Success in content marketing depends on creating lots of content—and
not just any content. You need good content, that people want to
read/watch/listen to, and you need to keep things fresh enough that they
keep coming back for more. That’s a lot of pressure to come up with new
ideas and new applications, and unless you’re some meta-human
idea-generating machine, eventually, you’ll run into writer’s block,
unable to come up with something new, cool, and exciting.
That’s why I’ve compiled this massive list of 101 content marketing ideas you can use to keep your website and/or blog running.
101 Content Ideas
Without further ado, here are 101 content ideas for your website or blog:
1. Listicles.
Ah, listicles, the marriage of ‘articles’ and ‘lists.’ Where was
content marketing before the age of listicles? The premise here is
simple; take a concept and turn it into a numbered list. Being able to
call out a number in your headline makes the piece instantly more
attention-grabbing; it implies a degree of conciseness and skimmability
that’s appealing to modern web users, plus serves as a tease that piques
user interest. There’s no limit to what you can apply the listicle
format to; you can create “top 10” lists for items or concepts in your
industry, or go the
Buzzfeed route and find any excuse to throw a number in your headline.
2. Checklists.
Checklists are pretty straightforward too, though they tend to have a
more practical side than listicles. Here, you’ll create a rundown of
requirements for a given task or event, which users can adopt for their
own personal purposes. For example, if you’re a travel company or a
hotel, you might include a checklist of commonly forgotten items while
traveling. If you’re an SEO agency, you might include a checklist of all
the tasks you need to complete for on-site optimization. If you can
make the checklist interactive by including actual check-able boxes,
this is even better. It’s smart to make them printer-friendly, too.
Interactivity makes any content better.
3. How-to posts.
How-to posts instruct users how to complete something, and that
something can be almost anything. For example, you can walk users
through the steps of changing a flat tire, how to cook a frittata, or
how to tell when a sales strategy isn’t working. Here, make sure your
title explains what you’re instructing clearly, and try to choose a
topic that’s as specific as possible; most general how-to’s (like the
three examples I gave) have been done to death. For bonus points here,
make sure you include images and videos of the process. If you can’t get
real photography, rely on sketches.
4. Tips and tricks.
“Tips and tricks” articles are all about providing helpful tidbits
about a given subject, process, or task to readers in an effort to make
their lives easier. The line here can be blurry with other forms of
content; for example, you could have a listicle of tips and tricks, or a
how-to post with a section of tips and tricks at the end. The point is
to give your users bite-sized pieces of useful information. This whole
concept, when applied to general life, has
evolved to become known as “life hacks,” so feel free to use the “hack” terminology to catch some extra attention in your title.
5. Best practices.
You may also want to publish a post of best practices, which outline
some bigger-picture concepts and procedures to follow for a given
subject. For example, best practices for running may include keeping
proper form, staying hydrated, and eating properly before and after a
run. The usual problem with this type of content is that it’s general,
so if you can, try to make your topic more specific to a niche audience,
or drill down into one specific section of the topic you’re covering.
6. Buying guides.
Buying guides have a handful of advantages as a content type, and
they come in a variety of different forms. The general purpose is to
help users make an educated decision when buying a certain product; in
the example below from
MacRumors,
the buying guide compares and contrasts different categories of Apple
products to help unfamiliar users decide precisely what they need. Be
sure to cover general descriptions of the products you’re covering, but
also delve into top considerations; let users know what factors are most
important in making a good decision here. This is especially
advantageous if you’re listing products you sell on your site.
7. Opinion pieces.
Opinion pieces are some of the most open-ended pieces of content you
can produce. All you have to do is find a topic that matters to your
audience, formulate an opinion on it, and write about that opinion. For
example, you might come out in favor of a new technology that’s shaking
up your industry, or you might list the drawbacks and consequences of a
popular business strategy that isn’t frequently criticized. There are a
few keys to being successful here—your opinion should be strong,
well-researched, and at least somewhat debatable.
8. Prediction pieces.
Prediction pieces are similar to opinion pieces, but with a specific
focus; here, you’ll attempt to make a prediction (or multiple
predictions) about your industry, or a topic that’s important to your
users. For example, if you’re in the automotive industry, you might
predict that a certain model of car will be discontinued by a certain
date, or if you’re in the culinary industry, you might predict the rise
of a certain trend revolving around a specific ingredient. These tend to
capture user interest because they appeal to the imagination and are
future-focused.
9. Prediction follow-up pieces.
Once your prediction piece is written, you can actually capitalize on
it for another powerful piece of content; the prediction follow-up. As
the name suggests, this is a way to reflect on the predictions you
initially made and determine whether they proved true or false—as well
as why.
Moz has been known to do this annually,
making predictions about the coming year in SEO and evaluating the past
year’s predictions, complete with a numerical ranking system. You don’t
have to go that in-depth, but revisiting your predictions shows your
commitment and could rejuvenate interest in your previous work.
10. “Why” pieces.
“Why” pieces are exactly what they sound like; they’re your chance to
explain the mechanics behind something specific in your industry. You
have a wide diversity of potential angles to explore here; for example,
you could explain “why” from a functional perspective, taking a look at
what makes a product work or why a strategy is effective, or from an
historical perspective, evaluating how this product evolved or how this
strategy came to be what it is today. The “why” question is an
especially interesting one—and a satisfying one if you’re in-depth
enough with it.
11. Written tutorials.
Tutorials may seem like just another term for “how-to” posts, but
while the two share a common goal—instructing a user how to do
something—tutorials tend to take a more in-depth, step-by-step,
“showing” approach.
In a written tutorial,
you’ll have some difficulty establishing this level of immersion.
Depending on the subject matter you’re covering, you’ll need to go into
special detail to make sure your message is understood; for example,
merely describing what the inside of a clock looks like won’t be nearly
as effective as demonstrating a visual. Be sure to include photos and
illustrations, or change forms to a video tutorial instead.
