5 Steps to Figure Out What Kind of Content to Create

A key element to figuring out what kind of content to create is to know why you want to create content. Do you want to share your passion? Do you want to create new sources of income? Do you want to promote a business?

There could be many reasons why you want to create content, and it’s going to be personal for each of us, so when you’re asking yourself the following questions, focus on what you want to achieve.

You can create content for different platforms, you can start a blog, a YouTube channel, a podcast, an Instagram account... In this post we are not going to focus on the platform you’re going to use, but rather on the substance of your content. Simply put: what do you want to talk about?

This method is going to be valid for any platform.

Let’s say you’re not exactly sure what you want to talk about yet, or maybe you have too many ideas and you’d like to narrow it down. Here are 5 simple steps you can take today to get clarity on what kind of content you should create and help you get started.

1 - Make Lists

Make a list of different subjects you’d like to talk about, and for each subject, come up with 10 to 15 ideas for blog posts, videos, podcast episodes... If some subjects come more easily than others, that’s probably a good hint at what you should focus on.

Let’s say you wrote down 20 ideas for a subject but then you feel stuck, that’s ok, because as soon as you start creating content, your mind is going to be more focused on that subject, and ideas will start to flow.

Meanwhile, make sure you write down every idea you get, because they can leave as fast as they came and never come back.

2 - Study Your Inspirations

You can pick three to five content creators who are covering the subjects you’re interested in, and study their content. Then ask yourself the following questions:

Is this the kind of content I want to create?

What do I like about their content?

Why do I like the way the communicate their ideas to me?

Is this the kind of message I want to share?

Asking yourself those questions will help you get a good idea of what you enjoy in other people’s content, so you can better understand the type of content you are going to create.

Be careful, I am not suggesting that you go and copy others, but that you get inspired, and then get to work to find your own voice, the one that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. Share your story and knowledge in your own way, people will want to learn from you and follow you for your personality and the way you express yourself.

3 - Who Are You Talking To?

I mean, you can talk to yourself, that’s fine, that’s basically what I’m doing here and that’s how we all begin, but while you’re talking to yourself, you might want to keep in mind your target audience.

For example, I want to talk to people who feel stuck or bored in their job, dream of something else but don’t know how to go about it, or worse, don’t know that they CAN go for it. The biggest roadblock people encounter in creating a business or changing career is themselves and their inner talk. My goal is to help them shift their mindset, so that they can start taking action on their goals and dreams. The content I create, I create it as if I was talking to one of them.

Who are you talking to? Who is your dream audience? Who do you want to interact with? Who is a part of your dream community?

Understanding who you want to talk to is also going to make it easier for you to figure out what you need to talk about. You want to talk about things your ideal audience is interested in.

4 - Overcome Your Fear and Anxiety

I know, easier said than done, but I don’t think you have to be an expert at anything to get to share about something you are passionate about. I think the best way to become an expert at something is to talk about it, practice it, and be able to admit that you don’t have all the answers, but show up to get there.

There’ll always be something you don’t know. And there’ll always be some irrational fear keeping you from taking a leap, but if you don’t take that leap, you’ll never find out what could have happened.

That’s honestly how I overcame the fear of starting a YouTube channel and a blog this year, I said “I’ll commit to it for 12 months, see where it takes me, and then decide if I want to keep going or not”. And just 6 months in, I can already tell you I have no regret to have started, but I can guarantee you that if I didn’t I’d still be daydreaming about doing what I’m doing right now.

Start where you are, today, you won’t regret it.

5 - Take Action

Now that you’ve done all this research and prep work, it should be easier for you to pick a subject and get into action.

If you’re worried about picking the wrong subject, don’t worry, there is no wrong subject. No matter which subject you pick, you are going to learn and grow from your experience, and that’s what really matters.

If after a few weeks or months you notice that you wish you had picked something else, you can just shift, it’s easy to change ideas and try things out in the beginning. Especially while not many people are actually watching what you are doing, it’s a great time to experiment!

Look at me, I started with a YouTube channel in January, now it’s July and I’m working on building a blog, I didn’t spend weeks forcing myself to keep going with YouTube. No. I saw that it wasn’t the most effective platform for me to create for at that point in time, so I switched to a platform and type of content that best suited my circumstances and needs. And I am so happy I did it.

Whatever you end up picking, what really matters is that you act on it. Start that blog, YouTube channel, podcast, put yourself out there. If you feel called to it, it’s probably because you’re supposed to do it. There is someone out there waiting to hear from you, waiting to hear what you have to say, and learn from you. Do it for them, if not for you.