How to Use a Content Idea Generator to Beat Writer’s Block

There’s nothing worse than a blank page during a content brainstorming session. Whether you are a marketer, creator, or business owner, thinking of original and unique content ideas can feel daunting.

A content idea generator acts as a brainstorming partner to help supercharge your content strategy. With content idea generators, you have access to unlimited suggestions to speed up your content creation process and create captivating material for your audience. 

What is a content idea generator?

Content idea generators help you brainstorm ideas for blogs, social media posts, videos, podcasts, and even eBooks. 

While content idea generators are not new, past models leaned on predefined formulas to produce content topics.

AI content idea generators—like Jasper—use GPT-3, GPT-4 and other language models to suggest more nuanced recommendations. GPT, which stands for Generated Pre-trained Transformer, is a machine-learning language model trained to generate realistic human text. AI tools analyze content from across the internet and use predictive writing patterns to learn about common language. 

The result? A valuable resource to help you get the most out of your content strategy. 

Why should you use a content idea generator?

According to a survey by Content Marketing Institute, 71% of B2B marketers believe content marketing has become even more critical to their organizations this year. But only 29% of those surveyed had a “successful” content marketing strategy in place.

With content marketing becoming increasingly important across industries, content idea generators are valuable tools. 

Content generators save time

Whether you are a marketer, creator, or business owner, you likely have a lot of competing responsibilities. Content idea generators simplify the brainstorming process by providing a list of content ideas. As a result, you have more time to focus on other tasks.

Brainstorming content ideas can be a time-consuming process. With deadlines looming, it’s crucial to have efficient methods for generating quality content ideas. Using a content idea generator eliminates the need for hours of brainstorming sessions, saving you time and effort. 

Content idea generators help beat writer’s block 

When brainstorming, writer’s block is inevitable. Whether you are thinking of ideas for your podcast or B2B blog, coming up with fresh content can feel intimidating. With unlimited suggestions, content idea generators help spark creativity.

Content idea generators help you develop new perspectives

Content idea generators stimulate your curiosity and expand your content horizons. It’s easy to fall into the habit of producing the same type of content. With content idea generators, creators and marketers can break out of their usual thinking patterns. This results in unique and engaging content that can attract new audiences.

Content idea generators provide valuable insights

Not only do content idea generators suggest new topics, but they also provide insights into what type of content is popular among your target audience. By analyzing trends and keywords, these tools can give you an understanding of what resonates with your readers or viewers.

8 ways to generate new content ideas 

Here are a few ideas to help kick off your next brainstorming session.

1. Use a content generator tool

Content generator tools require you to enter information about your business—such as your target audience, keywords, and the brand’s tone of voice. The tool will then generate a list of fresh content ideas. Our favorite content idea generator? Jasper. We’ll dig into how to use Jasper below. 

2. Follow trending topics in your niche

By following trending topics in your industry, you will stay on top of what is relevant to your audience. Here are a few places to see what’s trending:

• Ahrefs: Ahrefs is an SEO software with a Content Explorer tool where you can view trending topics that contain keywords you specify.
• Google Trends: You can learn what your audience searches for using Google trends. Type in a topic, and Google will share related queries. 
• Quora: Use Quora to see what types of questions users are asking about your niche. 
• Reddit: Reddit is another valuable tool for following keywords in your field. Use the social site to find out what kind of questions users ask. 
• Podcasts: Listen to podcasts in your field and check out the titles and descriptions for new ideas.
• BuzzSumo: BuzzSumo is a helpful tool to find out what content is popular in your field. 
• Feedly: Feedly acts as a central place to follow and organize sources in your niche.
• YouTube: Watch trending YouTube videos in your area of expertise.
• X (formerly Twitter): Follow industry experts in your field or use the Twitter Topics feature to monitor trends. 

3. Use Google Search

As the most popular engine, Google Search is ideal for finding inspiration. Type a topic into the search bar and look at the “People Also Ask” feature to find new ideas. Google Image tags are also another useful source of inspiration. 

4. Interview industry experts

In addition to bringing credibility to your content, interviews with industry experts are often the best place to source new content ideas. These experts will highlight trends or discuss pain points you can explore. 

If you’re wondering where to source industry experts to interview, you could try asking on social media or put out a request for quotes on Connectively (HARO - Help a Reporter Out). You could  also reach out directly to experts in your field through email or LinkedIn.

Interviews with industry experts can provide valuable insights and open up new content ideas that you may not have thought of on your own. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and reach out to these professionals for their expertise.

5. Engage with your audience

Another source for content inspiration that resonates is your own audience. 

• Post a question on your Instagram story or Twitter feed.
• Read the comments on your blog posts. If your company has a Facebook group, read the recent threads, comments, and questions. 
• Reach out to your audience with a survey 
• Ask your Customer Support or Sales teams. As the first point of contact for customers, these teams can speak to common questions and concerns from your customers. 

6. Research your competitors

Review your competitors’ websites, FAQ sections, and YouTube videos. You could uncover new ways to highlight your product or service.  Take note of what content they are producing and what is resonating with their audience.