12. Video tutorials.
Video tutorials are a bit more difficult to produce, just because
they require some camera work and editing, but they’re generally more
powerful forms of instruction, since users can see exactly what you’re
doing. Throughout the video, make sure you keep the camera focused on
the action, but don’t just go through the steps—take your time narrating
everything you’re doing, and clearly so that users can understand. In
fact, it might be a good idea to include both a video and written
version of your tutorial to help audiences with preferences for either
one.
Punished Props has built a successful Youtube brand around video tutorials on how to make realistic-looking costumes, weapons, and armor.
13. What not to do.
“What not to do” posts can be fun to write. They function as a
practical opposite to “best practice posts,” outlining some of the worst
choices or strategies you can follow in a given subject. For example,
in the realm of
link building,
you might focus on black hat tactics like sneaking links into forum
comments or participating in link exchanges and other schemes. Depending
on the severity of the consequences in your particular field, you could
turn this into a cautionary tale, or make it humorous. Either one can
be made more powerful with the inclusion of specific examples.
14. Mistake analysis.
Mistake analysis posts are similar to “what not to do,” except rather
than outlining general “worst practices,” they delve into one specific
error in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. For example, if
you’re a marketing agency, you might have a client whose ROI plummeted
before they met you; your mistake analysis post could explain how you
went about figuring out the root cause, as well as the steps you took to
correct it. In this way, mistake analysis posts can serve as both “what
not to do” pieces and helpful tutorials.
15. Myth dispelling.
There are myths, misconceptions, and false assumptions surrounding
practically every industry. Being in the SEO industry, I’ve been exposed
to quite a few of these myself, such as people still believing that
link building is a dangerous strategy or following keyword-stuffing
strategies that haven’t been relevant since 2011. Talk to your customers
and see what your competitors are posting about—odds are, sooner or
later, you’ll come across some persistent myths about how your industry
works. Gather them up and work on dispelling them in a single post; just
make sure you back up your claims with specific examples or hard
evidence.
16. Quizzes.
Quizzes are a fun, interactive way to engage your users, and they
offer more user participation than most of the other entries on this
list. If you need more users participating on your site, this is a good
bet to see higher rates. When you think of content quizzes, your mind
might turn to popular “which [fictional franchise] character are you?”
quizzes on Facebook; and while you can use these, you can also go a more
customer-focused route, such as exploring a topic like, “are you saving
enough for retirement?” or “is it time to update the design of your
website?” Make the quiz short and easy to take, and if you can, leave
users with some call to action.
17. Calculators.
Calculators are like simplified, numerically-based versions of
quizzes. Here, you’ll ask users for a selection of information regarding
a subject, and you’ll produce an answer that gives them meaningful data
to move forward with. In the example below, users can enter their
projected home costs and interest rates to calculate how much they’ll
pay per month in a mortgage, but you can design a calculator for almost
anything. You can even embed a calculator in one of your other blog
posts to make it more functional or more immediately practical for your
readers; there are
many WordPress plugins that allow you to do this.
18. Games.
Through the
process of gamification,
you can turn almost anything into a game, or create a game for your
users. You can make this purely fun, such as making a game out of a task
associated with your business; if you’re a retail store, you could post
about a scavenger hunt your shoppers can play in your store. You could
also make it more instructional, such as presenting a complex strategy
in a game format to help users understand it on a more instinctual,
conceptual level. As usual, this can be as casual or as in-depth as
you’re willing to make it.
19. Regular series features.
This is a beneficial approach because it allows you to generate
multiple posts on a conceptual level simultaneously; it’s also powerful
for your audience because it gives them something consistent and
relatively predictable to look forward to. As you consistently execute
your work, your readers will become more and more invested, leaving you
with higher rates of engagement and, eventually, returns. Take the
series approach to some of your other post ideas; for example, you could
find a mistake to analyze every week as part of your “this week’s
biggest blunder” series or explore a different use for your core product
every week with your “how to use ____” series.
20. Schematics and blueprints.
Though your tutorials and “why” posts might briefly explore the inner
workings of your core products (or other items related to your
industry), it’s more powerful to see it outlined visually. Include
detailed schematics outlining what your product of choice is made out
of, and offer written explanations for why it is the way it is. It’s a
good way to circulate more information about how your products actually
work, and will certainly appeal to any engineers in your crowd.
21. Flow charts.
Flow charts are interactive visual creations that help guide users
through some kind of process, usually related to a decision. Each node
on the chart provides a user with a branched set of options, followed by
more nodes which lead the user further down the chart. You can use a
chart like this to help guide them through a buying decision, such as
deciding which model to go with, or have more fun with it. For example,
you can use a flow chart to lead a user into a punchline or poke fun at
the complexities of your industry.
22. Templates.
With templates, your job is to provide a basic outline or
representative set of content that users can then leverage for their own
purposes. For example, if you’re helping your clients develop a social
media strategy, you might provide them with a sample outline of a
strategy that they can modify for their own needs. Depending on the
nature of your template and what your customers actually need, you can
provide these in a few different ways. Most notably, you can offer them
as downloadable PDFs, which users can then print, savable documents and
spreadsheets, which are editable on local devices, or embed the template
directly into your post.
23. Worksheets.
Worksheets are similar to templates, but they serve a more specific
purpose, and allow the user to work through some kind of problem. For
example, a template for a social media strategy might give the user
starting points for outlining their goals and objectives, but a
worksheet would allow a user to work through the brainstorming and
planning process that leads them to those conclusions. Worksheets often
feature questions that force a user to think through a specific problem,
such as “how many customers do you currently have?” and may also
include quiz or calculator elements. Again, you can make this printable
with a PDF or editable with a digital file.
24. Infographics.
Infographics exploded in popularity when they first started gaining momentum as a content medium a few years ago, and
it’s no mystery why.
