Summary

The article provides strategies for content creators to generate an endless stream of ideas using tools and cross-platform research.

Abstract

The article "How to Find Content Creation Ideas Like a Pro" outlines five effective methods for content creators to source new topics and ideas. It emphasizes the importance of staying current with trending topics by using Google Trends to identify popular keywords and queries. The article also recommends Answer The Public for insights into search engine autocomplete data, presenting trending questions and key phrases in a visual format. Cross-platform research is highlighted as a means to discover diverse perspectives and ideas by exploring content on platforms such as Quora, Reddit, and TikTok. Additionally, the article suggests leveraging multilingual research to uncover unique content ideas from different cultural perspectives, using Google Translate if necessary. Lastly, it advises content creators to utilize Google search suggestions and related search features to understand user interests and trends.

Opinions

Google Trends is a valuable tool for identifying trending topics and tailoring content to a global audience.
Answer The Public is praised for its ability to break down keywords into detailed questions and phrases, aiding in the creation of targeted content.
Exploring content across various platforms is seen as beneficial for gaining fresh insights and staying ahead in content creation.
Knowledge of multiple languages is considered an advantage for content creators, allowing access to a broader range of ideas and perspectives.
Google's search suggestions and related search features are viewed as direct reflections of user interests, providing content creators with immediate feedback on popular search trends.

How to Find Content Creation Ideas Like a Pro

Here are five ways you can source unlimited ideas and topics.

As content creators like writers, bloggers, YouTubers, and TikTok stars, we constantly need new topics and ideas to fuel our content creation. It is pretty easy to think of ideas initially but it is getting more challenging if you have covered many topics before.

1) Google Trend

Based on StatCounter in July 2021, Google owns the most search engine market share worldwide at 91.86 percent. I often do keyword research on Google Trend to find a topic that is currently trending and viral.

For example, say you want to create a YouTube about earning money, you can visit the Google Trend website, enter the topic or niche you are in. Depending on the country you want to include in the filter, it is better to use worldwide as the filter because you want to target the world trending topic. Choose the correct time range to reflect the latest topics and queries, for example, 30 days to 90 days.

Topic and queries related to the “earn money” keyword on Google Trends. Source: Google Trends

Then, scroll down to the bottom, you will see related topics and related queries. In a glance, the possible topics for your YouTube video can be:

Three steps to start earning money on the Quora website
How to start blogging and earn money
How to play bitcoin games and earn money
Tips to watch ads and earn money

2) Answer The Public

Say goodbye to gut guessing of which topic your users wanted to see. It happens a lot when I am thinking of a new topic to cover for writing. The best solution is still using tools like Answer The Public. It collects the autocomplete data from search engines like Google and displays it in a meaningful graphic with trending key phrases and questions.

Let’s use the same keyword “earn money” in this tool and evaluate the result.

Result for “earn money” keyword on AnswerThePublic. Source: AnswerThePublic

From the diagram above, the darker the green color is, the higher the ranking of the phrase. The possible topics for your YouTube video might be:

How to earn money online from home
How to earn money from TikTok
Where to earn money online without investment

This tool is excellent in breaking down your keyword into questions, using prepositions, comparisons, and alphabetical.

3) Cross-Platform Research

Cross-platform research is probably one of the best ways to find ideas. Why research topics on the same platform you are creating content on? If you are a YouTuber, you can research topics and titles on another platform like:

Quora
Reddit
Stackoverflow
Stack Exchange
Yahoo Answers
Medium
Xiaohongshu (RED)
TikTok
Douyin (China Version of TikTok)
Instagram
Twitter

You might find a lot of new ideas and inspirations from the other platforms.

4) Other languages

The content on the internet is written or recorded in one of the languages on earth. If you know more than one language, you are in luck! Researching topics in other languages can be rewarding. The trick is to find foreign language content and translate them to your primary language.

I know three languages, English, Malay, and Chinese. For example when I would do a Google Search for “earn money” or “赚钱” in the Chinese language or “jana pendapatan” in the Malay language. I will find articles like:

https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/97959857 (Chinese)
https://dakaluyou.com/online-work-make-income/ (Chinese)
https://therohani.com/cara-jana-pendapatan-sampingan/ (Malay)
https://azuraabdul.com/5-cara-jana-pendapatan-dari-rumah-semasa-pkp/ (Malay)

Because the articles are produced by people from another ethnic group, you get to know a completely fresh perspective on topics and ideas.

The great thing is, even if you don’t know any other language, there is always Google translate.

5) Google search suggestions and related search

Google suggestions from the keyword “make money.” Source: Author

On top of the Google result, you can refer to the suggestions that appear while typing the keyword into the search bar. Those suggestions usually are the trend of what users are looking for.

Related search of “earn money” on Google Search. Source: Author

Also, try to scroll to the bottom of the Google result. You will see a section that shows all Google-related search phrases. These are other ways you can get some other ideas from a Google search.

Wrapping Up

Creative ideas don’t need to be out of your brain juice every time. It is OK to search the internet, absorb creativities from another creator, and make them as references for your content. I believe the tricks and sources above can feed you with an endless supply of ideas.