Powering Content

Chapter 10. Brainstorming Techniques

Content creators run out of steam. It is painful, unfortunate, and very, very real. No matter whether you are producing a video, writing a blog post, designing a social media graphic, or even writing a book, burnout is the only thing you can count on 100 percent as you embark on this journey. Fortunately, there are many ways to break out of that funk and into a space of limitless creativity that captivates your audience.

However, to break the blocks that hold back content production, you need to be able to recognize in which of two categories they fall. Although it is entirely possible that both issues are present, there is always one that is prevalent:

• Lack of novel content ideas to pursue

• Lack of energy and motivation to execute

Throughout this chapter, I share tools to help you overcome each of these obstacles and thrive as a content creator.

SOS: I Can’t Think of New Ideas

First off, yes you can. You always can, and this is perhaps a content creator’s most important mantra. There is always something out there you have not explored, an approach you have not tried, a source of inspiration that you have not even found yet. I am here to help you navigate a stage known as content curation—the act of spotting, filtering, and shaping content ideas for production.

Content curation is, essentially, an act of innovation management. You face the challenge of providing helpful, fresh, shareable content with your audience while preserving ...