Infographics visually represent data, which makes them aesthetically
appealing, informative, interesting, and best of all—easy to share (as
long as they’re executed correctly). They were once powerhouses for
generating links and shares, but because they became so popular so fast,
users began to grow tired of seeing the same infographic tropes over
and over again. If you’re going to do an infographic, make sure it’s a
topic really worth exploring, and present it in an original, interesting
way. Check out this infographic-based infographic for a quick rundown
on how you can do it:
25. Comics.
Comics are extremely easy or extremely hard to make, depending on who
you ask and what kind of mood they’re in. If you want to get involved,
paneled, illustrated storytelling can be a deep and immersive way to
present a complex idea or present a sophisticated idea of humor. But if
you’re looking for something to create quickly, you can also make
something simple using
rudimentary stick-figure skills.
The goal is to present something in both a written and visual format,
and preferably in a way that users can either engage with directly or
share. Humor’s a big win for comics—but they don’t have to be humorous
to be effective. WaitButWhy.com’s Tim Urban is a master of using comics
within his content. You can see one of my favorites
in this post.
26. Memes.
Memes are even easier to generate. Now, the actual definition of a
meme is an idea that evolves and distributes itself, much like a gene in
the evolutionary sense. But since its coinage by Internet dwellers, it
has since evolved (ironically) to refer to any image macros, colloquial
phrases, or in-jokes that circulate virally, usually due to some kind of
humorous element. Oftentimes, this includes placing text over a
person’s image, but it doesn’t have to; you can hijack an existing meme
or create one of your own to add a bit of flair to your post. If you
need help, you can
seek out a meme generator online.
27. Sketches and illustrations.
It’s hard to take sketches or illustrations and make them standalone
pieces of content in their own right, but they serve as excellent ways
to complement a piece that already exists. For example, if you’re
working on a written tutorial and you don’t have any photos, you can use
illustrations to better communicate your intentions and descriptions.
You could also use sketches to present ideas before they’re fully baked,
as a way of teasing your audience regarding your final design.
Remember, it’s helpful to have a skilled professional designer working
on these, but it’s not necessary.
28. Photography.
Photography is another visual medium you can use to gain visibility
for your content marketing campaign, and there are a few different ways
to harness its potential. If you have a professional photographer, or a
standout image that says something significant about your brand or your
audience, you can use it as a standalone piece –perhaps with a
thoughtful caption. If they’re of a lesser quality, or if they don’t
have that much impact, you can use them to supplement an existing piece.
Again, these pair excellently with how-to articles and tutorials, but
don’t be afraid to show off with just photos and some accompanying
captions.
29. Aggregated images.
If you don’t feel like doing any writing, or producing any new images
on your own, you can offer a kind of compilation of images you’ve
collected previously. The best part is, they can come from any of the
image-based categories I briefly recapped over the past few entries. For
example, you can create a post about your “10 favorite infographics”
from the industry, or highlight some of the “best photography” from a
recent tradeshow or industry-related event.
30. Aggregated videos.
In the same way you aggregate images, you can also aggregate
videos—even some of your own. For example, you can create a kind of
YouTube playlist of some of the most influential videos in your
industry, or you can embed your most popular videos in one collective
post. It’s still a good idea to annotate them in some way, for SEO
purposes as well as giving users a preview of what they’re about to see.
31. Illustrated videos.
Simple monologue videos can be effective, especially if you’re
explaining a complex topic or having a conversation with your audience
(more on that in subsequent entries). However, you can take it to the
next level of aesthetic appeal and interactivity by including some
illustrated elements. For example, you can use a whiteboard to make
doodles that represent what you’re talking about, or you can make
sketches in advance and use them at key points during your talk. For a
good example of how this can be done in a fun, engaging, and branded
way, check out
Minute Physics’s video series about physics-related concepts. This doesn’t have to be exceptionally complex or involved to be effective.
32. Video graphics.
Video graphics are essentially the animated versions of infographics.
Rather than hosting a stagnant collection of visual data bits, you’ll
have the freedom to animate them; for example, you can have your bar
charts grow into life, or gradually reveal a list of top entries, one by
one. This format is far more original and engaging, and there will be
less competition clamoring for attention here. However, the flip side is
that it takes more time and expertise to develop. Unless you have a
basic concept and mode of execution, you’ll need a video specialist or
at least a graphic designer to help you execute this work.
33. Regular video series.
Much like your written post series, you can have a regular video
series as well, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to topic
potential. Releasing a new video on a regular interval will help you
earn more YouTube subscribers, and generate more ongoing attention for
your brand. You can even create a specific channel (or sub-channel)
dedicated exclusively to that series. Have the same personal brand
hosting the video every week, and you’ll have an instant recipe for
greater reader loyalty. Consider exploring the pros and cons of a given
tactic or topic every week, or visually showcasing something about your
business.
34. Demo videos.
You could also use the video marketing approach to show off the
products and/or services that you want your customers to buy in the
first place. You’ll have to be careful here, because there’s a fine line
between
this type of content marketing and straight-up advertising,
and if you cross that line, you’ll fail to build an audience. Remember,
your goal in content marketing is to give your users something
valuable, so make sure the potential customers can walk away from your
demo videos with some new information or a fun experience—even if they
don’t end up buying from you. If you have fun products, like toys, this
is easy; otherwise, you’ll have to get creative.
35. Calendars.
If your business hosts regular events, or if you plan on attending
events in the future, hosting an updating calendar on your site is a
great way to generate more content and keep your users informed. Try to
include a brief description of each entry on your calendar, both to
inform your users and to optimize for search engines; you can even
use a Schema markup
to increase the chances of getting featured in a Knowledge Graph entry.
If you don’t have a calendar on your site, you can do a month-by-month
entry in your blog.
36. Timelines.
You can also use timelines as an interactive, visual way to project
the history of your company (or of your industry). This is especially
effective if you’ve been around for a while, such as manufacturers that
have been around for decades. Show off the major events that helped
shape your industry and your business into what it is today. The
unfortunate thing about timelines is that you can’t rely on them for an
ongoing series; once you cover most of the major events of the past,
you’ve already tapped them, and you’ll have to move on. However, you can
also have timelines projecting into the future, charting out your
company (or industry) goals, vision, and predictions.
