how they have used the recycle method.

The Vault Method

Creating your ‘Vault’ also known as a Swipe File is a collection of ideas, inspiration, and reference material that you will collect for future use.

If you read a tweet and said to yourself "I wish I could write like that"
- It goes in the vault

Content that made you click through to a sales page or subscribe to a newsletter...
- It goes into the vault

Did you click a persons profile to find out more about them after reading their post?
- It goes into the vault

This can be a collection of tweets, threads, AutoDM giveaways, Instagram posts, ad copy, headlines, images, and other marketing material that has proven to be effective on you.

Anything and everything that makes you read more, or captivates you to purchase a product or service should be going into the Vault.

You can look back at these posts and use them as templates for your content, using the same formatting or sequence of storytelling but inputting your offer, services, stories etc.

Remember to stay curious.

Maja Howard