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You are here: Home / Business Blogging / How to Develop Ideas and Expand Your Content

How to Develop Ideas and Expand Your Content

By Ann Smarty

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I saw a really interesting statistic on OrbitMedia recently. According to a study, they found that it now takes 65% more time to write a blog post than it did back in 2014. That is more than three hours per piece of content, quite a chunk of time. The reasoning behind this can be argued but I personally think it shows the care that is being put into those blog posts in order to compete with others.

Think about it, what did we see a lot of in the early days of online content marketing? I know clear back into 2014 I was still witnessing a shocking number of spun articles and keyword-stuffed blog posts. The algorithm was changing but old tactics were still being used by less reliable sources.

Now, we know that high quality is what dictates success and that means providing value to the reader. The same principle can be applied to other forms of content, especially videos, which is making up a large portion of content marketing strategies today.

Expanding Your Content and Developing Solid Ideas

Right now is a great time to work on that content. Not only are we all stuck at home, but people are hungry to consume information or be entertained. You should be spending even more time right now developing that content than before.

That just leaves us with one problem: the inspiration. Just having the time or the need isn’t enough, you also need ideas to back them up. Even the most prolific creators among us get stale sometimes. How do you get those creative juices pumping so you can get proper outreach for your brand?

Here are some of the tactics I use to get fresh ideas when I am running dry.

Revisit Old Content

This is always my first go-to when I am feeling a little wrung out and need a topic. Instead of coming up with something brand new, I go looking for something old to help me out. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone through old posts and realized that they are ripe for an update. After all, we work in an industry that is ever changing and most other niches have at least a few tweaks that could be beneficial to make.

I start by looking at my most visited posts. If they are still getting a lot of traffic, I ask myself if something could be added that would give it a fresh spin. Not only does this keep me up to date on content my readers appreciate most, but it provides a chance for internal links that can direct newcomers back to that old content that they might find valuable.

Next, I look at topics that didn’t quite hit their mark. A little analysis will tell me if it is a topic that just isn’t important to my readers, or if it is a topic that was not timely then but might be now. If the latter is true, I write a whole new piece to replace that one and publish. I like this option because it gives a second chance to content that might be genuinely useful but wasn’t published at the right time or just fell through the cracks.

I love using Text Optimizer to re-optimize and expand my old articles. The tool uses semantic analysis to extract related concepts from Google’s search snippets and urges you to create content around them. The higher your score, the better you rank:

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Text Optimizer helps you discover concepts and angles that need covering in order to make your content more comprehensive. You can also use TextOptimizer’s plugin to make your content expansion task easier. There are a few more plugins to help you better optimize your old content.

When using the tool, make sure to avoid keyword stuffing when trying to achieve a higher score. Only use the tool to drive your content research, always use your editorial judgment when building content.

Start Looking For Questions

What questions are people asking right now? It used to be a little hard to find out but in today’s world, it couldn’t be easier. First, you have tried and true tools like AnswerThePublic, one of my all-time favorites. It is a search listening tool that lets you submit a keyword and find the most to least common questions people have about it. I like the visual element and how it separates everything into the primary queries: What, How, When, Why, Who?

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Then there is the ultimate search tool for questions, Google. Since they began using Google Answers as a primary method of linking users to the content they need most, you can get a clear picture in an instant of what is trending. I spend a half hour on Google these days and end up with hundreds of ideas for content, which gives me a great list to start narrowing based on my knowledge of my users.

Fall Back On Roundups

I am a little sad that roundup posts are becoming less common. That doesn’t mean I am less likely to use them myself, as I know first hand how great they are for spreading information from top industry experts in a way that is easily digestible for my audience. Expert roundups are still one of my favorite forms of content.

If you have been keeping up with your influencer networking (hopefully you have), you should have a decent number of people to ask for advice on certain topics that are hot on the minds of your readers. It is also a good opportunity to make some new connections.

