My eyes were closed, and my mind was in a blissful state. I was flying through the clouds. Yes, I was sitting cross-legged on my cushion in a meditation hall and was 2 minutes away from enlightenment. And then it happened.
The guy sitting next to me started making various sounds. He was clearing his throat, moving in his seat, and breathing heavily. All. At. The. Same. Time. My mind crashed from the clouds onto the ground.
I complained about him to the Zen Master. I tried to ignore him. I even talked with him, but no matter what I did, my problem didn’t get resolved.
And then it dawned on me. I was solving the wrong problem.
This tendency to solve the wrong problem also comes up in building our personal brand, especially when we feel stuck and run out of content ideas. Despite our best efforts, we don’t know what content to create!
What do we do to get out of this rut?
We use Google and ChatGPT, of course. But that is like putting a band-aid on the wound and curing the problem from its roots.
Finding new content ideas is trying to solve the wrong problem.
In this article, we will talk about –
- Why finding content ideas is solving the wrong problem
- Why you need a unique POV to solve your content ideas problem for good
- How a POV helps you with content generation
- The problem with looking for content ideas
A simple Google search will give you dozens of tactics for finding content ideas. Some are good and can help you get started. This, however, is a temporary solution and doesn’t cure the problem.
But it’s not just that.
As I started thinking about using ChatGPT and Google to find content ideas, something felt off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it—until recently…
Let’s say you are writing about UX design and ask ChatGPT or Google for topic ideas.
All these topics fall under the umbrella of UX design, but they are disconnected from each other. It seems like a random laundry list slapped together. If you choose to write on all these topics, your personal brand would seem to be going in random directions.
The problem is coherence.
It’s like having Italian soup, followed by a North Indian Vegetable and a dessert from Thailand… it’s disconnected! There is no unifying theme or a single story that binds them together. The audience doesn’t know what to make of you.
How do you find direction and coherence? Also, back to our core problem – how do you find coherent content ideas for your personal brand?
The answer lies in your unique POV.
- Why do you need a POV?
A unique POV is your brand’s core philosophy. It’s your polarizing, controversial view of your industry/audience. A POV talks about the villain you are attacking and the new game that you are promoting. Some of your audience will be strongly attracted to your POV, while others will be repelled.
I have written more about what a POV is on this link.
The example I use commonly is Jonathan Stark’s POV—hourly billing is nuts. Jonathan Stark wants his audience (Consultants and Experts) to stop charging clients by the hour and instead, price based on the value they provide to the client.
If you go to Jonathan Stark’s website and subscribe to his email list, you’ll find that his content revolves around this POV. The POV acts like the Sun, around which multiple planets (Content Pillars) revolve. Every planet is surrounded by multiple moons—content Pillars.
Without the Sun, the moons are in disarray. Just like the Sun binds the solar system, your central POV binds all your content pieces with a single idea.
- But how exactly does a POV solve the problem of new ideas?
“Okay, Pranav, I get it. A POV binds all your content ideas together. But how does it help me generate new ideas?”
Glad you asked.
Here’s the thing – A POV is not just a philosophy that binds all your content together. It’s not just an answer. It’s NOT just something you have found that you keep on harping on for eternity.
Your POV is also a question that you are exploring. I am going to pause here for dramatic effect.
The POV is not just something you believe in. It’s also a question that is puzzling you and is also making you curious. This POV is a journey that you are keen on taking and finding the answers on behalf of the audience. This journey takes you to different places and all this exploration gives you content ideas.
Too abstract?
Let’s make it concrete.
Jay Acunzo, a Marketer, Creator, and Podcaster, has a unique point of view. He states that marketing is not about getting more awareness (more likes, more visibility, more traffic). Effective Marketing is about deeply resonating with the audience.
In other words, Marketing is not simply attracting to your blog, website, or podcast… but it’s about maintaining their attention as they consume your content. That’s when brands win.
This POV is very polarizing, especially in a world where most Marketers are running behind more likes, views, and followers. According to Jay (and I am paraphrasing here) “It’s not about how many people you reach. It’s about how many people stay and resonate with your content”.
Resonance > Reach
Is this Jay’s North Star for content creation? Yes.
But this is not just Jay’s answer. It is a question he is pursuing.
He is on a quest to figure out what resonance looks and feels like. He is figuring out how to resonate with the audience. This exploration took him to topics like storytelling, branding, premise development hooks, etc. All of these become content topics that are bound together by his unique POV of “Resonance over Reach.”
I don’t think Jay will ever run out of content ideas.
Jonathan Stark is an expert
But you don’t have to be one. You can be an explorer like Jay. You can be someone who is curious or frustrated and is looking for answers, sharing those answers in public as he finds them.
This frustration and curiosity ensures that you never run out of content topics because the questions never end.
To summarize:
When you run out of content ideas, you might be tempted to hop on to Google and ChatGPT for content ideas. A better long-term approach is to build a unique POV that binds all your content ideas together. This POV is not just what you believe in, but a question you are exploring.
One question leads to many questions. This exploration leads you to interesting places, all of which can become your content ideas.
If you don’t know your POV, this will get you started.