Mindmap your way to unleashing new content ideas

There comes a time occasionally when every writer gets stuck for content generation ideas or inspiration. One trick you can use if this happens to you is mindmapping your ideas either with a pen and paper (my favourite) or with some of the mindmapping software that is widely available.

Taking a less linear approach has the potential to move you in different connected directions, and will guarantee that you generate relevant new content ideas that will continue to keep your audience interested and informed. Doing this well, a mindmap can also clarify what you are saying to audiences on different platforms, and allow you to refine the necessary differences in tone and approach for different platforms.

I’ve blogged before about the importance of filling out your editorial calendar, and mindmapping is a great way to do track your brainstorming and also a way to clear your head of all the linked possibilities you could offer; a clean sweep of your ideas with a mindmapping session often then opens up the way for simpler and clearer content to be written and shared.

If you are writing multiple blog posts on a particular theme or set of themes, or if you are looking to expand on some of the blog posts you have already written, a mindmap will let you see the connections between posts and where they can potentially lead.

It can help to see the connections between content for your different audiences in different places, and when you should or should not repurpose content for different reasons.

Particularly in clarifying a theme or tone for a series of related posts, it can help you realise the most appropriate way to write those posts and in what order. Using a mindmapping approach can also reinforce the need to focus on your key themes with keywords that will keep your content strategy on a consistent path.

Having a list of content posts is one thing, organising your thinking and writing process to add coherence and development over time can be a further step that will enrich your approach and improve the focus of your posts.

Mindmapping uses a powerful visualisation and colour association to give meaning to your approach that can’t be achieved with a list, and it often throws up surprises and new associations that can clarify your direction. If you are unsure how to start, there is a useful how-to start mindmapping guide provided by Illumine Training.

And if you would like to know more, or need more help in applying this approach to your particular situation, please get in touch and I can show you how I can help you with this.