Where Do You Find Inspiration – PTC 444

AS A CONTENT CREATOR, WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? Creating great content begins with strong topics. And strong topics come from inspiration. Inspiration is available in many areas of life. In this episode, you will discover 7 ways to inspire you with great content ideas. PASSION Before you begin looking for ideas and inspiration, ensure you are passionate about your topic. If you are not a fanatic about your niche, you'll find it difficult to create any content. When you are passionate about your niche, content ideas tend to flow naturally. You can't create content simply because you think others will enjoy it. The idea well runs dry when you chase the passion of other. Don't worry about what others love. To be interesting, be interested. Talk about ideas that stir your passion. TWO ELEMENTS OF INSPIRATION Before you begin creating content ideas, you need to remember the two critical elements of great content. First, everything interesting is about people. When you create content, it cannot be information alone. How does the infomration affect your listeners? Make it about people. Next, tell stories. Let people get to know you and your guest through the stories that you tell. When I first started interviewing bands and musicians on the radio, I would ask the typical questions. It would be about the album release date, when they are on the road, and how long they worked on the new record. One day I was listening to our morning show interview a band. He got the band to tell some great stories that had me sitting in my car until the interview was over. That's when I realized it wasn't about the information. It was about the stories. Sure, it's important to talk about your guest's new book or course. But your listeners want to hear the stories. Engage with great stories. I have a resource that will help you get great stories from your guests. It is called "17 Most Powerful Podcast Interview Questions Ever". You can download it for free at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/interview. LIFE The first way to find content inspiration is to take notice of the things that happen in life that pique your interest. JOURNAL The next way to find content ideas and inspiration is to Journal at the end of the day. What did you learn or discover? What story can you tell from today? QUESTIONS One strategy I use to find content inspiration is searching through Facebook groups to see what questions are being asked. ARTICLES About 20 years ago, my radio coach taught me how to take any article and turn it into dozens of content ideas. Take an article from anywhere. I've selected one from the October 2022 issue of USA Hockey magazine called, "Pucks With A Purpose". Here is the opening paragraph. "As one of the two preeminent powers in women's hockey, she knew her responsibility as the general manager was more than simply winning games and Olympic medals. It was about establishing a culture that would help to continue to grow the game and create oppoprtunities for young girls around the country." Step two is to highlight any words and phrases that capture your attention and pique your interest. Here are the lines words that caught my eye. Preeminent powers. Her responsibility. More than simply winning. Establishing a culture. Grow the game. Create oppoprtunities. Opportunities for young girls. Next, apply those words to your niche. I am creating content to help podcasters create a more effective show. Here is how I turn each of these phrases into a content idea. Preeminent powers becomes "The most influential forces in podcasting." Her responsibility becomes "What is our responsibility as podcast hosts?" More than simply winning becomes "Success is more than downloads." Establishing a culture becomes "How to create culture with your podcast." Grow the game becomes "How to grow the podcasting game." Create oppoprtunities becomes "Creating opportunities for podcasters." Opportunities for young girls becomes "Getting more young women into podcasting." I now have 7 episode ideas from the first paragraph of an article. Even if only half are decent ideas, that still gives me three or four episodes or content posts. And, I still have the rest of the article to spark ideas. Remember, the article doesn't need to come from your niche. That's what makes this strategy so powerful. Have fun with this one. PROMPTS To find content inspiration, use a variety of prompts to inspire you. There are at least ten that I use frequently. How did you get into your field? How does your expertise help people? What do you love about it? How can people get started? Tell me about the first time you did it. Describe the best time. When was the craziest time? What are some of the things you didn’t know when you started? If you were starting again, what is the first thing you’d do? Who inspired you the most? All of these prompts can spark inspiration and story. Remember, everything interesting is about people. BOOK TITLES Book titles are a great resource for inspiration. Looking at the popularity of a book on Amazon can tell you how hot the topic is. Find your niche on Amazon, look at the top sellers, and use those titles to brainstorm content ideas. SIX POWERFUL AREAS In radio, we always tried to include content in each of six areas. Those six areas are health, heart, money, time, safety, and local. What can people do in each of these areas to have more success in their life? You may think "local" doesn't pertain to your niche. However, anything can be local. Just because it is a global topic doesn't mean you can't make it local. Just answer the question, "What's in it for me?" If you are talking about artificial intelligence, how can that affect me locally? Does it affect how kids write papers for school? How does it affect jobs at your local newspaper? Is the information kiosk at the airport still relevant? THE WRONG SIZE I was in the store the other day looking for a torsion spring. Do you know what a torsion spring is? Neither did I. The spring on my hockey target broke. I remove the spring off the second target and took it to the store to find a replacement. When I showed the guy what I needed, he pulled it up on his computer and ordered it. 3 days later, the spring arrived. I went to the store to get it. It was the wrong size. We went through the process again. He measured the length, thickness and diameter. Then he entered the info in the computer and ordered a different spring. 3 days later, the spring arrived. I went to the store to get it. And, it was the wrong size again. The manager finally told me to go home, sit on the couch with my computer, and search the internet for a spring that matched the one I needed. If the artificial intelligence of Google will solve my problem, why do I need the guy behind the counter at the local store? That's how you make a global topic local. PICK ONE There are seven ways to find content inspiration. Select the one that you find most interesting and can do most consistently. Give it a try for three or four episodes to see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, try another. Ideas are everywhere. You simply need to be aware and notice the things that capture your attention. Everything interesting is about people. And to be interesting, be interested. Engage by telling stories.   If you don't have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.