How to Fill Your Content Calendar With Relevant, Engaging Topics
Allison Chaney
Jan 28 2021
“What kind of content should I create for my website / social media / email…?”
This is a question we hear all the time. It’s no secret that content is king and the best way to reach and engage your target audience is with relevant, valuable content. But many are struggling with how to come up with great ideas for content.
If you’re feeling stuck and not sure what to write about in your next blog post, what to post on social media, or how to craft an email that gets read, then these 5 tips will help inspire you to create content that your audience will love.
Don’t get stuck trying to create content for just the keywords that describe what you do. Think broader. You are not just a “baker in Chicago”. What other specialized knowledge do you have? Perhaps you specialize in wedding cakes, and you are always sharing tips for brides on how to choose the right cake for their guests. You can create a resource called “how to choose the right wedding cake”, build a blog post around it, and share it on social media. This is a great way to attract awareness and build a relationship with your audience.
Talk about the problems you solve. What are the pain points of your audience and how do you address them? Not everyone knows the solution to search for, but most people are crystal clear on what the problem is, and that’s what they are searching. A bride might not know that your cake packed in dry ice is the best option for an outdoor wedding in the heat, but they know the problem and are likely asking Google “How do I keep my wedding cake from melting in hot weather?”
Create content buckets. Remember that your content should be a balance of helpful and promotional content. About 20% should be strictly promotional, 60% should be both helpful and promotional, and 20% should be strictly helpful. Choose 3-5 overall content buckets to focus your topics. Content buckets should be relevant to your business category or industry, and valuable to your audience. Download our content calendar template to bank and organize your ideas.
Use listening tools for inspiration. Tools such as Google search, Google Trends, and social media search tools provide amazing insights into what your audience is interested in. You can even use a browser extension like Keywords Anywhere to explore additional keyword and content ideas related to your main keywords. Here’s a peek at what this extension looks like in a search result:
Bonus Tip! Check out our content ideas cheat sheet with 75+ ideas to inspire you to create valuable, engaging content.
Getting stuck trying to come up with amazing content all the time is normal. It happens to the greatest of content creators. But there is a wealth of tools and sources of inspiration available to you, and everything you need is at your fingertips!
How has this inspired you to create great content? Share your brilliance in the comments below!