37. Charts and graphs.
Charts and graphs are ideal ways to help your users visualize
otherwise hard-to-approach data points; you may have already included
some in your infographics and video graphics. Make sure you’re including
these in an image format, so your users can share and cite them (and
include a watermark to ensure you get credit for your work). It’s best
if you use these charts and graphs to represent original data you’ve
researched yourself, but you can use them for outside sources of data,
or you can use them to illustrate general concepts.
This post at WaitButWhy.com is chock-full of charts and graphs, and is an excellent example of how to illustrate the points being made.
38. Industry news.
If you want to become known as an industry authority, you need to
post your thoughts and opinions about the latest news in the industry.
Start by subscribing to influential blogs and forums, and networking
with other influencers in the industry. When you see a story that piques
your interest, news-jack it by presenting the facts of the story (in
your own words, of course), followed up with your own reactions and
opinions. Doing so will build your reputation, and provide you with easy
material for ongoing content work. Even if your industry isn’t one that
updates or changes often, it’s unlikely you’ll run out of material
anytime soon here.
39. Local news.
Industry news stories aren’t the only ones you can news-jack for your own purposes, especially if you’re
pursuing a local SEO campaign.
But even if you don’t consider yourself a “local” business, there are
some real advantages to noting, sharing, and repurposing local news
stories; you’ll gain more relevance in your chosen area, and you’ll
connect on a deeper level to the population there. You may even learn of
new opportunities for promotion, such as finding local events that need
new speakers or discussion leaders.
40. National news.
Taking things one level further, you can also capitalize on national
and international news stories for your news-jacking efforts. This is
especially powerful if you select topics that are at least marginally
relevant to your industry or your customers; for example, with the
launch of a new technology, you could post about the possibilities it
holds for your industry.
41. Influencer interviews.
You’re probably already aware of the benefits that influencers have when
promoting and distributing your content,
but don’t underestimate the power they have when collaborating with you
on a shared piece. One of the best ways to collaborate is in an
interview format; you can ask your chosen influencer a series of
questions about your industry and their opinions on it, and the two of
you can mutually benefit from the exposure. Chances are, your
interviewee will be just as likely to share the published piece
(especially if it’s available in different formats). Beyond that, you
can even reuse some of your initial questions in future interviews,
saving you work on similar content in the future.
42. Staff and leadership interviews.
Interviews are powerful forms of content, but they don’t have to be
exclusive to industry influencers. You can also look inside your
organization to find people to interview, such as your CEO, or heads of
various departments in your business. Ask them about their positions,
including what they do for the organization, as well as their thoughts
on the industry and where they see the business going from here. Your
focus should be on providing valuable insights for your audience, but
this is also a good chance to show off the personalities and talent that
make up your business.
43. Public debates.
You can use your blog as a platform for debate in a number of
different ways. For starters, you can use it as a way to list the pros
and cons of each side of an argument, much in the
same way that ProCon.org
does for major and controversial political issues (see my example
below). If you’re feeling a little bolder, or if you already have a
strong stance on a given issue, you can post your side of the debate and
invite commenters and audience members to debate you on the issue. In
yet another application, you can pit two industry influencers against
each other by giving them the opportunity to hash it out on your blog.
44. Roundtable discussions.
Roundtable discussions are a bit like a debate, and a bit like an
interview. In them, you’ll invite a number of different influencers in
your industry to openly discuss a series of topics, especially if they
have a bearing on your future development. There are a few different
ways to host this, but one of the best is to collect them all in the
same room and ask them group and individual questions, making sure
everyone gets equal time to make points and share their sides. This is
especially useful for exploring a topic thoroughly, and usually does a
good job of generating discussion afterward.
45. Company news.
Don’t forget that you can use your blog (or perhaps a news section)
to announce major points of company news; these are excellent
opportunities to write up and syndicate press releases, so why shouldn’t
you also host that information on your site? It’s a good way to let
your audience know what you’ve been up to (as well as where you plan to
go from here). Just make sure what you’re posting about is truly
relevant, such as moves, rebranding efforts, new products, or major
changes to your offerings.
46. Questions and answers.
You can also collect a series of common customer or user questions
and answer them, one by one. This is especially powerful if you answer
questions that were posed by actual users, either in the comments
sections of previous posts or from social media followers. Whenever you
hear an interesting question, flag it and write it down—that way, you
can draw up a collective post with all of them at a later date. As a
side note, this is an excellent strategy for
optimizing for long-tail keywords.
47. Comment follow-ups.
Pay close attention to what your users are saying in your comments
sections, as well as how they’re responding on social media. As you saw
in the last content idea, this is an excellent way to mine for user
questions that you can subsequently answer, but you can also use other
comments as jumping-off points for new posts. For example, let’s say you
wrote an article about SEO and a user told a brief story about his/her
bad experience with an inexperienced SEO agency; you can reach out to
this user to get permission, then use that story as the basis for a new
post.
48. User-requested features.
Comments, social media, and user surveys are excellent ways to figure
out what your followers and fans want to read next. You can ask them
directly what types of content and topics they’d like to see in the
future, and they’ll probably tell you. Some will probably come to you
with topics without even being prompted. These are golden opportunities
for development, handed to you on a silver platter. Don’t pass them up;
you know your users want to see it, so give it to them.
49. Whiteboard sessions.
The “whiteboard” trend is one that’s caught on with a ton of
businesses, who usually sport regular whiteboard sessions to brainstorm
something, explore a complex topic, or otherwise illustrate something
that isn’t easily articulated with words alone. The whiteboard comes
into play as a simple and convenient way to make illustrations, recap
points, and hold users’ attentions. One of the most popular examples of
this is
Moz’s Whiteboard Friday
series, hosted by Rand Fishkin as he explores some significant topic in
the SEO world. There’s no right or wrong way to host a whiteboard
session, so tap your creativity.
