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Content Idea Generator: A Magical Tool to Help You Write
Thanks to Lindsay Bell and an appropriately pitched story idea from a PR firm here in Chicago, I have a special surprise for you.
This is going to both surprise and anger you…at least anger you if you consider yourself a writer.
It is both cool and a little disappointing.
It is surprisingly accurate, but also a bit limited.
It is the Content Idea Generator from Portent.
Content Idea Generator, Say What?
A what, you ask? That’s right. It’s a tool that helps you generate ideas for your content.
There is no trial to use. It takes less than five seconds to figure out if you like it. It doesn’t cost anything. And yet, it gives you a gazillion really great (and some terrible) ideas for the headlines you can use to entice people to want to learn more.
I put in “public relations” as my key term and I got, “How Public Relations Changed How We think about Death.”
Okay, kind of clever, but not totally appropriate so I hit the whirly gig button and got, “Sixteen Uses for Public Relations.”
Now we’re getting somewhere! As I continue to hit the whirly gig button, I get “The Best Ways to Use Public Relations,” “How Hollywood Got Public Relations All Wrong,” and “Why Public Relations is the New Black.”
I also love how it tells you why these headlines work (appeal to people’s fears, lists are popular, and here’s your chance to outdo MacGyver) and appeal to reader’s senses.
Of course, this still requires you to write the content for these headlines, but immediately you have an idea or two (or 16) that are actually viable.
We Don’t Like…
Right now, the only thing that kind of stinks is there seem to be a limited number of ideas. For instance, “The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Using Public Relations” is used for nearly every subject you use: Marketing, search engine optimization, leadership, pickles, and kittens.
And, if there were 378 tweets on it this morning while I wrote this, that number is going to exponentially increase as more and more people discover it.
Which means the web will soon be filled with, “Eleven Problems with Public Relations” and “Eleven Problems with Marketing” and “Eleven Problems with Umbrellas.”
But all-in-all, it’s a very cool tool that helps you come up with an idea for content, it’s free, and it doesn’t hurt anything to try it.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll soon see a post here titled, “How Public Relations is Better than Sex.”
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@mdbarber Isn't that fun?
@ginidietrich I thought so. It does have limitations, as you said, but I really like the idea and hope it grows. Hope you're doing well.
Awesome Awesome! Can we combine it with a rock band name generator to get cool titles like "Stone Temple Reasons Your Releases Get Read" and "Eleven Screaming Trees That Drive Blog Traffic"? Decaf time for me...
I like it too, Andrew! I tried it with communications this morning and got some really funny ones!
RT @ShellyKramer: Content Idea Generator: A Magical Tool to Help You Write http://t.co/hazXNPQKsC via @ginidietrich
@ShellyKramer @ginidietrich Awesome tool! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for RT @superveggiemom!! It's a great tool for the competitor in me :) @SpinSucks
@Toronto_PR_Guy @ginidietrich Amazing! I just spent 15 minutes playing around with this
@superveggiemom I think it's pretty cool! Brilliant marketing by portent too.
@JoelFortner Agreed! It spat out some pretty fun ideas for me. :)
I've used tools like this before and I really like them. Most of the time they're just something I use to get my brain moving. I don't actually use the suggestions precisely as intended, because I fear that influx of everyone else using the same thing. I think it's brilliant though!
RT @WritingTechDocs:#Content Idea Generator:A Magical Tool to Help You Write http://t.co/pyU61j1yhU via @spinsucks #contentstrategy #writing
@ginidietrich This is definitely a cool tool to play around with. Thanks for sharing!
@caroljsroth You like?!
@ginidietrich didn't try it out yet, but a cool tool worth sharing- thanks for alerting us
@martikonstant Kind of fun, isn't it?
@ckrohn1 LOL!!
@ginidietrich So much fun! And pretty darn good too. "How Hollywood Got Restaurant Deals Wrong." I actually want to read that!
@ckrohn1 Ohhh! And "How Restaurant Deals Beat Death"
@ginidietrich Haha! I'm going to stay away from that one, though. "Will Restaurant Deals Ever Rule the World?" is much better :)
@TCoughlin @lisapetrilli @ginidietrich Like the titles it comes up with. Clever tool.
@ginidietrich @SpinSucks Thank you for the review! Glad to see it's also generating discussion in the comments
@Portent The crazies, I call them. I may have gotten a little defensive on your behalf.
It's a clever little tool to break up mental log jams and reframe information. Doubt I'd lift the title verbatim, but as an idea starter, I see folks using it.
@Suzi_C I think so too...I got several new ideas just playing with it this morning.
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While headline writing comes easy to those of us in marketing/PR, SOOOOO many people struggle with headlines. I know my clients do.
I don't think anyone should really take these ideas and run with them as is. After all, I doubt "11 Ways Telecommunications Can Find You the Love of Your Life" will work for my client. But there were others that weren't half bad. I think this is more about getting your juices flowing, learning how to construct headlines that work and thinking about your content more creatively.
@lauraclick LOL! No?! How about "Three Ways Telecommunications is Better than Death?"
