I’ve experienced these challenges in the past, too, but I’ve developed some strategies and turned to a few tools that have become sure-fire ways to think of new ideas that resonate with my audience and perform well on Pinterest and in search engines.

Below are 7 strategies I’ve used for coming up with content that resonates with my audience!

1. Ask Your Audience

Sounds simple, and it is. The next time you’re talking about something on social media — whether it’s hemp fabric or selling through consignment shops — ask your audience: is there anything else you’d like to know about [insert topic here]? Would this be something you’d be interested in learning more about? Do you have any questions about [insert topic here]?

2. Listen to the Common Barriers or Concerns

Another way to get insight from your audience is to simply listen. Sometimes, you don’t even need to ask — your audience might be asking you questions like: what brands are good for ___? How do you ___? Ugh, I can never ___! It’s so hard to find ____! If your audience hasn’t expressed this to you directly, take a look at Facebook Groups in your niche or look at comments on posts of publications, influencers, or brands in your niche.

Note: Though it may start off productive, spending time in the comment sections can quickly lead you down a rabbit hole. (Speaking from experience here!) So, it’s probably useful to set a timer if you decide to venture into this direction!

Finally, checking out reviews of books in your niche or products in your niche may also prove to be a source of inspiration for future content.

3. Watch Videos, Listen to Podcasts, and Attend Panels

Getting to listen to panel discussions or hear from experts in your field of interest is a great way to inspire some ideas about hot topics in your space. Usually, people working “on the ground” or working within a company structure don’t share their insider knowledge as often since they are not “influencers” and may not have a big audience online. But they often have TONS of valuable information and perspectives to share. They are seeing the trends and hearing from customers firsthand. These experts are also often well-read on industry news and well-informed about what is happening “behind the scenes”.

For instance, in the conscious fashion world, Corporate Sustainability Officers might have insights on things like which innovative fabrics are coming next to the market, what percentage of their sales are recommence, or what fashion designers are planning to do to reduce the carbon emissions of their production.

4. Think Back to Your Experiences

Chances are, you’ve been living the certain lifestyle you are talking about on your blog, podcast, or YouTube channel for longer than you’ve been writing or speaking about it. Think back to your journey and ask yourself: what challenges or obstacles did I experience? What questions did I have when I didn’t know much about this space?

5. Talk About These Topics With Friends or Colleagues

Conversations seem to always stir up new ideas! Start a conversation with another creator on Instagram over DM, chat about one of these topics with a friend who has some familiarity with the subject (or not… maybe you’ll glean some “outsider” insight), and/or join a networking group in your niche where you can meet some other people in your space to talk through these topics with.

6. Read Books Related to Your Niche

There’s no shortage of information online, but nothing compares to a solid, well-researched book. Nonfiction authors spend months diving deep into their respective topics to create educational content and typically look into research studies, scientific reports, and the like before and during their writing process.

Beyond this, the long-form nature of books allows authors to go so much deeper and further than what you’ll find on a blog or on YouTube. You’ll likely find glimpses of new ideas that are unique from what you’ve seen other creators in your niche talk about.

Another treasure trove for content ideas? The”References” pages in the back of the books you read! These pages typically go unnoticed, but they’re filled with information about reports, articles, and other great resources related to the topic you just read about.

7. Read and Watch Content Outside of Your Niche

You might be wondering how can watching a documentary or listening to a podcast about something completely different from my niche help me create content about my niche?

Hear me out on this one: some of the best ideas come out of the intersection of multiple fields. Maybe watching a dance movie as an ethical fashion blogger inspires you to think about sustainably-made leotards, tights, and costumes.

Or perhaps reading a psychology magazine as a low waste YouTuber inspires you to think about how you can grow the sustainable lifestyle movement by understanding human behavior.

The potential combinations — and content ideas — are endless!

How to Organize Your Ideas

Now that you have plenty of ideas listed out, it’s time to organize your content plans!

I love doing this through a content calendar in Google Sheets. I also find it immensely beneficial to have a promotion calendar that helps me keep track of when I’ll be sharing my content with my audience.

