Coaches: How to Easily Generate Blog Ideas and Social Media Content

Today I’m talking about something that MOST coaches have a LOT of trouble with: Generating new content – and consistently getting it out to their audience – their clients, prospects and followers.

So many of the coaches I know are not getting this done.

I often hear things like, “I can’t think up any fresh ideas for my blog and social media posts,” or, “Generating new content takes me so much time and energy that I just end up blowing it off!”

If you struggle with getting this done, this short blog is for YOU: I’ll give you One Weird Exercise that’ll generate tons of fresh ideas – even if you don’t think you have anything new to say.

But first, let’s put a finer point on the importance of consistent outbound content (might seem obvious, but it’s often forgotten):

ONE. Fact is that 99% of people who visit your site, read your blog or sign up for your freemium are NOT ready to buy. (Wouldn’t it be nice if they were?). So you HAVE to have follow-on outbound content that brings them back to your site or your social media platforms – again and again. Because…

TWO. A prospective client or buyer will require eight or more interactions with you before they’ll even consider hiring or buying from you. A consistent stream of value-packed content is the way to have those confidence-building interactions.

THREE. Like your Freemium, your free outbound content is an indicator to your avatar that your PAID content and services are worth the investment.

FOUR. A consistent stream of quality content is not just about demonstrating the quality of your thinking. Consistency is what keeps your brand top-of-mind. There’s a core principle in advertising media placement called Recency. It holds that the most important factor in making a sale when the prospect is ready to buy, is how recently your message was put in front of them. Also, think about marketers or colleagues who email you only once every few months. Aren’t you sometimes wondering, “What’s going on with them? Are they OK?” And finally…

FIVE. Consistent outbound content is the basic architecture of the acquisition, conversion, upsell and retention LADDER. First, you convert your audience into email subscribers by offering something of value for free – your freemium lead magnet. Then you nurture the new relationship with little value bombs to convert her to a webinar or other higher-value piece of teaching. From there, you convert her into a client or customer. Then, you retain…and upsell.

And all the way up that ladder, consistent, quality content is the fuel. So, in sum…

It’s the backbone of your marketing and sales ecosystem.

Whether in the form blogs, articles, podcasts, videos, Facebooks Lives, tweets or Instagram Stories.

And again, I know that content idea generation seems HARD. But there are LOTS of hacks for sourcing great content, and I’ll share one -- a weird exercise inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk – aka, Gary Vee -- that’ll help you source ideas -- from your own fertile brain.

A Quick Story

Ten years ago I was taking my seat on a flight to London to visit with a director and producer about my idea for a new multi-video instructional program for ADHD adults.

I had struggled for weeks to lay out even the outline of the "curriculum" and now my meeting with them was the next day. And I’m thinking…

“There’s no way I can outline two hours’ worth of solid, strategy-packed video content in the next 24 hours!”

And the stuff had to be GOOD because I’d be asking these two seasoned pros to direct and produce my videos for no pay – just a tiny percentage of my not-yet-created company.

PLUS, I needed enough quality content to populate a new website, a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

Struggling to write in the first hour of the flight I was getting panicky…and then paralyzed.

So I took a break and put on an audio book, Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush-It.

Within minutes, he gave me the idea for an awesome hack to generate lots of content ideas on-the-spot, right outta my own brain.

I did the hack during the flight, landed at Heathrow with really solid content, and the next day the director and producer signed on to help me create my award-winning “virtual coach” program, ADD Crusher™.

So, what was that hack?

I got the idea for it when Gary Vee said, “You think you’re not expert enough to create a powerful brand? Sit down for a couple hours and write 65 tweets about your area of interest. If you can get to 65, you’re a potential powerhouse!”

I knew I could share valuable goods with my tribe. What Gary Vee convinced me of is that it was already IN MY BRAIN. And that I just needed to shake it all out of my head and onto “paper” – i.e., into my laptop.

Here’s why this hack works so well

It frees you to not worry about writing entire blogs or scripts. It only asks your brain to poop out nuggets – tweet-sized nuggets, that can themselves serve as quick social media posts, but most of which are the seeds for a blog or a video or a podcast episode!

And so that’s what I did on that flight from New York to London. Just pooped outta my brain every little idea or insight or hack over the course of a couple hours. And when I landed, I not only had on my laptop a solid outline for the videos, but also about 80 solid insights, tips, tricks, quotes – all potential topics for short videos or blogs, and most of them ready for Facebook posting and tweeting.

So if you want an arsenal of great content ideas to fuel your marketing ecosystem, some time in the next week, block off two hours, get some protein in your tummy and your favorite hot beverage, and write some tweets…

…about your personal experience. Your quick-win solutions. Ways you manage your own fill-in-the-blank. Great quotes that are pre-loaded with ideas, solutions, insights. Believe me, you have 65 of these somewhere in your head right now!

But two important things to remember:

First, you’re not writing tweets necessarily to post on Twitter. But the reason you want to ONLY write tweet-lengths bits – let’s call it 140 to 280 characters long -- is that you are generating TOPICS. Not blogs or videos. TOPICS. IDEAS. INSIGHTS. BLURBS. QUIPS.

You DON’T want to get dragged down the rabbit hole of having a great idea and then, instead of generating more ideas, you end up writing half a blog about that one idea, and then you wipe yourself out…with only that half a blog to show for your two-hour work session!

And the other important thing -- a thought-starter, or really, a guideline: make sure you’re writing from what Gary Vee calls “The most powerful marketing strategy ever: CARE.”. Vaynerchuck says in that book, Crush It, in fact, “The most powerful marketing strategy ever, is…CARE. If you care about your audience, you will never, ever lose. Not BS caring. Really, really caring.” That, he says, “is 1000% of the game” in content creation.

“Always remember to write TO YOUR TRIBE. Write to their pain points. Write to their hopes.” -APB

So to RECAP

You gotta have a consistent flow of good outbound content. It’s the backbone of your business’s marketing ecosystem. The good news is, there are tons of sources of fresh content all around you – starting with the dusty corners of your own mind. If you give yourself permission to just poop out little nuggets, and not worry just yet about “The Big Blog Post,” more stuff will spill outta your brain.

OK, that’s all for now.

I also have a few additional ways to keep your content fresh. Check them out here!

What are your thoughts on this topic? I'd love to know. Shoot me an email at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram @alanpbrown.

Until then, remember: Whatever’s in your way…is yours to CRUSH!

APB

Meantime, CLICK HERE to grab my complimentary checklist: The 10 Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make on Their Homepage. It’s likely you’re making one or more of these (very fixable) mistakes that impact your business.

And remember: Whatever’s in your way…is yours to CRUSH!

Bless!

APB