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Is there nothing new under the sun? Google <Shakespeare Insult Kit>
@jdrobertson Certainly extends the range if you combine the two kits : Seven ways artless dizzy-eyed strumpets improve your PRs' sex life :-)
@PennyHaywood @jdrobertson Freaking fabulous!
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@PennyHaywood
Gloria in excelsis!
Hmm. I typed in media relations and got this, "Will Media Relations Ever Rule the World?" I would definitely read a post with that subject line! I think your warning is good and a very smart point. Overall, seems like a cool tool to get your juices going if you're stuck or even if you're not, maybe it can help you mix it up.
The worst thing I see happening is seeing the same subject lines all over the place. We struggle with that already. I see it in Triberr all the time. So, I'd use this tool because it's FUN and then tweak it :)
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@kateupdates I can't wait to read that on your blog!
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Probably it will be "How Public Relations help with sex". :D
Well, it might be useful when the creative part of our mind is a tabula rasa but if there weren't enough bloggere writing list of something or about Market Samurai now the blogosphere will soon be plastered with copycat titles.
Does this mean that my awful headlines will be like a purple cow? ;)
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@Andrea T.H.W. You ARE a purple cow! :)
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@ginidietrich Too nice Gini, but I must admit this is one of the best compliments I've ever received.
Now I'll have to change my profile pic. ;)
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As if the world was not already full enough of bland, generic and derivative blog content... :-)
Interesting idea though. Reminds me a little of the William Burroughs 'cut up' technique used in his writing, which people like Bowie famously lifted for their songwriting. Maybe if you put enough interesting ideas into the Content Idea Generator, something really interesting may come out?
@NLCuk Yes, but my thinking was being handed one of those bland headlines could inspire me to write something GOOD on the same subject. And I am going to research this cut up technique, too!
@NLCuk It's kind of like Mad Libs. Now THAT would be a fun blogging experiment. I don't know about this cut up technique. I'm intrigued.
@ginidietrich @NLCuk It is a bit Mad Libs-like. Not very good at plurals, though. :P
Hi Gini,
Although I haven't checked it out yet, I actually think this has some potential in a sort of mind mapping, jump-start-your-thinking kind of way. I see what Danny is saying, but I am just completing an online Build Your Author Platform class and am realizing that we are all at different skill set levels when it comes to things like headlines. The value here, at least for me, might be reading something that sparks another idea, that becomes the title I will go with. Or maybe I'll try it for those days when I am in time crunch or feeling particularly lazy. : )
Anyway, I shared your post's link over in the class forum.
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@JudyDunn I agree there is huge value in sparking an idea. Plus their descriptions are kind of funny.
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People with bad PR skills might find it hard to find someone who wants to have sex with them which leads me to believe that some PR "experts" might use that tidbit to create a special niche to work in.
@Joshua Wilner/A Writer Writes I can't beat this comment. You win.
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This kinda reminds me of charging for blog ideas. I may be idealistic, but I can't help but feel if you can't come up with something yourself, maybe you shouldn't be blogging that day? There are more than enough sources of inspiration out there without ideas that may or may not be relevant to you.
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@Danny Brown Oh stop being such a curmudgeon. It's just an idea generator and there are lots and lots of people who HAVE to write content every day, as dictated by their bosses. Even the best of us need some help with ideas sometimes.
@ginidietrich @Danny Brown I'm with Danny on the curmudgeon train here, particularly as my only suggestion is that they rename it the Crapulator, as its primary utility seems to be automating and accelerating our journey to Content Craptasia (have I said crap enough yet)? I'm all for jogging oneself out of a writer's block, and maybe this is good for that, but an idea generator this ain't.
I'll see you at next Tuesday's Curmudgeon's Anonymous meeting, Danny.
@belllindsay @creativeoncall @ginidietrich @Danny Brown My thoughts exactly. I look at it like mind mapping. I'm a veteran headline writer but if I can take an existing idea, as crappy as it might be, spin it a few times and make it uniquely mine, I wouldn't mind. I think it's when everyone takes the "suggestions" at face value and starts using them, that's when we'd get slammed with the crappy.
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@ginidietrich @creativeoncall @Danny Brown LOL!!
@creativeoncall @belllindsay @Danny Brown I'm an innocent bystander here.
@belllindsay @ginidietrich @Danny Brown I read your comments (isn't that what I was supposed to say, Gini?)
@creativeoncall @ginidietrich @Danny Brown Does NO ONE read my comments..?? ;) I think it's a neat idea for getting the creative *thinking process* started - especially if you're blocked. As Gini mentioned above, some people have to write 10 blog posts a week - for different clients - it can get draining. As I said earlier, if the title gets you thinking, then you write a great post, just go back and tweak the title (as I do after every post I write anyhow - I tweak my OWN ideas). Of course, there will be people who won't take the time (or won't care) to do that, but that's the case with *everything*, isn't it?
@ginidietrich Well excuse me for having an opinion. I'll mosey on over to Ken Jacobs now... :)
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@Danny Brown GET OFF MY LAWN!
@Danny Brown @ginidietrich Danny is SO punk rock. Barmy Army for life.
@ginidietrich Bite me.
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@Danny Brown Oh jeez. Excuse me for disagreeing with you.