I prefer to stay away from full interviews because influencers are busy and might not have the time or desire to sit down for something that thorough. Instead, I will ask the same question to around ten people and usually get seven or eight responses back to work from.

Widen Your Content To Include Other Media

This is a no brainer, so why are so many people still nervous about dipping their toes into new media? It is an adjustment but the reward versus the risk makes it worth the effort. Wordstream has found that 51% of marketers name video marketing as the highest ROI generator available.

Beyond that, it gives you access to a whole new audience. Let’s face it, not everyone wants to sit down and read an article, even if it has been formatted for skimming. Some people just prefer visual media and video is going to widen your viewership by quite a lot. Plus, it is very social media friendly and we all know we shouldn’t be neglecting that field.

Videos can be made using the same content you have written, just scripted in a new way.

On top of all, visual assets offer you more marketing opportunities as you are able to re-use them on various social media channels. I use ContentCal to manage my team’s editorial calendar and it ensures no image or video is lost:

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Let your content writers, video creators and graphic designers add their visual assets to your content library for your social media managers to use them on social media.

Do you have any ideas for expanding content or generating fresh new ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Recommended Reading

  • Seven Tools to Create Better Researched Content
  • Want More Traffic? Here are 27 Steps to Promote Your Blog Posts Better [Checklist]

Cover Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

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Filed Under: Business Blogging, Marketing Trends, Online Visibility Tagged With: Answer the Public, content marketing, idea development

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About Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty is the brand and community manager at Internet Marketing Ninjas, co-founder of ViralContentBuzz.com and founder of MyBlogU, the community that inspires bloggers by collaboration!

Comments

  1. blankRobert Keller says

    August 22, 2020 at 3:54 am

    Nowadays, people use social media to communicate, and this has also known as a tool to get information for daily problems that need immediate solutions. I agree with you that right now is the perfect time to expand content and develop solid ideas. These are helpful tips, Ann. Thank you for sharing!

  2. blankEnstine Muki says

    April 19, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    Hi Ann & Dennis,

    Hope you both are doing great and safe.

    I agree with the OrbitMedia stats and those of us who did some bit of content marketing (article marketing) in those days of spun content, today’s story is completely different.

    It takes laziness and the inspiration to fail for someone to want to go back to those days. The surface to come up with unique content ideas is larger now. With new technologies and social challenges, there is always something new to write about.

    Cryptocurrencies, Coronavirus, etc are completely new game players. More new things are coming up giving us new ideas to approach content marketing.

    Thanks for sharing these ideas. We have better days ahead so let’s keep giving

  3. blankCynthia Trevino says

    April 17, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Thanks for this thoughtful post, Ann! While I love the idea of repurposing, as does Denise, your suggestions in “Revisit Old Content” are great. When we’re deciding what to repurpose, this is step “0”.

    • blankAnn Smarty says

      April 17, 2020 at 2:35 pm

      Hi Cynthia, thanks so much for your kind feedback!

  4. blankJudy Rodman says

    April 17, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    Really powerful tips here, thank you so much! This is a great checklist for keeping content creation fresh and effective in drawing the eyeballs I want!

    • blankAnn Smarty says

      April 17, 2020 at 12:49 pm

      Thanks for the kind words! Really happy to know you liked it!

  5. blankGladys Strickland says

    April 17, 2020 at 11:24 am

    Text Optimizer is a new one to me. Will definitely check it out!

    • blankAnn Smarty says

      April 17, 2020 at 11:40 am

      It’s a great tool! I am sure you’ll love it! Thanks for the comment!

  6. blankDenise Wakeman says

    April 14, 2020 at 7:55 am

    Ann, thank you so much for sharing this timely article with my audience. I love that you included Answer the Public…it’s one of my favorite tools!

    • blankAnn Smarty says

      April 14, 2020 at 8:53 am

      Thanks so much for having me, Denise! It is always a pleasure!

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