💡 How To Never Run Out of Content Ideas Again

Hello and welcome to the 124 new subscribers of Creator’s Compass! I’m glad you’ve joined the party 🥳

Today I’ll be sharing my system for never running out of content ideas.

Not all ideas are equal and this system helps you to focus on high-quality ideas that will resonate with your target audience.

Just 30 minutes per week is all you need to have content ideas coming out of your ears.

Let’s dig in.

💭 Thought of the week

Let’s start with a harsh truth: the more tasks you get off your plate as a creator, the better.

You need 80-90% of your energy going towards what you do best: creating content.

The rest of your processes (including idea generation) should be put on autopilot. This information should be coming to you inbound instead of being an activity you have to repeat each week.

So, what’s the best way to approach this?

I’m so glad you asked.

1. Create a database for your ideas

If you’re like me back in the day, you’re probably emailing yourself inspiration as and when you find it.

While it’s great to build habits like this, it’s very easy to lose 50% of your ideas in your inbox.

So before you even start capturing ideas, it’s best to have a home base for your inspiration.

Step 1: Create a page for your ideas, and make sure it’s easy to access.

👉️ Scroll to the end of this newsletter to grab my ‘Idea Capture’ Notion template for free 👈️

2. Building your capture habit

Step 2: Compile a list of creators that:

a) Create interesting, high-performing content

b) Fit under your niche

Once a week, scroll through their feeds to see what’s been resonating with their audiences.

I take inspiration from multiple sources like podcasts, YouTube videos, newsletters and social posts.

Seen something you like? Simply copy links to interesting pieces of content into your database. I use Notion Web Clipper to make this process seamless — with one click you can save anything directly into Notion.

Now, ask yourself a few questions:

• Why did this post resonate with xyz audience?

• Are there any topics that have cross-over into my content?

• How can I add my expertise to these topics?

It’s not about copying other creators. It’s about seeing what’s resonating online, and building your own content from it.

A quick example 👇

You could take my post here and brainstorm ideas like:

• 50 prompts to turn ChatGPT into a marketing assistant

• 50 ChatGPT prompts to generate endless newsletter ideas

• How to write better ChatGPT prompts: a 10-step guide

I wrote out those three ideas in 30 seconds! You can even go a step further to have ChatGPT come up with hundreds of other ideas for you.

TL;DR:

1. Create a page for your ideas and make sure it’s easy to access (I love Notion)

2. Compile a list of creators that create interesting, high-performing content. This only needs to be done once.

3. Copy and paste interesting content into your Notion page (I recommend Notion Web Clipper)

4. Think: How can I add my own spin to these topics?

For personal accountability, add 30 minutes into your calendar reoccurring to batch idea generation once and for all 🙌 

Take 30 minutes this Sunday to build a capture habit, and watch how this system will transform your content for the better.

💡 A perspective to consider

Last week, I wrote about Why You Struggle To Delegate. For the week ahead, before starting any task ask yourself: “Can AI do this instead of me?”

“Can I?” → “Can AI?” 🤖 

❤️ Content I LOVED

⚒️ Tool - Rize.io

- I’m dabbling with a new time-tracking tool Rize to learn more about where my time is going. I’ve used tools like RescueTime for 4-5 years now and have found it priceless. I’ll report back next week with my findings.

📹️ YouTube - How Mindfulness Can Bring Balance to Your World | Eckhart Tolle | Rubin Report

- I’ve heard a lot of great things about Eckhart Tolle’s books and I’ll definitely be buying them after hearing this interview. Watch this if you struggle to shut down your mental “chatter” and want to learn more about yourself.

✍️ Content - 10 of the best AI courses on the internet by Alex Brogan

- I had a call with Alex recently and all I can say is… that guy is my long-lost Aussie brother 🦘. His Instagram post highlights the best (free) courses to take on AI, which is probably one of the highest-leverage tasks we can do right now.

✍️ Quote of the week

That’s a wrap. I hope you found this newsletter valuable.

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

Joe

P.S. As promised, here’s my free Idea Capture Notion template. As I come across high-performing posts, I add them into Notion and write down what my own version could be for my audience. Enjoy 🚀