Looking for More Advice?

Check out this post for a step-by-step guide to starting a conscious blog and this post for tips on how to monetize a sustainable blog.

If you have more questions or want some one-on-one guidance, check out my Blogger Consulting Services.

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The post 7 Strategies for Brainstorming Conscious Content Ideas appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.

And perhaps you’re looking to earn some income from doing so as well to pay the bills and get compensated fairly for all your time and energy you’re putting into it.

A blog can be a great way to do all of the above if you invest the time and research it takes to make that blog successful.

Blogging isn’t easy and it’s definitely not a way to ‘get rich quick’. However, blogging is my passion and enables me to earn a living from what I love. I get to create content about the topics I am most passionate about, connect with like-minded people, fellow creatives, and brands, and I feel in control of my own schedule and career path.

So my friend, if you’re ready to dive in and make the investment into your future self, let’s go!

1. Find Your Unique Offering

First, zero in on what it is that you’re most interested in talking about. Zero waste? Ethical fashion? Responsible travel?

When I first started my blog, Conscious Life & Style, I was focused on ethical fashion. (In fact, I was originally going to call the blog Conscious Style but the domain was taken already, which is how the “life &” part got in there!)

After you pick the general topic, think about what will make your approach stand out.

If you’re focused on sustainability: are you going to be talking about easy low waste swaps for beginners or more advanced lifestyle changes for those a little farther along in their journies? Will you have an emphasis on DIYs that save money while saving the planet or products people can buy to preserve their time while preserving resources?

If you’re focused on responsible fashion: are you going to be talking about fair trade, locally-made, and/or eco-friendly brands? Is there a particular style you’ll focus on like sleek and minimalist, flirty and feminine, bright and artisan-made? Are you centering in on petite or plus-size fashion?

The opportunities to make your blog unique are endless. Take a notebook or a Google Doc and start brainstorming… get creative!

Remember you can always shift as you go. When I started, I focused on style-forward ethical fashion brands because I was on a mission to prove that dressing responsibly could still be fashionable. My content has shifted since then, but picking a focus to start off with will help you attract an audience and it will help with creating content that feels cohesive.

2. Pick a Domain Name

Once you’ve gotten clear on what you’ll be talking about on your blog, it’s time to pick a name for it! Brainstorm some words you’d like to use based on your offerings.

Some descriptive words to get you started: fair, conscious, ethical, eco, green, sustainable, responsible, zero waste, low waste, purpose, plant-based, regenerative, mindful, intentional, artisan, homemade, handmade, secondhand, pre-loved, slow (slow food, slow fashion, slow travel, etc.)

Some nouns to get you started: clothing, clothes, style, fashion, closet, wardrobe, life, lifestyle, DIYs, food, meals, home, and travel. Also think about if it could make sense to use your name or the name of the city you’re in. I love this especially when it forms an alliteration like “Consciously Cathy” or “Fair in Firenze”.

Your domain name doesn’t have to be literal to the topic you’re talking about, but I do think it’s helpful to have at least one word in the title that signals what you’re talking about on your platform so new readers instantly know what your blog is generally about!

As you think through some ideas, you can check with Instant Domain Search to see if the website URL you want is already taken.

If everything you want is taken, check out Lean Domain Search for some ideas on variations of domain names that are still available.

I’d also suggest searching the social media platforms you’d like to be on, like Instagram, to see if the names you’re brainstorming for your blog are already in use on there as well.

Once you find your blog name and domain, don’t buy it just yet! We’ll get there in step four.

3. Pick a Content Management System (AKA blog platform)

Now that you’ve solidified your focus for your blog, it’s time to find a home for all the great content you’re going to write!

Your content management system is essentially the backend of your blog: it’s how you write, add photos, edit, and more.

There are a bunch of content management systems (CMS) you can choose from, but I highly recommend WordPress.org. It’s the most common CMS on the internet (it powers 35% of websites worldwide) and it’s open-source, which means the functionality of WordPress is constantly improving as developers create new plugins and themes.

