idea generation Archives

How I stop procrastination

Lack of ideas can kill creativity. The next close thing is procrastination.

This whole idea of do it later, I have more than enough time to finish can lead to mad dash to complete critical projects.

This situation has caught me several times. I remember working on a project got the main parts done only to finish it up. What happened was I put it off for a few days and ended up have to rush to finish it.

Here are some tips that helped me tackle procrastination.

Do it now: if something needs to get done dot it now. For example you need to set an appointment to speak to a client instead of putting it off make the call now.
Write down your ideas: another example you have a writing project and have a few ideas write them down as you get it. Outline it as best as you can. Flesh it out as you get the ideas. When you sit down to write you already did most of the work.
Keep an idea journal: if you love to read keep track of quotes that inspire you. Photographers have a look book with shots, poses and composition to draw from. Some marketers have a swipe file with ideas to help them start a project.
Start before you are ready: doing things ahead of time can help youove quickly. Have a project due 2 months from now complete it ahead of time. Do things in bulk and schedule them. Write more than you need. Take more photos than needed. Put plans in place before you need them.

In all cases don’t put it off for later. Get it done now. You may never get around to doing it.

How to turn your ideas into podcast episodes

Having lots of ideas for a podcast is good. That makes the process to move ahead much simpler. But how do you transform your ideas into a podcast episode?

With a little planning, you can make it happen. I’ll show you how in this article.

Create an editorial calendar

First up, you need to churn out ideas. Once you’ve gathered all your ideas, the next step is to put them together in what is known as an editorial calendar for your podcast. This is where you sequence when you are going to publish what. In addition to that, start outlining answers to your ideas in a logical order.

In your editorial calendar, choose which day or days you plan to publish episodes, Then decide when it will go live. The other thing is after you decide on a schedule, write out which topic or group of ideas you plan to tackle. Meaning if you cover health, October could be diet, November exercise and so on.

Doing this will further break up the production into chunks. Making it much easier to produce your episode with a plan in place. It will also help you keep your ideas organised.

Start outlining the first set of ideas.

Now that you have an editorial calendar in place, start outlining each idea. You have a lot of questions to answer on your podcast create an outline for each question. Follow the editorial calendar you have in place.

you do this is by writing out 3 – 4 points that will answer the question in detail. You can even break down each point further. If the answers have lots of information, break them up into different episodes and create mini-series. That way you’ll have more content to share on your podcast.

As a side note, you can also find a guest for your show to answer these questions for you. This will help build your audience and provide even more value for your listeners.

Gather your recording kit and record your show

Now that you have your outline, set up your podcasting kit and start to record each episode one by one. Amy Porterfield records all her shows in batches. This makes production easier. It also provides a system to work with that allows you to focus on one thing at a time.

Connect your microphone to your computer. Open your recording software, and hit that record button. Once you’re finished, save your podcast episode in a folder. Save it with the question and add the episode number.

That’s it. You have just transformed your idea into a podcast episode. You have created your editorial calendar, outlined each episode and recorded your show. Feel proud of your accomplishment.

How to find ideas for your podcast

When looking to start a podcast, one of the most overwhelming feeling is, how can I find enough ideas for my new show. While putting together ideas sometimes you get a spark, other times nothing. This can lead you to abandon starting a podcast altogether. I know the feeling because I use to get panic attacks at work trying to find ideas for the radio features I produce. Not a nice feeling, worse when you have a deadline.

Luckily after some searches and queries, I found a way that helped me generate hundreds of ideas that can help you get over the starting phase of your new podcast. All you need is a notepad and a pen.

Write a list of the problems your customers have.

This is something I found in “Duct tape selling” a book by John Jantsch. What this does is give you a platform to start mapping out all the problems you help your customers with. Aim for at least 10 if you have more, then great. These will serve as a good starting point.

As a daily practice, write at least 10 ideas you can use on your show. This includes guest to interview and so on. Don’t filter the list just write them down, you can organise them later. I got this idea from James Alchuters book,” choose yourself.” This one helped me greatly.

Search Quora for frequently asked questions

Another resource for ideas is quora. Based on your industry, visit quora and search for frequently asked questions and add them to your list. These will be valuable later when you’re crafting actual episodes.

To do this visit quora and sign in to your account. If you don’t have one create one. The next thing is to find the category with your topic and find the frequently asked questions. Browse the topics and not the questions and their variations in your notebook.

By now you should have dozens of ideas for your show, but I have one more resource for you to check.

Facebook groups and forums

In the one-hour content plan, Meera Kothand says searching facebook groups and forums are a great source for ideas. And you can use them to your advantage. To do this, log on to Facebook and search for groups relating to your topic.

Once you find the groups, join them and search the group with the word “newbie,” ” beginner” or “getting started”. These will give you more ideas to add to your list. The good thing about doing this is that you are finding questions that real people are asking.

Other places to search are forums, twitter search and google keyword tool. This will give you lots of ideas for your new podcast.

Conclusion

Once you have your list of ideas, it’s now time to format your episodes and start to record your podcast.

What are some of the ways you use to generate content ideas? Leave a comment below.