Sara’s 5-Step Process For Easy Content Creation
| Side note: This blog post (and all of the content on our website, socials, emails, downloadable products and training materials) is all original content. While we do love, talk about and work with automated tools including AI, we feel it’s important for you to know that our focus is always on authentic content that comes directly from us. |
“I never know what to post!”
To be fair, not all of us are born writers. And while the dawn of AI-assisted content creation tools means we can now get help with how to articulate what we want to say in our content pieces, only we possess the specific details needed to initially feed into it. Which means first, we need topics that are relevant to our actual expertise.
“Wait… can’t I just get AI to come up with the topics for me, too?”
Sure, but even AI-generated, industry-specific topics are going to be generic in comparison to topics you yourself could generate, because you’re the only one with your unique experience.
And generic is ok…ish, if you’re ok-ish with your marketing being ok-ish.
But that’s not going to help you stand out amongst all the other people in your field who are using the same tools to churn out the same generic content for them.
Here is a very simple topic discovery + content creation process I like to use, even for my own posts. It starts with a classic brainstorming process that I modified for myself, and have been incorporating into my marketing strategy for SHD for many years.
It goes like this:
Step 1. The foundation for your content bank: Brainstorm some topics you enjoy talking about most when someone asks you about your work, your expertise, or your experience in the industry. Or all 3 of those. Ask yourself:
- What are the subjects you can talk about all day, or have the most passionate discussions about?
- What is something in your industry that you feel needs more attention?
- What are the myths about your type of work that you could bust or share interesting facts about?
- Think of some general topics, too – ones that give you various options to work with (for example, a general topic I would use for content based on my own marketing expertise could just be “Social Media”, “Sales Funnels”, or “Email Marketing”). Start by thinking up some of those.
| Tip: If you still feel stuck, go watch some of your competitors’ videos, or read some posts from other experts in your field. Is there something they’re talking about that you think you could present differently, or in a more effective way? Are there potential different angles to explore? Is there something you feel needs to be expanded on? I never condone copying anyone’s content (ever!), but looking at it to help spark your own unique ideas or hot takes can be a great way to help get the idea ball rolling. |
I use a combination list + mind map diagram for each of mine – starting with a list of my Step 1 topics, and then putting each individual topic from the list into its own mind map. However you do it, I bet you’ll have more topics than you realized!
(Shout out to anyone else who prefers to do this part on actual paper – that is what works best for my brain!)
| Tip: It’s easy to forget how much expertise you have, especially if you’ve been in your field for several, or many years. The knowledge you’ve acquired might feel like common sense to you, as though it’s a given. But keep in mind that knowledge is not a given to your audience, and that’s what makes what you have to say so valuable to them. |
Step 4. Build on it: You guessed it… for each of your subtopics, create some more branches or subsets. Each time you create a new subset or branch, you are narrowing down to more specific sub-topics to talk about. More content ideas!
Then what? Keep it going, for as long as you want or need to! Now you have an established content bank filled with potential things to post about! The last time I used this process I ended up with a full year’s worth of post ideas in under 1 hour!
| Tip: Keep this content bank handy so you can add to it on a whim when inspiration strikes! And, from time to time, go back to your content bank and look it over – you might think up some additional topics just by reviewing it. |
But there was another set of branch topics hidden in there – for each step in this process, I was also able to think of some corresponding tips (aka the related subtopics) I wanted to include.
The additional tips were easy to come up with thanks to this process, and they allow me to include bonus value that my readers can benefit from even more!
| Tip: Consider using a set of subtopics to create a series for your social media, newsletter or blogs. |
| Another tip! Once you have a collection of topics and related main points you want to make in your content, start planning and finishing the posts you’ll make with them, and add them to your content calendar. |
| Another tip! Consider using a set of subtopics to create a series for your social media, newsletter or blogs. |
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About Sara: Sara Hodge offers social and digital marketing strategy sessions, courses and trainings (online or in-person) to small and medium businesses, and customized private online group courses and trainings to corporate groups. She offers Fractional CMO services and social media management to select clients. Learn more about Sara and all of SHD’s services here.