Part 2 of 3
The most successful content creators don't just sit down and hope inspiration strikes. They ask themselves the right questions to ask when creating content that resonates with their audience and delivers real value. This systematic approach transforms blank-page syndrome into a wellspring of actionable ideas.
Step One: Begin With a Question
The first key to a good brainstorming session is to ask the right questions. What you'll want to do is start with a general brainstorm about your topic.
Simply ask yourself: "What do I know about this topic?" List everything that comes to mind.
Once your general brainstorm is complete, then you can start asking more specific questions to help you uncover points to include in your content. Start getting specific by asking yourself this question: "What steps do people need to take in order to complete the process or achieve their goal?"
The Essential Questions That Uncover Great Content
Then list all the steps (even the small steps or sub-steps) that come to mind. This should yield a lot of entries. Next, go through your list of steps and ask yourself the following questions that are based on those eight essential components:
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What tips can I provide that will make these steps clearer to the reader? A good general rule is to include at least 2-3 tips for every major point in your list of steps.
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What examples can I provide that will make these steps clearer to the reader? This is a huge contributing factor for turning "good" content into "great" content. Examples help readers take information and "see" what it looks like in application.
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What sort of lists would be helpful to readers? For example, a list of gear might be useful to someone who's new to backpacking. Or, right now you are reading a list of brainstorming questions to help you better understand this section. See how this works?
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What sort of templates or swipes might be helpful to readers? For example, people who are interested in copywriting would benefit from getting a sales letter template.
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What types of visuals would add value to each section? Consider all types of visuals, including photos, infographics, tables, charts, illustrations, etc. For example, if you're teaching people about organic gardening, then you might provide photos of common garden pests.
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What sort of questions are readers likely to ask? You may want to search platforms like Quora.com to get a feel for the frequently asked questions in your niche. Be sure to also check your own emails, blog comments, social media and other platforms to find out what sorts of questions your audience is asking.
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What types of assignments can you give to your readers? The key here is to give readers an assignment that will have them take a step towards their goal. Each assignment should be directly relevant to the lesson and encourage readers to take action on what they've learned.
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What mistakes did you make when you were first starting out in the niche? You can share these mistakes to help others shortcut the learning curve. You would, of course, explain how to avoid these mistakes (or correct them) as part of your content.
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What stories do you have that are directly related to what you're teaching? For example, do you have an embarrassing moment to share that illustrates a mistake you made? Do you have a story about the moment when you were finally able to start getting good results in the niche?
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What else can you share with your readers which will help them learn about the process? What else adds value?
Step Two: Brainstorm Answers
The second key to a good brainstorming session is to let the answers flow without judgement, without censoring your ideas, and without editing anything as you go. Think quantity over quality at this stage—you just want to get as many ideas down on paper as you can think of.
Keys to Effective Brainstorming
Keep these keys in mind:
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Set aside uninterrupted time. The best brainstorming comes if you give 100% of your attention to the task.
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Let the answers flow. Spend at least five minutes answering each question, but don't stop just because time is up—keep brainstorming until you're not coming up with anything new. (And remember, no censoring, editing or judgement.)
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Brainstorm with a friend if possible. You've heard the saying "two heads are better than one." If you have a spouse, friend or family member who's knowledgeable about the topic and willing to do some brainstorming with you, consider inviting them to your brainstorming session.
By the time you answer all of the questions, you should have dozens (possibly hundreds, depending on your investment of time) of ideas listed. But you're not done yet!
Step Three: Build On Your Answers
Once you've completed the initial stage of brainstorming, go back and read your answers to see if anything else comes to mind. Oftentimes, simply reading your answers will trigger something else. You'll basically have an "Oh, I should add this!" moment.
While this lesson is all about what you know, upon exhausting your own knowledge bank, you can turn to the knowledge bank of Google. Search for existing pieces of content (blog posts, products, infographics, etc.) related to your topic and review them for additional ideas.
Of course, don't steal someone else's content, but rather look to others for general ideas that you can explain in your own unique way.
Your Next Step
Now that you know the three steps to brainstorming, your assignment for this lesson is to use these three steps to start brainstorming the eight essentials. These essentials include: steps, examples, tips, lists, FAQs, templates, visuals and assignments.
Do this every time you need fresh ideas for content. You should yield enough entries to create many different pieces.
What One Brainstorming Session Can Produce
For example, a brainstorming session on how to have a brainstorming session gets these ideas:
- The 3-Step System For Teaching What You Know
- The Top 10 Tips For Creating Content Your Clients Will Love
- Four Content Creation Mistakes You're Making (+How To Fix Them Fast)
- The Better Brainstorming Worksheet
- How To Get 50 Blog Post Ideas In One Hour Or Less
- Five Free Tools Smart Course Creators Use For Idea Generation
- 20 Ways To Find Talking Points For Your Next Piece Of Content
- The Guaranteed Way To Create Courses That Sell Well
- My 3 Shortcuts To Coming Up With A Year's Worth Of Content Ideas
Are you tracking with that? This exercise alone can yield free and paid content ideas to last for weeks, if not months. So go ahead and work on brainstorming ideas for your content, and then let's meet up in the next lesson.
Note: Don't worry about organizing these ideas as you brainstorm them. The key is to just get them all down on paper first, and then you can organize the information later. Take note that some of your ideas may not even end up in the final draft of your content.
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