WordPress is also the best CMS for search engine optimization. (Optimizing for search engines is how your blog will get found via people searching the topics you’re talking about on Google.)

4. Choose Hosting Provider

A web hosting service is essentially how you’ll be able to make your website accessible on the internet. Yes, it’s as important as it sounds!

The most recommended hosting provider for WordPress is Bluehost.* (affiliate)

There are also green hosting providers, such as Green Geeks, that use renewable energy or purchase renewable energy credits to offset the energy used to power your website. I am planning to move to Green Geeks once my contract with Bluehost expires. The hosting provider even has options specifically for WordPress sites (again, why WordPress is the best choice.. makes everything down the line so much easier!)

Bluehost is super user-friendly and great for beginners. So if you want to start with Bluehost, you can also switch to a green hosting provider after a year of getting familiar with all of the tech involved with running a blog.

Pricing wise, the two have pretty similar price points for their most basic and mid-tier options. Bluehost starts at $2.95/mo for the most basic level of hosting and $5.45/mo for the mid-level. Green Geeks starts at $2.95/mo for the most basic level and $5.95 for the mid-level.

I will update this post and share what my experience is like switching to Green Geeks, like how user-friendly that hosting platform is and how much support the company provides!

5. Launch Your Site

Once you’ve gotten set up with your hosting platform, it’s time to launch your site with your domain on WordPress!

Both Bluehost and Green Geeks advertise “1-click installation” with WordPress.

Here is more information from Green Geeks on how to install WordPress on Green Geeks.

And here is more information on how to install WordPress on Bluehost.

6. Pick a Theme (Website Design)

Now we’re getting to the fun part: it’s time to pick a theme for your website! WordPress has a ton of free themes to choose from.

Some things to keep in mind: In addition to finding a theme that fits your vision aesthetically, be on the lookout for the functionality of that theme as well.

Check to see that the theme is responsive (this ensures the theme will show up properly on mobile devices), that it has strong ratings and good reviews, and that you like the layout of all of the pages that come with the theme. Some elements, like colors, are usually easily adjustable, but significant changes are not so easy.

Note: If you choose Bluehost, they will walk you through the process of selecting a theme step by step. In this case, the following steps will be useful if you want to ever change your theme.

The theme is not set in stone! You can always change the theme later. Once you’ve gotten set up with WordPress, you can check out the theme options by navigating to the lefthand bar going to “Appearance”, selecting “Themes”, and then clicking the “Add New” button.

Once you find a new theme you like and verify that it’s functional as well, click install. After you install a theme, you can do “Live Preview” by hovering over the theme and clicking “Live Preview”. If you like what you see, press the “Activate” button and that will switch your site to that theme!

Note: You might notice that there are free themes along with premium themes you have to pay for. While premium paid themes could be a nice option eventually, I don’t necessarily think it’s a requirement for getting started with blogging. I used a free theme for a year or even more when I first created Conscious Life & Style!

7. Write Your Site Title and Tagline

If you select Bluehost, it will prompt you with questions to enter in this information.

If you are using a different platform, or you want to change the title and tagline for your site at a later date, here’s how to do it.

Go to your WordPress dashboard, go to the left-hand side panel and select “Settings” –> click “General”. Below is how that screen should look.

And that covers the basics!

Now that your site is set up, start working through WordPress to edit various parts of your website. While WordPress does have a bigger learning curve than other CMS’s like Wix or Squarespace, there are SO many benefits to WordPress if you want to grow and eventually monetize your blog. And all of the various features in WordPress mean that you have a lot of capabilities at your fingertips for your own blog.

So, with that, I am wishing you all the best with the set up of your blog! For the nitty-gritty technical tutorials, there are plenty of helpful resources on YouTube. My area of expertise is more in the sustainable blogging arena. For more on this, check out the resources below.

Up Next:

How to Brainstorm Content for Your Conscious Blog

How to Make Money as a Sustainable Blogger

Have Questions? Need More Individual Support?

For one-on-one consulting with me where I can answer your most pressing questions, check out my Blogger Consulting Services.

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Ready for the next step?

Here’s a guide to brainstorming conscious content ideas

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