50. Presentations.
You can also create PowerPoint or slide presentations to share with
your audience; this is especially cost-efficient if you created these
decks for a real-life presentation opportunity and get to reuse them as
collateral for your content marketing campaign. Be careful how you
present these, though; it’s wise to offer some means of interaction,
allowing users to click through your slides on your site, but you’ll
also want to offer a downloadable version in PPT or PDF format.
51. Podcasts.
Podcasts are seeing a
resurgence in popularity,
though they never really fell out of style. Done in an audio format,
it’s typical for brands and hosts to produce content on a weekly, or at
least a predictably regular basis. However, one-off productions aren’t
uncommon either. Your podcast can include discussions, interviews, or
even just extended monologues, but you’ll need to get creative if you
want to hold listeners’ attention spans for an extended period of time
with just your voice. If you want to build an audience of loyal
listeners, make sure you’re using a powerful voice, consistent each
time, with decent recording equipment.
52. Origin posts.
People are often curious about the origins of the products, services,
and even trends. Content that explains the origins of these objects of
fascination, then, are powerful opportunities to gain public favor. Take
a moment to explain how your founder came up with the idea for the
business, or how your top-selling product evolved from just the spark of
an idea to the form it exists in today. You can even examine a current
trend in your target audience, and trace it back to its main point of
origin. You’ll need to do your research here, but it’s worth the extra
effort.
53. Case studies.
Case studies can sometimes border on that line between content
marketing and advertising (or maybe sales in this case), so if you want
to use them as strong features for your content campaign, make sure
they’re
focused on practical takeaways for your users.
There are a few different kinds of case studies you can develop, the
most common being one developed around a customer or client you did work
for, examining where they were before you got involved, what you did,
and where they are today. But you could also do a case study on a
separately existing enterprise, such as a case study on why the
Coca-Cola brand continues to be so successful.
54. Hypothetical studies.
Hypothetical studies are similar to case studies, but they don’t need
to be grounded in reality. One of the strongest selling points of the
case study is that it’s based on real-world events, so if you’re going
to go the hypothetical route, you better have a good point to make. The
ideal scenario here is to frame your work in the context of a narrative;
introduce a fictional brand or fictional person, and go into detail
describing the events this character runs into. Take advantage of a
branching narrative here; since you aren’t grounded in actual events,
you can take the story in multiple directions at once.
55. Testimonials.
If you’ve been in business for longer than a few months and you have some clients under your belt, it
shouldn’t be too hard to ask for testimonials.
However, turning testimonials into a full-fledged blog post presents a
couple of challenges. You could ask for a super long testimonial from a
user, essentially having them write a post on your behalf, but that’s
intrusive, and they may not write what you want them to write. You could
also aggregate multiple testimonials into one post, but that can come
across as annoyingly self-promotional. Use your best judgment here, and
as always, focus on what your audience would like to see, not what will
make you look good.
56. Incoming guest posts.
Of course, if you’re looking for someone else to do some of the work
for you, you could always open your website to guest posts. There are
millions of active bloggers out there, and many of them are interested
in guest posting opportunities. Chances are, all it will take is a post
on social media or your website asking for submissions from new guest
authors, and you’ll start to receive queries and submissions. It will
still take some work to get what you’re actually looking for; you can do
this by asking for very specific types of content from specific types
of people, or by sorting through the posts yourself, and revising them
to fit your brand.
57. Influencer quote round-ups.
People love a good quote. A powerful quote can inspire you or
motivate you in your daily work, show you an alternative perspective, or
simply teach you something in a concise, immediate way. If you’re
looking for a way to resonate with your audience and demonstrate your
authority in the industry, work on collecting quotes from various
influencers in your niche and assemble them into a single post on a
topic. Be sure to credit your influencers and thank them for their
participation, too.
58. General quotes and proverbs.
If you don’t feel like going the influencer route, it may be easier
and more generally relevant to seek notable quotes from authors,
celebrities, politicians, and other notable personalities that happen to
fit a certain topic within your industry. For example, if you’re
writing about what it takes to run your own business, you might draw
from entrepreneurs, or if you’re writing about how to better communicate
with clients, you can draw quotes from people talking about the power
of conversation.
BrainyQuote is a great resource here.
59. Book reviews.
Book reviews are always a good excuse to read a book; I always
encourage other entrepreneurs and professionals to read as much as
possible. No matter what you read, the activity will improve your
vocabulary and expand your perspective, so you have a lot to gain by
reading regularly. After you finish a good book your audience might
like, post a short review about it. This doesn’t have to be a critical
essay; just post a short summary of the book and what you thought of it.
You’ll improve your brand reputation by showing you’re well-read,
you’ll do your audience a favor, and you might even win some favor from
the authors you choose to read.
60. Product reviews.
As another type of review, you can review products you use in your
daily life—so long as it’s relevant for your brand. Some bloggers have
established their entire reputation by writing up reviews on products in
a specific category, such as tech devices or types of food. You don’t
have to change your niche to take advantage of this; just keep your
reviews to products that you use in the industry, or ones that may be
especially important to your audience. However, make sure you disclose
any compensation you may have gotten to write the review.
61. Comparison reviews.
Comparison reviews are a kind of hybrid between product reviews and
buyer’s guides (which I covered earlier in this list). Here, your job
will still be to review products, but this time you’ll be reviewing
multiple products in the same category as they relate to one another.
For example, you might list all the benefits of one product because they
compensate for the disadvantages of another. It’s best to pursue this
in a side-by-side format that allows readers to make judgments and
comparisons at a glance, such as in a grid that highlights the main
features of each, relating to subcategories.
62. Extended metaphors.
Extended metaphors are awesome opportunities for businesses that are
hard to understand, or businesses that are less “fun” than others. For
example, the manufacturing industry tends to be, for lack of a better
word, boring, and certain tech subjects tend to be confusing and
jargon-y for users. Metaphors allow you to bypass the conventional ways
of talking about these things and present them in a new context—one
that’s more playful and easier to understand. For example, instead of
talking about two systems connecting via an integration point, you can
liken them to two people having a conversation. Get creative here, but
try not to mix too many metaphors together.