On top of your direct business competitors, you should also consider who you’re competing with on social media. What types of accounts do your target audience follow and engage with? Who are the industry leaders and thought leaders in your niche? You can look into what types of topics they’re discussing and how they engage with their audiences. This can be a highly effective way to provide valuable new insights for creating unique, compelling content ideas.

7. Repurpose old content

Content repurposing means using older content in a new way. For example, you can turn popular Tweets into longer blog posts or use a popular blog post to create a YouTube video. By repurposing content, you find new ways to present popular topics. 

Repurposing content is a powerful way to come up with new content ideas because it allows you to leverage existing material that has already proven to be successful or engaging.

By transforming old content into new formats or mediums, such as turning a blog post into a video or a series of Tweets into a comprehensive article, you can reach different audience segments and broaden your content distribution channels. Repurposing content can also save time and resources by building upon what you already have rather than starting from scratch, enabling you to maintain consistency in your messaging while offering fresh perspectives on familiar topics.

This approach not only sparks creativity but also helps maximize the value of your content investments by extending the lifespan of your original ideas across various platforms and formats.

8. Keep a content “swipe” file

A “swipe file” is where you store content that you find interesting or inspiring—even if it is not in your niche. You can refer to your swipe file to spark new ideas or ways to communicate with your audience. 

How to generate creative content ideas 10x faster with Jasper

Jasper offers over fifty templates to help speed up your content generation process. Let’s look at how to use a few.

Blog Post Topic Ideas template

The Blog Post Topic Ideas template helps users generate ideas that will captivate readers and boost search engine rankings.

The template asks you to complete several inputs, including:

• Company Name: Fill in the name of your organization or blog.
• Product Description: Enter an overview of your company and your products or services.
• Audience: Describe your target customers or audience. 
• Brand Voice: Jasper’s Brand Voice feature is a powerful tool for busy creators and professionals. You can create a custom Brand Voice by copy and pasting content, uploading a document or letting Jasper scan any website (yours or others’).
• Examples: Enter examples of previous headlines to give Jasper a better understanding of the content you provide.

Here’s an example of a hypothetical dog-training company looking to create blog posts for new dog owners:

After hitting generate, the tool will give you a list of topic ideas. The number of topics generated can be adjusted.

Some of our favorite suggestions from Jasper:

• How to train your new dog in 30 days or less
• How to pick the right dog breed for your lifestyle
• 10 top tips for new dog owners
• The first 10 things you should do when bringing home a new pet
• How to crate train your new puppy 
• 5 ways to make dog training fun for everyone

Video Topic Ideas template

The video topic ideas template helps users brainstorm engaging video topics that rank well on YouTube. 

To get started, the template will ask you to fill in the following:

• A video topic or subject
• A keyword

Here are a few of our favorite suggestions from Jasper:

• 10 things you should do before your first snowboarding lesson
• How to choose the right snowboarding school and instructor
• How to carry your board when walking in a ski resort
• Tips for staying safe and avoiding injuries
• What is the best way to learn how to snowboard? Take lessons or teach yourself?
• 5 mistakes people make when learning to snowboard

Start from Scratch

You can also create a new document on Jasper’s dashboard and “start from scratch.” Jasper will prompt you to include a content description, identify the tone of voice, and share keywords. 

Here’s what Jasper created for a hypothetical gardening blog:

While this tool starts the writing process for you, it can also help generate additional ideas for your blog, such as:

• What tools do you need for a home garden?
• How to choose vegetables that will thrive in your climate
• How to choose the best soil for your garden
• How to choose a location for your vegetable garden

Bonus tool: Ridiculous Marketing Ideas template

The Ridiculous Marketing Idea template generates “bad marketing ideas.” This template is a favorite within the official Jasper Facebook community—a private community of over 70,000 users to exchange tips and tricks. While the template is meant to be a joke, it may be just the tool you need to help break out of a creative rut. 

The template asks you to fill in the company or product name, add a description, and specify the tone of voice. Here’s what Jasper suggested for the same hypothetical gardening blog:

Here are a few of our favorite “ridiculous” suggestions from Jasper:

• Create a "Roots and Seeds" themed escape room where players have to solve gardening puzzles and riddles to escape.
• Host a "weed pulling" competition at popular festivals and offer gardening tool prizes
• Have the CEO dress up in a giant carrot costume and travel around the city handing out gardening advice.
• Host a live demo on growing vegetables, but use plastic plants instead to see who is paying attention.
• Start a campaign where you dress up as different types of plants and go to local farmer's markets promoting the blog.
• Start a "Love Your Plants" campaign where people can post pictures of their favorite plants with the hashtag 

Supercharge your next content brainstorming session with Jasper

Jasper is the AI content creation writing assistant to help you create quality content faster. With over fifty templates, Jasper enables you to generate new ideas for your blog, YouTube channel, or podcast. And with specific inputs, you can direct Jasper to make recommendations that resonate with your target audience.

Need images for your content? Jasper has you covered there, too. Try out its AI art generator tool.

Sign up today to see how Jasper is helping marketers, content creators, and business owners generate creative content 10x faster.