18 strategies for generating high-quality content ideas

When you first start creating content, it might seem like the content ideas never stop flowing. But eventually, the creative river dries up, the content calendar is empty, and you need help generating quality ideas that effectively engage your audience. Thankfully, there are many tried-and-true techniques for coming up with content ideas. Some involve researching topics in new ways, while others draw inspiration from other content creators’ ideas. 

Whichever technique you use, remember to take notes as you go. Write down even the smallest ideas to ensure nothing is lost. You never know what concepts might be useful.

18 strategies to generate high-quality content ideas

Sometimes, when you’re out of ideas, it’s best to take a break and try again later. Once you’re back from your break, try these 18 strategies to send your brainstorming in new directions.

1. Conduct keyword research

Research keywords associated with your brand, services, or products into a keyword research tool like Semrush, Google Trends, or Ahrefs. They’ll surface keywords and content topics that align with the ones you already have. This practice creates a cohesive content portfolio. 

2. Include user-generated content (UGC)

If your product includes a digital marketplace or even a forum, you have an endless supply of content from your audience. Check out UGC like reviews, memes, and assets, and then write articles featuring the best ones. To encourage users to create more content, try starting a giveaway or contest to incentivize them.

3. Social media feeds and tags

Social media algorithms excel at aggregating content followers might find interesting. They use hashtags and topics to detect what content is about and engagement metrics to determine what followers want to see. Leverage this system by creating a new account on a social media platform. Engage with hashtags, memes, and posts related to your topics. Then, take note of any content in your feed that you haven’t explored yet or seen on your other account.

4. Explore search engine suggestions

Enter a few of your existing topic ideas into the Google Search bar and see what comes up to discover new angles for articles. 

You can also enter the beginning of a question related to your topics to see what suggestions for full search terms appear. For example:

• “In Figma, how do you…”some text
  • Undo
  • Add captions
  • Make infographics
• “In social media marketing, how do you…”some text
  • Get followers
  • Advertise giveaways
  • Use Instagram

Any of these searches could be a new topic for a post.

5. Analyze competitor content

Review your competitors’ social media content, blog posts, and testimonials for inspiration. Look for instances where they cover something you don’t or where you find yourself asking a question their content doesn’t answer. For example, if you’re reading a competitor’s social media post about UX design, you might discover that they neglected to discuss color theory. Perhaps you did, too, and now you can correct that oversight with a blog post on the topic.

You can always borrow ideas from your competitors, but to overtake them in search results, you need to offer a unique, engaging perspective. Summarizing someone’s article is plagiarism and won’t help you climb the search ranks. Reflect on what you have to share with the audience that the competitor article doesn’t. 

6. Conduct a content gap analysis

A content gap analysis involves using SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to research your competitors’ content and find gaps in your content portfolio. Look for keywords or topics they cover that you don’t or where they get more traffic than you. 

For example, if you share web development content, you could discover that competitors see more search traffic from articles about front-end development. Examine their article topics and keywords to determine what you’re missing, then generate content ideas that address those gaps.

7. Identify what customers struggle with

Users typically seek out content when they have a question to answer or a challenge to overcome. Reach out to your sales or customer support teams for insights on your customers’ top pain points, and brainstorm topics related to those areas.

8. Check out the “People also ask” section

In their results pages, Google and Bing offer additional answer boxes labeled “People also ask” or “People also search for” that suggest adjacent search queries. Use these suggestions to discover new topic ideas.

9. Expand on your successful content

Review your most successful content to identify subtopics and essential concepts you can cover or expand on. For example, if your top-performing articles are “Best of…” lists, brainstorm other categories you can cover in new lists. It’s a bonus if they’re related to a top-performing list since you’ll be able to cross-link to the new piece.

10. Interview thought leaders

Identify a prominent person in your industry and interview them for their perspective on important topics. Do some research to come up with questions to ask them, then write an article dedicated to the interview.

If your content focuses on writing and publishing, you could interview novelists like LeVar Burton or Elif Shafak. You could transcribe the interview into a blog post, and the authors’ thoughts could inspire other content ideas you can use on social media or in memes and videos.

11. Surveys

If you use platforms that enable real-time marketing, like LinkedIn, Instagram, or Reddit, send out a poll to ask your readers for direction. They might have ideas for content that would be helpful or interesting. Or, if you’d rather use email, send out a campaign inviting subscribers to complete a Google Forms survey.

In your survey, ask what categories readers want to see more of, which formats they enjoy most, and if they have suggestions. If you’re writing for a company that develops project management software, for instance, your survey might look like this:

• Which of these categories do you want us to keep covering?some text
  • Time management
  • Leadership
  • Agile methodology
• Which content formats do you enjoy most?some text
  • Social media posts
  • Polls
  • Tips & tricks
  • Interviews
• Are there any topics you want us to cover?

12. Leverage content idea generators

Use a tool like Hootsuite to generate ideas from a few keywords. Just input a content type, noun, and keyword to see many potential titles. Most of the titles follow a similar formula, such as:

• The ultimate guide to [verb] a [noun]
• The importance of [noun] to [other noun]
• How to make a [noun] [adjective]

13. Use AI tools

AI tools like StoryLab take idea generation a step further: They can create whole content campaigns with a few prompts and a general content type. The more detailed your prompts are, the more potential topics the AI will uncover. Even if you plan to write the content yourself, what the AI writes serves as inspiration. 

14. Subscribe to industry newsletters

Sign up for regular newsletters from industry-similar content creators to learn what they cover. You could find their newsletter raises a question you can answer.

15. Refresh or improve existing content

Although you should try to keep most of your content evergreen, some articles will require occasional updates. Audit your existing content to revise outdated information, repurpose content, or add new headings. For example, you might check that any software or hardware you mention is still available, and if not, update these articles with new products.

16. Get insights from conferences

Conferences and conventions are often a hub of cutting-edge information, so they’re a great place to learn about new products and techniques. Attend or find recordings for industry-relevant professional gatherings to research topic ideas.

17. Check out forums and FAQs

Explore forums like Reddit or lists of frequently asked questions about your product or industry to discover what people generally ask about. Nearly every question can become an article title. For instance, the query “How do you fix error 110?” becomes “Troubleshooting guide: How to fix error 110.”

18. Share behind-the-scenes content

Try a more personal approach with a content series that gives your audience a peek behind the scenes of your business. Show them how the team makes the product, publish interviews with coworkers, or create a list of fun facts about your team.

Build out your content strategy

Creating a quality and engaging content offering is effort-intensive, so you’ll want to start on the right platform. Webflow CMS brings everyone involved in the content creation process together. It includes professional features like custom fields, rich content embedding, and content migration. And it supports integrations with analytics apps like Nocodealytics to track your content’s engagement.

Track — and improve upon — your content’s performance with Webflow.