63. Stories.
Storytelling has become a buzzword in the content marketing
community, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective as a device to
appeal to customers. Stories are natural and powerful constructs for
human beings; we pay more attention and retain more information when
facts or ideas are presented to us in a story format, which is why
books, movies, and TV shows make up the majority of our pop culture.
Almost anything can be told in the form of a story with a beginning,
middle, and end, and a central character (even if that character is an
inanimate object). You can tell stories on their own, or weave them into
a metaphor, or even use them as one-off examples to prove a point in a
different context.
64. Survey results.
Surveys are great ways to collect meaningful information on an audience, or about an industry. Use a platform like
Typeform
to come up with some quantitative and qualitative questions and submit
them to your influencers, customers, or vendors (depending on your
intentions). After getting your desired level of participation, you can
collect and aggregate the results to form meaningful conclusions—such as
about the future of the industry, the zeitgeist of your target
demographics, or even popular opinions on a given subject. Present both
the raw data and your personal conclusions for your audience.
65. Quantitative study results.
One of the most powerful forms of content you can make is the
presentation of original research; you can guarantee nobody else has
done it before, and you’ll present valuable information that your
audience wants to see. This combination makes it a perfect way to
attract shares and likes, ultimately boosting your domain authority and
brand reputation. Depending on how intensive your efforts were, I
recommend using charts, graphs, and maybe even infographics to depict
your results, but you’ll also want to treat it like a scientific
experiment; present your method, explain your results, and discuss the
potential for the future.
66. Personal anecdotes.
People like other people more than they like other brands, so don’t
be afraid to get personal with your audience; they’ll appreciate your
sincerity, and will be more likely to trust your brand as a result. Tell
a personal anecdote as a lead-in to a point, or simply tell it because
you think your audience will like it. For example, you might recall
seeing something interesting on the highway on your drive into work, and
explain how it gave you a revelation about your business. Funny stories
work well here, as well as anything that’s surprising or entertaining.
67. Statistics round-ups.
Original research is ideal, but it takes lots of time and resources
to execute, and people still love statistics. So instead of conducting
your own research every time, consider creating a kind of “statistics
round-up,” where you collect important bits of information and takeaways
from other research studies and present them in a more convenient,
bite-sized way. It’s a perfect opportunity to get social shares, and you
can even use it for your own purposes depending on the nature of the
stats.
Pew Research Center is a fantastic resource here—just be sure to cite whoever’s statistics you borrowed properly.
68. Tool lists.
No matter what industry you’re in, there are some tools your audience
should be using to help them make better purchasing decisions, or just
live their lives easier. You can collect a list of different tools for
this purpose, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each and
personally recommending some of your favorites. For example, you might
recommend some online calculators, management and efficiency tools, or
other types of software.
69. Resource lists.
Strikingly similar to the tool lists you’ve generated, you can create
resource lists to help connect your readers to the assets, guides, and
establishments that can help them in their endeavors. For example, if
you cater to entrepreneurs, you might connect them to networking events,
resource centers, or startup incubators. Don’t be afraid to look for
offline resources as well as online ones.
70. Influencer and author lists.
No matter
how good your content marketing strategy is,
there are probably dozens of authors and influencers doing a better job
than you are. This is a reality of the content marketing industry, but
it isn’t anything to be intimidated by. Instead, you can capitalize on
their abilities to boost your own on-site posts. Similar to how you
collected tools and resources for your audience, you can collect a pool
of influencers and authors they should be following; not only will your
audience appreciate this, you’ll also earn the favor of the influencers
you include in your list.
71. Sneak peeks.
If your business develops new products or refines its services
regularly, you can use it as an opportunity to give your readers a sneak
peek of your new material. This is effective because it shows your
readers that you’re working on new things and simultaneously rewards
them for following you close enough to notice. The key to effectiveness
here is to actually tease your audience—give them just enough
information to pique their interest, but not so much that it spoils any
surprises. For example, you could announce that you’re coming out with a
new update to your software that introduces an intuitive new interface,
but don’t reveal exactly what that interface will look like. When you
fully release the feature, you can do a more in-depth review of it.
72. Industry history.
I already mentioned the possibility of creating timelines for your
industry and company, but you can also delve deeper into the development
of your industry as an in-depth feature. Rather than focusing on the
surface-level highlights, you’ll take a dive into the motivating factors
and influencers that helped shape your industry into the state it’s in
today. For example, you could talk about rises and falls at significant
points in time, and possibly even project how the industry is going to
grow from here, taking some influence from “prediction” posts I
mentioned way back at the beginning.
73. Industry secrets.
You don’t actually have to reveal any secrets to reveal industry
“secrets” to your audience. The goal here is to find facts about your
industry that your audience doesn’t know—or misunderstands. For example,
you could reveal that the majority of products are actually assembled
from components manufactured off-site, or you could explain that most
content marketers are flying by the seats of their pants, building a
strategy as they go rather than knowing
exactly what they’re doing from the beginning.
You can use this to produce an attention grabbing headline like “X
secrets the industry doesn’t want you to know”—just try not to verge too
far into clickbait territory.
74. Journaling.
This option is best reserved for startups, and businesses that are
undergoing heavy development. The idea here is to make periodic updates
about the status of your development for your readers to follow. For
example, if you’re developing a piece of software, you can announce when
you’ve completed development on each of your key features, explain when
you’ve started testing and how those tests go, and keep updating your
audience about a potential release. This is especially powerful for
businesses currently running a crowdfunding campaign, or other
businesses that rely on readers and followers for ongoing support.
75. Staff highlights.
I’ll say it again; people love to see other people, far more than
they want to see corporate brands. Consider putting the spotlight on
some of the individual team members who make up your company, especially
if you’re a small business. You can stage it as an interview format,
but take it in a more personal direction than you would with an industry
influencer or a leader within your organization. Let your team members
explain who they are, what their area of expertise is, and why they’ve
chosen to work for your brand. It will showcase your brand’s personality
and attract
better, more personable clients.
