How to Come Up With Content Ideas

TL;DR:

We live in a time where it has never been easier to communicate your ideas with people all over the world. But it seems like with each day it gets harder and harder to stand out and get your ideas seen.

Why is that?

The accessibility of information and the ability to spread your ideas across the globe has come with an influx of information, ideas, videos, audio, writing - what we call content in general.

Kids nowadays aspire to be YouTubers or influencers when they grow up. Many people spend hours and hours without any monetary return, creating content with the hopes of one day becoming an influencer.

How is it that some people are able to consistently generate mass exposure for their ideas, their writing, their videos, their thoughts, while others struggle to get even a few people to engage with their idea?

What is it that the people that are successful do the others are failing to do?

In the past, it may have been enough to simply keep doing the action until something clicked. There wasn’t as much competition, you could stand out just by showing up every day. Nowadays, however, you must have a good idea.

A good idea is complemented by good headlines, good copywriting, good graphics, and all the other elements associated with high quality production, but these elements are not necessary for a good idea.

So how can you get better at coming up with good ideas?

Spend time actually coming up with ideas. Sit down and brainstorm ideas for content. Articles, YouTube videos, whatever type of content you’re making, sit down and actually think about what to make.

Take a look at the content that is working in your niche and see what spin you can put on ideas that are working well already. How can you create a unique experience for the the people that enjoyed that content? The key here is not to copy the idea altogether, but instead to take inspiration, and then add your own twist. Level up the content in some way or make it different in some meaningful way.

As the saying goes, “you are what you eat.”

If you want to come up with truly unique ideas, you need to consume unique content. You can’t be scrolling through the most popular tiktoks and expect to come up with a poetry collection that is on the level of Robert Frost.

If you want your mind to come up with interesting connections between different ideas, you have to expose your mind to a wide array of ideas. You can’t consume the same content as everyone else and expect to have different ideas.

The Cultural Tutor says he doesn’t read anything produced in the last 50 years.

If you want your output to be unique, your inputs have to be unique.

Christopher Nolan doesn’t have a smart phone, yet he makes some of the most unique films that are out there today. Nolan personal brand has a mass following, people are eagerly awaiting the release of his next film, even though he’s not on any social media. How is he able to manage such a strong personal brand and unique films that are blockbuster hits every time?

He’s very selective about what he lets into his mind. He doesn’t have a smart phone because he doesn’t want distractions. Notifications and constantly scrolling through dopamine hits doesn’t let your brain allow your brain the time and space to do the real work of coming up unique connections and new ideas.

Steve Jobs was known to take a long walks every day.

Jeff Bezos does his own dishes every night.

Creativity requires time for focus (no distractions) and space to wander (walking, doing the dishes, shower). What this looks like will vary person to person, find what works for you, but don’t make the mistake of downplaying the importance of distraction free wander time.

You can’t underestimate the power of getting reps in. Has Wayne Gretzky said, “you miss 100% of shots you don’t take.” It’s not enough to come up with ideas, you have to actually test which ideas work and which ideas don’t work. The only way to do that is by actually putting out your creation into the world and getting feedback.

Once you start putting out content, your job is not done. The only way to truly develop better ideas is to carefully examine the performance of each idea and to constantly iterate on what’s working well and to remove what isn’t working well.

If you’re just starting out, the easiest thing to do is to develop a daily writing habit. Writing doesn’t require a camera, a microphone, lighting, or any fancy software. All you need is access to the Internet and a social media account. Start writing in a public place where you can get feedback on your writing. Some platforms where writing does well are Twitter (X), Linkedin, and Medium.

Writing helps to clarify your thinking, and is a skill that is the foundation of all types of content. Whether you are creating a podcast, a YouTube, video, and Instagram reel, or something else, good writing is at the heart of all content.