How I Developed a Bottomless Well of Content Ideas for My Article-Writing

Whether you write articles, blog posts, or Medium stories…

There were many days where I couldn’t do it anymore. I’d stare at the keyboard thinking, “I’m done. This won’t work for me. It might work for some writers, but I don’t have the right brain for it.”

I’d look at the blank screen.

If I didn’t write I wouldn’t get paid. I was in the middle of an article-mill rabbit hole. I got a little taste of what it was like to make good money writing. I wanted to repeat that feeling. So I wrote my face off for pennies an hour.

Although I learned some hard lessons from my days in the writing sweatshop, I did discover a valuable takeaway that has helped my writing ever since. The premise is simple, but the execution takes habit-building.

If we want to get paid as freelance writers, we’ve got to write content people want to read. The moment you sit to write is the moment it’s too late to decide what you’ll write. To engage readers we need our creative mind to do the work.

I learned that lesson the tough way.

The writing part is the act of dumping my mental movie onto the page. If I don’t start with an idea, I’ll have no mental movie to regurgitate. Writing time is sacred time. Those of us with families, lives, and gross day jobs tend to appreciate are few writing moments as if they’re gold.

The worst thing we can do to this golden time is come to the writing table empty-handed.

I was so burned-out from my previous process at the article mill, I vowed to create a different method that would get better content on the page faster, without ever giving me that feeling of dread when I sit down to write.

We do our worst thinking while we’re still

Our brains are designed to do their best work while the host (you) is in motion. Our most-creative state occurs not when we’re sitting, but while we’re moving. Another reason why sitting is the new smoking.

So, what do we do when we try to write cold?

We sit first. Then we stare at the blank screen, think we’re terrible humans, doubt our work, wonder how all the other writers make it work but us, and spend the rest of our valuable writing session in a pool of self-loathing and wasted time.

Step one of the process is to bring good ideas to the table.

Never start a content session without an idea. It’s terribly inefficient. Plus, when you deliberately sit to write you’re using the conscious parts of your brain — the weakest part. This is the part we need for the typing, but not the part we need for the great idea.

We want the big guns instead.

In walks the subconscious. This part of your brain does all the work. Your conscious brain can only focus on one activity at a time, but your subconscious can work on as many problems as you ask of it. The kicker is, you can’t force your subconscious mind to come up with new ideas (this would mean you used your conscious mind).

If we want to engage the subconscious we’ve got to get moving.

It doesn’t take much. A slow walk, or doing dishes is enough — even taking a shower (this works great). All you need to do is focus on a different task, unrelated to your writing project, and your subconscious will deliver everything you need.

Step two is always have an idea-capture system on hand

The kicker with engaging your subconscious is you don’t get to decide when your brain will feel you a great content idea. Therefore, you’ve got to be ready to capture these great ideas at all times, else they’ll go to someone who will.

Whether it’s a digital recorder (like I keep in my car for hands-free notes), a yellow legal pad (my favorite), or some kind of pocket notebook — we must capture before we can sit and write.

Step three is refer to your capture list often

Old ideas will spark new ideas. Your ideas will have babies — better ideas — spawned from a weaker, first idea. Not everything you capture will become a great article. But the more ideas you capture the greater your writing menu.

When you revisit your idea capture list, you’ll spark your subconscious to develop new ideas from the old ones. Previously, I’ve made a case for avoiding a writer’s notebook. This type of capture is not the same as a writer’s notebook. Those notebooks are for book-writing.

This idea capture system is to develop an endless well of article and content ideas. We want to write these pieces fast and return to our bigger writing projects — the evergreen books and coursework. Articles provide short-term income, but if we want long-term, sustainable income, we’ve got to build evergreen products too.

Sit with a plan

Now I come to the writing table with an idea. I write most of my content pieces in one sitting. I realize their lifetime is short — maybe a week or two, tops. Some of these articles will generate a trickle of lifetime interest, but the bulk of the viewership is gone after this short window.

I write today, because I know I’ll do it again tomorrow.

If I want to build my audience the process doesn’t happen without cumulative effort. Not every piece I write will be curated. And even fewer of the curated pieces will become hits.

I sit with a plan.

The plan is to write and publish every day, unless I take a deliberate, calculated day off. There’s no room for shoulda, coulda, woulda. I produce content, because it works for me. The content pays for my business and builds my audience, simultaneously.

In order to write daily I need a list of potential content in advance.

There’s no room in my schedule to waste time. I know my stories don’t appeal to mass-audiences, so I’ve got to write a lot of content for a small audience. Hence, the endless list of content ideas.

Before, or as I sit, I scan my ongoing list. I choose the best article that fits my content goal of the day (sell a product, grow my list, bring connection to readers, get new readers etc.) Once those two things are settled, I write the piece to match the outcome I want.

I publish. And hope for the best.

Some stories are curated, many are not. Tomorrow I’ll open the notebook and follow the same process. What am I trying to accomplish with this article today?

I move as much as I can when I’m not writing

I carry my idea capture devices with me everywhere. No matter where I am, I’ve got my phone, paper, or a digital recorder. I don’t let any article idea slip through the ether without capturing it.

I never know when I’ll get a new idea.

But I’ve got hundreds of great ideas ready for when I sit to write. Many of the ideas won’t turn into an article. But I have so many ideas captured (and continue to add more) I can cherry-pick only the best ideas for my next article.

As I’m collecting ideas I never judge.

The judgment comes when I sit to write. But as I move around my world, collecting ideas, there’s no judgement. If we judge an idea as its captured, we give ourselves no room to let the idea grow in our subconscious.

The initial spark of an idea is one sentence, it’s not an article yet.

That single, captured sentence is food for a bigger, 1500–2000 word article. My subconscious is always working on these ideas, humming in the background, waiting for the right moment.

When I’m ready to write, I choose the article the sparks my interest and meets my daily goal. My subconscious kicks into gear and helps deliver the article it’s been percolating for a week or two in the background.

I want to be a typist when I write, not a thinker. I want the deep work done ahead of time.

I want my writing to work for me, like social dividends

I choose article topics that will work for me while I sleep (or while I’m not writing). Although my content may not have a long half-life, during its life I want to ensure my writing works as hard as possible.

Not only does my writing earn money from people reading the articles, but I also link to my products and encourage readers to join my free email masterclass.

The writing keeps paying dividends, long after its half-life has expired.

I write every piece with the intent to re-purpose it later. Even if I use each title as a test for book ideas, I can see the stats for long-term engagement with each piece and adjust my future projects accordingly.

Every piece of content is another piece of data with which I can engage my audience. When one article doesn’t work, I lean and pivot. You can do the same thing with your content. Never run out of ideas again. Keep a running content list. Sit and write the idea that sparks you the most. Publish and learn from the results.

We’re waiting for you.

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August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. A self-proclaimed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indie authors how to write books that sell and how to sell more of those books once they’re written. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.

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