76. A day in the office.
Following these lines, you could also showcase what a day in your
office is like, or factory, or any other physical location that’s
important to your business. For example, you could use photo and video
to show off your production equipment and how your products are made, or
you could give your patrons an inside look at what your kitchen looks
like, where you prepare their food. Just make sure you have everything
clean and in order before you start giving potential clients an
impression on what your place actually looks like.
Elon Musk’s tour of SpaceX is a great example of how to do this.
77. eBooks.
You have tons of options when it comes to eBooks. Essentially,
they’re just longer versions of blog posts you might be making anyway;
for example, if a traditional post would cover tips and tricks for
developing a sales strategy, the eBook version would be a comprehensive
guide on building a strategy from start to finish. There’s no rule when
it comes to length or format, but generally, you should aim for 10,000
words or more, in a PDF format with plenty of graphics to make it easy
to read and follow. Once created, you have many options with eBooks; you
can use them as an exchange for users’ personal information with a
dedicated landing page, offer them as free resources for your site visitors, or even sell them outright to make a bit of revenue on the side.
78. Audio books.
Audio books are a straightforward concept, and in most cases are just
a way to transform the medium of an existing book; for example, once
you’ve created your eBook and started distributing it, you can record a
member of your team reading the book aloud and use that audio file as an
additional piece of content to offer your readers. Like with podcasts,
make sure you’re using high-quality recording equipment and speaking
strongly and clearly.
79. Whitepapers.
Whitepapers have a broad definition, so don’t feel pressured into
using them in any one specific way. They’re generally longer than blog
posts, but shorter and less involved than eBooks, and they tend to cover
one specific topic in significant detail. Oftentimes, marketers use
whitepapers to publish the results of their original research or
experiments, as a traditional blog post doesn’t always offer enough room
for suitable exploration. It’s generally a best practice to
offer whitepapers as downloadable PDFs, though you can host them for online perusal as well for the SEO benefits.
80. Polls.
Polls can be used as small-time surveys; you’ll pose a question (or
series of questions) to your readers as a main post, and allow them to
vote on their preference. You can do something serious with this, such
as allowing your readers to choose your next eBook topic, or have more
fun with it, such as asking them how they feel about a recent news story
and providing ridiculous possible answers. After voting, you can show
your users the results of the poll and encourage a discussion about the
results.
81. Contests.
Contests are an excellent way to drive visibility of and engagement
with your brand; offering some kind of reward for participation
naturally incentivizes people to take action, and because contests
often involve a social element,
it’s natural for your participants to quickly spread the word about
your campaign. Even if your contests are primarily occurring on social
media, it’s a good idea to write up a content post about your contest,
going over the full rules and what users can expect, as well as clearing
up any potential points of misunderstanding and explaining your
motivation for hosting the contest in the first place.
82. Webinars.
Webinars are an entire content medium, so you can use them however
you want, but most webinars are used as teaching tools. Generally, a
webinar host will lead a discussion on a given topic, giving a slide
presentation and speaking audibly, or opting for full-on video.
Generally, the format involves a “teaching” segment, like a monologue,
with audience members sitting quietly, followed by a “Q and A” segment,
where the host makes him/herself available to answer questions from
participants. If you end up doing a webinar, make sure you announce it a
few weeks in advance, with regular reminders to sign up, and do a dry
run before going live with your presentation. You’ll also want to make
the webinar available to view or download after you’re done with the
live version.
83. Streaming event video.
Speaking of live versions, streaming video has rocketed in popularity
in recent months, thanks in part to platforms like Facebook attempting
to push
Facebook Live to users.
Attend a local event, or an industry event, and live stream a speaker or
significant event there; live video is popular because it allows users
to feel like they’re experiencing something by proxy, and your broadcast
of the event will give your audience eyes and ears at the event.
84. Streaming interactive video.
If you want to take advantage of the
live streaming video trend
but you don’t have an upcoming event, you can also simply live stream a
monologue or your thoughts about a recent development. Even better, you
can turn it into an interactive event by getting your followers and
participants to ask you questions during your session.
Periscope
offers a good way to this. Pay attention to what people are asking, and
try to keep the conversational flow moving. This is difficult to
practice, but over time, you’ll get better at it.
85. Thought experiments.
Thought experiments are like hypothetical scenarios, which I
mentioned earlier, but they’re distinct because of their prerequisites.
With hypothetical scenarios, you’ll use a fictional story or sequence of
events to illustrate a concept, such as imagining a narrative that
demonstrates how one of your strategies might play out. With thought
experiments, you’ll be testing the validity of a certain idea; this is
best reserved for service-based industries or ones with more conceptual
forms of work, but it can be a powerful way to prove or disprove the
feasibility of an idea.
86. User chats.
Similar to how you used live streaming video to engage with your
users, you could also host a user chat for a given period of time. If
your website has a forum that allows user participation, sign yourself
up as a user and lead a discussion during this time period. Invite any
and all questions and comments as they come in, and try to facilitate
discussions between users as much as you engage with users directly.
This will help foster a community around your brand, and will only have
positive effects for your overall brand loyalty.
87. Before and after posts.
Before and after posts are ideal if you’re working with clients
looking for some kind of transformation; for example, if you’re in the
branding and web design industry, you can post (with permission) images
and screenshots from a client’s current setup, then follow up with your
finished work some time later. This is obviously most effective when
done side-by-side, but there’s also an advantage in posting the “before”
status in real time, making users anticipate what comes next. It also
serves as a veiled case study, showing off your expertise and
capabilities.
88. Theory exploration.
Most industries operate on basic “theories” that dictate how things
operate on a conceptual level. For example, in photography the “
rule of thirds”
is a popular way to frame photos to be more aesthetically pleasing. You
can write up a post exploring one or more of these theories, analyzing
why they exist, how they can be improved, and if they’ll ever be
replaced. If there are multiple competing theories on a single topic or
principle, this is a good opportunity to compare and contrast them.
