How I Come Up With Fresh Content Ideas

I’m partially writing this post for myself because, lately, I’ve been running out of content ideas. I’ve been sharing new posts here every Wednesday for almost two years and I’m up to hundreds of articles at this point. It feels like I’ve covered it all, yet I want to keep the commitment I made to myself and you all to write weekly.

Luckily, even when I’m out of ideas, I always manage to think of something at the very last second - much to my surprise.

When I’m brainstorming content ideas, I first like to put myself in your shoes. If I were reading an artist’s blog, what would I want to read about? What topics interest me right now? I pretend like my audience is a bunch of people similar to myself, which you probably are. One of my favorite exercises is asking myself what I wish I knew years ago, when I wasn’t as far along in my journey. I think about topics I can cover that will spare others the struggles I’ve experienced as an artist.

Another amazing source of blog post ideas has been asking you all, my audience, what I should write about. I have a topic submission box at the end of every post, and I’m so grateful for the ideas you’ve given me. You offer a fresh perspective I could never have as the one writing this blog. So keep those ideas coming! Your questions and comments are great sources of inspiration too. If I get a question multiple times, I know it’s something I need to talk about.

For a VERY fresh perspective, my loved ones are also helpful, because they aren’t in the art space. Therefore, they don’t think like me. I’ll often ask my husband what I should write about, and he gives me great ideas I wouldn’t have considered. Sometimes they are so brilliant and obvious, I’m surprised I didn’t think of them.

A very practical place I find content ideas is the Pinterest search box. If you type in “art,” for instance, you will see a list of popular terms populate below. The danger here is that sometimes I don’t want to talk about what everyone else is talking about. I want my content to stand out. When I get ideas from these sources, I try to put my own unique spin on them.

Lastly, I like to be in tune with what other artists are discussing, whether it be local or remote friends. What topics seem to be buzzing? Am I getting any community vibes that we’re all struggling with the same thing? For instance, I’ve been hearing many artists are struggling with Instagram lately (including myself) which spurred my Do Artists Need to Be on Instagram post. I also like to be aware of visual trends in the design community. I like to know what colors, patterns, and styles are in. This is great information to know in general as an artist. I like to look at what creators, who aren’t necessarily in my exact field, are talking about and see if I can offer a fresh perspective as an illustrator.

My final tip is to always keep a running list of post ideas. I do this with illustration ideas too, and I can’t recommend it enough. Any time I think of a good idea, I jot it down. That way, I usually have a couple ideas on the back burner if I really can’t think of anything when it’s time to post.