Do This for Endless Content Ideas (7 Ideas with Examples)
Everything becomes content.
I don’t know who said it first, but I’ve heard it came from Tim Denning. He said something like:
Everything is content.
So simple, yet so profound.
I used to struggle with writer’s block until I started writing more. Turns out, the more you write, the more these little idea webs start to form.
Ideas branch off into other ideas, and those branch off into other ideas…
But if you’re not there yet, and you’re still struggling to know what to write, here’s my favorite thing to do:
Break something down.
Let me show you 7 ways to do this (with examples), and hopefully, this will get your brain juices flowing.
1. Collect and share your wins of the week.
Every week I look at what happened in the past week and list off some wins.
I write about:
- Read ratios on my stories
- How many articles I published
- How many people praised my work
- How many email subscribers I gained
- How much money my ebook has made me
I don’t do it to brag (although, I do post these on the Brag Board). I do it for 3 main reasons:
- To show myself that I had wins even when it didn’t feel like it.
- To inspire and motivate other people to find their wins for the week.
- Because it gives me content!
2. Create a challenge for yourself.
I started this road to $5k per month challenge at the beginning of the year. My goal is to make $5k per month in earnings by the end of the year and document the process along the way.
Every month I provide an update. I break down my stats and earnings so readers can see what I’m trying to get to that $5k per month.
In this report, I give updates on:
- Medium followers and earnings
- Mini newsletter subscribers
- Digital product sales
- Affiliate sales
It’s very similar to wins of the week but encompasses the whole month and focuses more on earnings.
Example: The Road to $5k Per Month Challenge — February Updates
3. Document something you’re working on.
I loved writing my Medium Money ebook so much that I decided to write another one.
But this time I’m documenting the process right here on Medium.
I’m writing the book out piece by piece, and I’m doing this for a few reasons:
- It helps keep me accountable and makes sure that I follow through with the writing.
- I don’t really know what I’m doing, but since I have to do it, I’m forced to figure it out along the way.
- It helps show other people what to do. (And what not to do sometimes!)
- And, of course…it gives me content!
Example: Watch Me Write a Book to Sell (Piece-by-Piece on Medium)
4. Write about your goals.
At the beginning of the month, I like to think about what I accomplished in the previous month, and what I hope to improve on and tackle in the new month.
Doing this helps me set some targets and also gives readers ideas for setting their own goals.
In this article, I talk about my goals for:
- Medium
- Twitter/X
- Mini newsletter
- Digital products
It not only sets the stage for the upcoming month but also for my $5k per month challenge update.
5. Share lessons you’ve learned after a milestone.
I bet you’ll see this one a lot on Medium. People love to share what they’ve learned after they hit a certain milestone.
You can do this with:
- Your first Medium earnings
- Hitting a certain amount of followers
- Hitting a certain amount of followers on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
- Writing a certain amount of articles
- Your first affiliate marketing earnings
- Earning your first $1 (or $1000) from your product
The cool thing is, that you can pick any milestone from anything you’re working on and break down the key lessons you’ve learned.
You can do this again and again!
Example: The 7 Key Lessons I’ve Learned Publishing 200 Articles
Example 2: Here’s What I Learned from Creating My First Paid Product…
6. Evaluate your stats.
There is so much data available to you on Medium and any other platforms you use.
You can dig into it and then share something you’ve learned.
On Medium, you can look into:
- Which of your articles are the most read
- Which headlines are the most popular
- Which articles made the most money
- Which articles have the best read ratios
See if there are any patterns or anything that stands out and write about what it is.
Example: Shocking! I Used This Headline Tool to Evaluate My Top 7 Most Read Stories
Example 2: How To Write A $100 Article on Medium (Without Getting Boosted)
7. Break down a past article you’ve written.
The more you write, the better you’ll get. You’ll really start to see this as you go back and look at your old work.
As you take a peek at some of your early writings, you might feel the urge to hang your head in shame.
But…
This is a fantastic opportunity for new content!
Pick a post that had a problem (or ten), then show people what was wrong with it.
Example: This Medium Article Sucks. (Breakdown of a Bad Article)
Bonus idea: Create a roundup post.
Once you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll have a lot to work with. Now you can take some of your articles that have a common theme and use them to create a roundup post.
You can group together posts that talk about:
- Headlines
- Key lessons
- Biggest mistakes
You can get as creative as you like with this.
Example: This very article you’re reading!
Final Thoughts
I hope I was able to give you some new ideas to combat that nasty ol’ writer’s block. Once you get that ball rolling, those idea webs begin to form and you’ll never run out of things to write about.
You can break down past writings, monthly goals, weekly winnings, worst mistakes, and anything else you can think of.
You can also gather together posts that have a common theme and create a roundup article.
And don’t limit these ideas to only your writing. Use other people’s work too!
Example: Forget Rocket-Fueled…This Account is A Nuclear Blast!
Are you beginning to see it now? Content is everywhere.
About the Author
Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted book nerd on the outside, and a raging metalhead on the inside. 🤘 I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, the band Chevelle 🎸, and murder mysteries 📖.
I also love putting together short lists of simple ideas & resources to boost your online income. Join the 500+ other intellectualists by clicking here.