89. Inspiration posts.
Inspiration posts are simply meant to inspire or motivate your
audience. While effective, these posts aren’t practical for all
industries and businesses. For example, if you sell culinary
ingredients, you can post recipes and concoctions that inspire chefs, or
if you sell art supplies, you can post artistic ideas, or if you own a
gym, you can post workout routines and success stories. This is
open-ended, and not for everyone, but it is a possibility worth
considering.
90. Ask me anything sessions.
“Ask me anything” (AMA) is a mode of online conversation and engagement
popularized by Reddit.
In the mode, a user—typically someone of interest like a celebrity, or
someone who has done something extraordinary—fields questions from
online forum users in an effort to increase knowledge (and possibly
entertain). This is best done with a strong personal brand within your
organization, such as your founder, your CEO, or a leader of one of your
main departments.
91. Help content.
Help content deviates a bit from the norm of “traditional” content
marketing, in that it helps users who have already become customers
navigate your products and services. For example, if you sell time
management software as a service, your traditional content strategy
might focus on productivity tips and helping workers improve their
efficiency, but your help content might help users understand how to
better use your platform. This is a good way to improve user retention
(not to mention easing the burden on your customer service department),
and you’ll get some amazing SEO benefits too.
92. FAQs.
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) section of your website can also serve as an
excellent opportunity for content development.
It can be used by your existing customers, much like your help content,
or be consulted by visitors who are almost ready to buy from you. The
more thorough you are here, the more potential customers you’ll be able
to please; try to make it as easy to navigate as possible, including a
search function to get users exactly what they’re looking for faster.
93. 101 Guides.
Not everybody is on the same level of familiarity with your industry,
your brand, or your products and services. Even though you might
understand your target market well and focus on visitors who are at
least partially informed, you’ll still have a share of your audience who
is completely unfamiliar with your core topics. For those users, it’s
advisable to write up “101” guides, which formally introduce these
concepts on a ground level. Strip away all the jargon, all the advanced
tips and angles, and speak to people as if they’re finding out about
this for the first time—because they just might be.
94. Awards.
Your ability to make an awards content post depends on your current
level of authority. If you’re just emerging on the scene, or if you’re a
startup, it may not be a good idea to hand out awards to influencers
and other sites you think are doing a good job. However, if you have a
few years under your belt, you can create whatever awards you want
(keeping it relevant to your brand, of course). For example, if you’re a
graphic design firm, you can list businesses who achieved some kind of
graphic design excellence in the past year—much like influencer quotes
and author lists, this is a good way to please your users and connect
with influencers at the same time.
95. Parody pieces.
If you’re feeling cheeky, or if your brand is playful enough to get
away with it, you can also write parody pieces. These might be
Onion-style articles poking fun at new developments in your industry, or straight-up humor pieces that serve as satire for the public, such as this
open letter to local directory sites.
If you can make your audience laugh, you’ll probably win them over (and
earn some extra shares and links in the process); just try not to go
overboard or deliver incorrect information that may be taken as truth.
96. Humorous insights.
Parodies aren’t the only ways to inject humor into your blog or
website. You can also write more directly relatable and funny pieces,
such as “X times your SEO strategy will make you want to punch a wall.”
If you’re looking for inspiration, peruse your friends’ and family
members shared posts on social media. Find a piece there you think is
funny, and brainstorm a way you can adapt it to fit your industry, or
find a similar yet original angle to take that your customers might
appreciate.
97. Top post recaps.
Original content is important, and you should be creating new content
regularly, but occasionally, it’s both permissible and beneficial to
look back and recap some of the work you’ve already done. For example,
you can collect up some of the best posts you’ve written over the course
of the past month (in terms of comments, shares, traffic, or the metric
of your choice) and assemble them into a “top 10” list. This will help
rejuvenate attention for these pieces and show off how popular your
content campaign has gotten, giving you a boost in authority.
98. Real-life presentations.
It’s easy to forget that there’s a physical side to content marketing
in addition to a digital one. If you’re looking for a way to get more
exposure for your brand and make new connections, consider signing up
for a speaking event in your area. There are
many ways to find these opportunities,
and most of them will be happy to have you as a presenter. As an added
bonus, when you’re done, you can take your slide presentation (or any
other collateral you created for the presentation) and make it available
to your audience.
99. Newsletters.
To some, newsletters are a basic component of a content marketing
strategy, but they’re also a critical opportunity to get new content to
your subscribers and followers. Generally, you’ll use newsletters to
distribute your top posts of the week (or month) or provide exclusive
content to your subscribers to reward them for subscribing. However, you
can also add some meta commentary, discussing some of the major wins
you experienced and where you hope to go with your content campaign in
the future. Give your readers the sense that you’re speaking to them
directly, and they’ll be more likely to engage with you.
100. Coursework.
You can also turn some of your content into full-fledged coursework,
provided you have enough material to truly educate someone. For example,
you could organize some of your top posts into a linear, step-by-step
system that walks users through the basics (such as with your “101”
posts) and gradually more advanced topics. You could also include
worksheets, quizzes, and other exercises for your users to complete, and
offer a certificate of completion to give them an incentive to finish
your program. If you’re successful here, you can expand your resources
and potentially even charge for the opportunity eventually.
101. “Ultimate” resource guides.
“Ultimate” resource guides
are like eBooks—highly detailed and lengthy—but they’re also more
interactive. They feature shorter sections, links out to other articles,
and lists of outside tools and resources designed to complement the
instructions and outlines they provide. The goal is to give a user a
complete rundown on a given topic, providing not just the information
they need to understand it, but also the motivation and the resources
they need to pursue it.
Hopefully, these content ideas give you inspiration, direction, and
even some practical tips to create a more diverse selection of content
for your brand. With a list this long, you shouldn’t have any excuse not
to have that editorial calendar filled up. Find a new regular staple,
or be adventurous and try something new—no matter how you choose to use
this list, do so with your users in mind. As long as you continue to
provide them with informative, entertaining, and relevant content, your
strategy will become a success.
