If you’re running an online business, content is the heart and soul of it all. This is how you connect with new people, and how you can show up and serve your audience on the regular.

But, it also is one of the most time-consuming parts of running an online business. It takes A LOT of time to produce quality content that will serve your audience well.

Are you sometimes unsure of what content your audience wants? About what will work to pull in new people?

I’ve got you. Last week we talked about how much time you save when you plan, so let’s talk about planning content.

What I’m going to cover today is a way to brainstorm ideas for filling in your content calendar. You can do this 2-4 times each year. And keeping a running list of ideas helps speed up this process over time.

Some ways to keep track of your ideas are:

• Using the notes on your phone
• Using an app like Evernote or Google Doc
• Using a project management tool so you can move ideas to projects

I’m going to go through four different ways to easily look at what content is popular.

Before you start, get organized on how you want to track your ideas. I like to create a different list for each content pillar, or content category (something I covered back in Episode 5 - How to Create a Content Calendar).

Alright, once you’ve organized yourself a bit the first place to go is Google.

• Type in a keyword and watch for the auto drop down options of popular phrases.
• Write down the exact Google suggested phrase.
• Run a search for your keywords and review what pops up on the front page.
• Review the "what others are searching for" section at the bottom of the page.

After you’ve searched a bit in Google, the next tool to use is Pinterest.

• Type in a keyword and watch for the auto drop down options of popular phrases.
• Run a search for your keywords and review what additional words or phrases pop up along the top.
• Review pins for popularity and take note of what is pinned more frequently.

Next is a cool tool called Answer the Public.

• Search for keywords phrases and review the Questions, Propositions and Comparisons sections.

Last, review frequently asked questions.

• Look for questions you answer all the time.
• Search Facebook groups where your ideal customer hangs out for popular keywords.