You’re probably familiar with the saying, ” imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
While that may be true, when it comes to content marketing, imitation will only get you so far. If you want to create truly original content that will capture your audience’s attention and get them to take action, you need to go beyond simply imitating what’s already out there.
Fortunately, generating original content ideas doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, all you need to do is take a close look at what’s already working for others in your industry and put your own spin on it.
To help get you started, here are four simple ways to generate original content ideas by looking at what’s working for others:
Find the most popular articles in your industry and make them better.
One of the easiest ways to generate original content ideas is to find the most popular articles in your industry and make them even better.
To do this, start by doing a Google search for your main keyword and taking a look at the articles that come up on the first page of results. These are the articles that are already getting a lot of traffic and engagement, so you know they’re popular with your target audience.
Next, take a close look at each of these articles and ask yourself how you could make them even better. Could you add more information? Could you make the argument more convincing? Could you make the article more visually appealing?
By making popular articles even better, you’ll be able to quickly generate original content ideas that are sure to be popular with your audience.
Find the most controversial articles in your industry and take a different stance.
Another great way to generate original content ideas is to find the most controversial articles in your industry and take a different stance.
To do this, start by doing a Google search for your main keyword + “controversy” or “debate.” This will help you find articles that are stirring up a lot of debate in your industry.
Once you’ve found a few controversial articles, take a close look at the arguments being made and see if you can take the opposite stance. By taking a different stance on a controversial issue, you’ll be able to create original content that is sure to get people talking.
Find the most popular topics in your industry and put your own spin on them.
If you’re having trouble coming up with completely original ideas, another option is to find the most popular topics in your industry and put your own spin on them.
To do this, start by taking a look at the most popular articles in your industry (like we talked about in point #1). Then, ask yourself if there’s a way you could put your own spin on these topics.
For example, let’s say you’re in the fitness industry. A quick Google search reveals that one of the most popular topics right now is “weight loss.”
Now, there are a million different ways you could put your own spin on this topic. You could write an article about “weight loss for busy moms,” “weight loss for men over 40,” or “weight loss for people with thyroid problems.”
By putting your own spin on popular topics, you’ll be able to quickly generate original content ideas that are relevant to your audience.
Find the most popular formats in your industry and use them to create something new.
Finally, another great way to generate original content ideas is to find the most popular formats in your industry and use them to create something new.
To do this, start by taking a look at the types of content that are already popular in your industry. Are listicles (articles in the form of a list) popular? Are infographics popular? Are how-to guides popular?
Once you’ve identified the most popular types of content, ask yourself if there’s a way you could use these formats to create something new. For example, if listicles are popular, could you write a listicle about a topic that hasn’t been covered before? If infographics are popular, could you create an infographic that presents information in a new and interesting way?
By thinking outside the box, you’ll be able to generate original content ideas that are sure to stand out from the crowd.