My Content Ideation Process 💡

Hello Reader,

Once again, two reminders!

1. My awesome FAQ for visibility workshop is next week. It will NOT be available to purchase after the live workshop, so if you want to learn how to make your website more visible across search types, sign up!
2. I'm surveying folks to find out if the interest they've said they have in a winter round of my summer program is actually real or not. The working name for the winter version is "Search & Story Incubator" and it would potentially have a slightly different vibe from previous rounds. Let me know here!​

Last week, a client posed an excellent question that cut right to the heart of what I do: "How do you come up with your ideas for content?"

They were specifically referencing my public-facing content—the kind that lands in front of people generally unfamiliar with my brand. Think blog posts, LinkedIn updates, and the like. Essentially, content aimed at discovery, not folks like you who have at least a passing familiarity with me.

It's a topic I've circled before. I've addressed it in an email from several years ago, back when this list was tiny, again a year later, and again in one focusing on the mechanics of creating a search-first blog post.

However, I thought now, with the end of the year hurdling towards us, I'd look at the earliest stage of the process: ideation.

My initial "Let's look into this for content potential" actions typically follow two main tracks:

• Active Listening: I was formally trained in active listening during my public sector PR days. If a trend pops up or an insightful question is asked—especially by a client—I make a literal note of it. My phone's Notes app is the repository, categorized with a dedicated tag for easy retrieval.
• Framework Gaps: Each quarter, I audit my signature Aligned Authority® framework. I evaluate which core areas have been neglected in recent content and make a note of those deficits. Again, it starts in the Notes app—it's not ready for a robust project management system like Notion at this stage.

Reviewing these initial notes, I search for emerging trends, new data, recurring themes, or anything that feels strongly aligned with my core message or, conversely, is unique and unexpected. I also check whether an existing piece of content could be updated to incorporate the new idea (I always update first, it's one of my rules).

At this point, I operate with a principle of "trust but verify."

I trust there's some inherent value in the idea, but I must verify that it is worth the significant investment of turning it into high-quality, public-facing content.

This is where research becomes critical. I'll dive into tools like Keywords Everywhere (while I use others, its integration directly into search engine results makes it excellent for preliminary investigation) and begin investigating the existing landscape.

This is the point where human insight dramatically surpasses any bot: I don't just look at the search numbers.

I read the content that is ranking to identify genuine gaps, determine if the topic is overly saturated, and assess the quality of the competition.

I note potential opportunities and, once more, assess whether they make strategic sense for my marketing goals. It’s a ruthless stage; many initial ideas are tossed out here.

Yet, this stage is also where true, golden inspiration often surfaces.

For instance, last year I realized I had never specifically targeted SEO advice for coaches, despite working with a fair number of them (ironically, they'd all come from referrals). As I conducted my ideation research, I found the existing content was overwhelmingly technical or instructional. This presented a clear opportunity. Rather than creating another "how-to," I developed this article that pivots to focus on the foundational questions coaches must answer before investing in search engine optimization. Despite it having some rankings volatility, it directly resulted in one new client within a few short weeks of publication.

The hard truth is that if I had simply executed my initial idea—a generic guide for coaches to understand or implement SEO—it likely would not have delivered a new client. It wouldn't have stood out from the crowd. Sure, someone might have connected with my tone or liked my branding, but I don't leave my business strategy to chance—I prefer to engineer my own luck.

Furthermore, that strategic approach allowed me to integrate the foundational marketing elements of my brand and framework into the article, connecting the idea back to a core brand awareness opportunity. Another checkmark in the "yes" column for my ideation process.

This process is nearly second nature to me after years of practice, so it likely won't be as quick or instinctive for you at first. (And that's fine! Practice makes progress!)

However, the core lessons are entirely transferable. The most significant takeaway is to trust your own knowledge of your field (you are the subject matter expert) and diligently identify the gaps that your "competitors" (a term I, like many of you, struggle with) are leaving open—gaps you are uniquely positioned to fill.

Many of us have been subtly conditioned to disregard our ability to discern market opportunities. If you learn nothing else from me, I want you to know that you possess far more intelligence and capacity for strategic insight than you realize.

Listen to your gut, and then use your intellect to validate that instinct.

That is how you develop your most powerful content marketing ideas.

Warmly,

Sarah

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