Since you have stumbled upon this article, I assume you're having a bit of a dry spell during your content creation brainstorms. It isn’t surprising. With this market saturation and demanding customers, it's difficult to generate content that is engaging, honest, visually appealing, and at the same time delivered clearly with a dash of humor. 

Our experience while working on our own brand and promoting others' has shown that the two biggest challenges in content generation are: 1. the so-called job conditioning, and 2. the diversity and abundance of options.

Job conditioning is the tendency to look at things from your own professional point of view or special expertise instead of the broader perspective. Basically, due to the fact that you know so much about your business (or your client's), there is nothing special about it to you; everything is crystal clear. The absence of a beginner's mind prevents us from seeing all the ambiguities surrounding the business.

Secondly, we know that diversity and abundance of options are often considered advantageous. Nonetheless at times diversity confuses us, creating another obstacle for content generation. There are a myriad of things you can talk about and so many different perspectives you can view the business from, such as quality, sustainability, customer support and satisfaction. However, those ideas are usually not worthy - it truly is a paradox.  

So, how do you tackle these challenges? The good news is there is an answer to your sufferings - a universal scheme for any kind of content creation, be it a script or an article for the blog. You can use this scheme to generate ideas for you and your clients. 

Here is the magical scheme: 

This scheme is your guide to effective brainstorms. It separates topics into 2 sections - ones that help the client and ones that explain why your product/service is the best option. This distinction helps with the abundance of topics. It narrows down and focuses your search. The rest of the points allow you to approach your business from a new angle, which resolves the job conditioning phenomenon. 

Let me walk you through each of the parts and points individually with examples to tell you how to work with it during your next brainstorming session. 

Help the client 

It is pretty self-explanatory as to what content this section aims to deliver. Themes under this category need to make your client's life easier, provide them with some kind of value. But how? The following five points are here to explain. 

Save money

A blog post or a YouTube video under this category must help your potential client save money in your market. Some questions that your content can address include: 

• How to get a special deal/discount?
• What's the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive product/service?
• How are products/services priced?

For example, if you're a company that does landscaping, some topics under this theme can include: 

• Landscaping on a budget: 5 tips that will save you money 
• Landscaping Ideas for a low-maintenance yard

Inspire

This is easier done with visual content, but written ones like blog posts can achieve it too. As you know, the devil is in the details, so you need to be very descriptive for this theme. Some questions that can guide your brainstorm are:  

• Is there a story where your product/service changed someone's life?
• Is there a version of your product/service that professionals or celebrities use?
• What does your most expensive product/service look like?

Going back to our imaginary landscaping business, it may seem like a dull topic at first, but what if you paint a beautiful picture of someone having morning coffee in a rocking chair admiring the idyllic garden? It changes everything! Here are some other examples: 

• Here is how your small backyard can look
• A piece of heaven in your garden: landscaping ideas to transform your yard 

Choose the better option 

We live in times when everyone can find a product/service that fits their pocket. There are many options, and to navigate them, customers must look through different options, get samples, and try demos until they find the one that works best for them. You can help your client choose wisely. Here are some questions that you can answer for them: 

• How does brand A compare to brand B?
• What to consider when buying a product? 
• What are some of the available options in the market? 

In our example, landscaping, it is crucial to help clients choose the best option (a.k.a. you). The client inputs a lot of time, money, and energy that shouldn’t go in vain, and the choice among landscaping companies can make it or break it. Here are some ideas you can cover to help your customers: 

• 5 tips for choosing the right landscape contractor
• Factors to consider while choosing a landscaping company

Teach how to DIY

You need some educational content; as a matter of fact, this is the best option for creating value for your clients. This can be in the form of a blog post or a webinar, perhaps a series of social media posts - the medium of delivering the message is up to you. Some questions that can help you come up with ideas are the following: 

• How to make the product or get the service at home, on your own?
• What do you need to have to make the product or receive the service?
• How is the DIY version different from the purchased one?

And again, back to our example. Technically, one can landscape their garden themselves, it will take a good deal of their time and a lot of research, but it is possible. So, if you own a landscaping company, don't be threatened by the possibility of losing a client because they'll do it themselves. Give them guidance, and they'll remember you later on: 

• 7 landscaping ideas for beginners
• Landscaping your outdoor space from scratch: what you need to know

Make them feel involved 

And finally, make your reader feel involved and important. You would be surprised to know how people act when they feel like they're a part of an exclusive group. You can make them feel so by applying certain flair to what they already do, enjoy, or where they live - essentially, something that currently exists in their life. You can imply that they live in the best city, attend the most excellent university, or watch a fantastic TV series. Content under this category must spark pride. Ask yourself these questions: 

• What famous people use this product/service?
• What does using this product/service tell about a person?
• How is this product/service connected to the city the client lives in?

The marketing team of our landscaping company would land on the following topics during their brainstorming: 

• Show me your garden, and I shall tell you who you are
• Why gardening could help you live a longer and happier life

Explain why you are the best option

The next in our scheme is explaining why you are the best option. This is your time to shine and tell all the reasons why you are THE choice for prospective customers. To help you find topics related to this point, we broke it down into the following subcategories: 

​Describe your products or success stories 

Let's start off easy. Describe what kind of products/services you offer. If you're a B2B company, you should also present success stories known as cases, which outline the situation and how you handled it. Once again, we are sharing some questions to help you come up with topics: 

• What was your most complex project, and how did you overcome its challenges?
• What kind of problems do clients approach you with? How do you solve them?
• How is your product/service developed?

Our landscape company, for instance, would show off its portfolio with pictures and descriptions of each project. For example, 

• Our top 5 projects of 2020
• The client wanted an oriental landscape: here is how it went 

Introduce your team

Tell us who works in your team. We want to know the people behind the curtain. What do they do in your company? How about their leisure time? People connect with people, so use that to your advantage. 

Always keep in mind that your employees are your biggest advocates and your critics. One critical feedback from an insider will make the arrangement fall through, so you should try to keep them engaged as well.

Ask yourself: 

• Who are most of the employees in your company?
• Were there cases when your employee helped a client with an unusual request?
• Why are your employees working for you?

For our landscaping company, we would investigate the lives and works of landscapers. If you think about it, it's a very fascinating career, so tap into that pool of content: 

• From gardening with her grandfather to becoming a professional landscaper: Meet x
• The mastermind behind our famous Xeriscape Gardens: how did the project come together?

Explain how you run your business

And our last piece of advice is to share how you run your business. We don't need a step-by-step guide on how you manage your business, nor do we need your well-kept secrets. A simple peak behind the scenes is enough. You can write a brief description of what your day looks like or how you handle difficult situations, for example: 

• How do you negotiate with new partners?
• How do you recruit new team members?
• What's the last thing you learned in management?

Now, the day-to-day operations of a landscaping company are not that exciting. Still, the creative aspect of it can engage your audience: 

• How do garden landscapers and designers work together?
• How are landscape designs born?

Connect the themes

The scheme is not set in stone. I am sure you've noticed some overlaps, and you're free to act on them and connect themes together. For example, you can have an employee take over your blog, introduce themselves and then give a tip or two based on their experience/expertise. In this case, you promote your company and provide valuable information to your readers. 

 The sky’s the limit as long as it gets your creative juices flowing!