How Not to Rack Your Brain for Ideas

🔊 More of a listener? Hear the audio version of this Quick Tip here:



At the end of a week-long visit with my mom, she pointed to a box and said, “take it, it’s yours.”

It was brimming with early issues – from 1993 – of my newsletter. This very newsletter you’re reading now, except back then it was called, The Art of Self Promotion, and it was printed and sent in the mail.

Isn’t that fun?

And guess what? 

I’m still saying the same thing! 

As I flipped through them, something occurred to me that I thought I should share with you:

I’ve published my newsletter every other week for more than 35 years - and I’ve never run out of ideas. Not once!

Now, you might be thinking, “that’s a you thing, Ilise.” After all, I do like to say that I’m a “content machine.” 

But my ideas don’t actually come from me. And yours don’t need to come from you, either.

The reason I’ve been able to consistently write and send my newsletter over nearly four decades is very simple:

I don’t rack my brain for ideas. Instead, I listen to the market, and ideas come to me.

In the last Quick Tip, I showed you some “excellent examples” of newsletters, so you can “mimic the masters.” Catch up - or listen in! - here.

Today I’m giving you the “secret” to getting your own ideas, so you never have to “rack your brain” again.

The thing is, it’s not really a “secret” – but it is a mindset shift. You have to think differently. But I know you can. 🙂

How to Listen to The Market for Ideas

You see, my content doesn’t come from my brain. It comes from the market – and yours could, too. 

First, you need to think about what your best prospects are interested in. What they need. What’s helpful to them. 

If you don’t know, take a look at what they’re posting to LinkedIn, and any comments they’re making. (Or ask Artificial Ilise.)

When you meet with them, notice their pain points and the challenges they have.

Then, write about:

• Things you see
• Things you hear
• Things you react to

All in relation to your market.

Here are some newsletter issues that do that particularly well:

Amy Jahnke’s design clients occasionally use stock photos, and she started noticing a surprising trend. So she wrote about it here.

Melissa Bogen, a medical editor, uses special characters in work, and knows her clients and fellow writers do, too. So she published a “cheat sheet” for creating special characters. Find it here.

Isabeau Iqbal noticed a link between her own career journey and those she helps in her career coaching. It became an issue in her micro-newsletter here.

So you see, each of these examples are about listening and noticing. 

It takes a little practice, but once you get it, you’ll have endless ideas for content that’s relevant and helpful to your potential clients.

And if you’re a part of SMP+, remember you have a head-start with the content ideas I laid out in your personalized plan.

Are you already listening to the market for content ideas? Share how you do it here.

* This article was originally published here