When you’re a content marketer, creator or writer of any sort, people begin to make assumptions. Content creation comes easily to you, that’s why you’re in it! You’re oozing with creativity all. the. time. and you just cannot keep it in!

Right? … Right?

While the good days can be really good — where you achieve the flowiest of flow states — that’s not always the case. In fact, personally speaking, it often isn’t, and LinkedIn users who responded to a Brafton poll about content creation agree.

Luckily, there are ways to reconcile the familiar struggle with being a creative — in this industry or another — and I’ve got some tips.

Content Creation Isn’t Easy, and It’s Not Supposed To Be

Before we talk about tips, let’s look at the results of that LinkedIn poll. As it turns out, 29% of marketers say that creating engaging content is their biggest challenge.

What about Gen AI, you ask?

Nearly everyone knows that Gen AI isn’t a cure-all. If it were, content creation catastrophes wouldn’t be haunting our nightmares this far into the technology’s widespreadness. But selling AI short isn’t fair, either. It can be a big time-saver for specific tasks and that’s great.

However, according to an older survey Brafton conducted back in 2023, a sole respondent of 120 said time was their largest challenge. That’s less than 1%. Most other marketers’ foremost challenges had more to do with the consistency and effectiveness of their content. In this regard, you might say that AI is watering the plants instead of putting out the fire; solving small problems and leaving urgent ones unaddressed.

Sure, keep your favorite Gen AI tool open in a separate tab for support when you need it, but effective content solutions need to come from your own two hands.

5 Tips for Overcoming the Content Creation Struggle

As far as I’m concerned — and based on my personal experiences as a writer and content marketing professional — every day is different. Some days, certain tips will work better than others. It often depends entirely on your mood, the type of creative rut you’re in and maybe even … the weather. (Yes, I find myself more productive during overcast conditions.) The point is that there are tons of variables that affect your ability to produce on any given day.

If one solution worked 100% of the time, we wouldn’t be having this conversion. Alas, try one or multiple of these tips whenever you find yourself struggling to create the best content you’re capable of, and switch up your approach often to discover what works best for you.

1. Make It Fun

Any writer or content creator will tell you content isn’t always fun. I’d even go a step further and wager that most people, in most jobs — even the ones who truly enjoy what they do — would say the same.

But you know what kind of is always fun, or at least satisfying? Creating something you’re proud of. Readers can tell how much passion you put into your marketing. Keeping things fresh will benefit both you and them.

Whenever and however you can, try to make your daily work as a content marketer and creative more fun. Any idea — no matter how big or small — that sees you switching up your routine can introduce something novel and amusing.

For example, try experimenting with different formats, channels or approaches. If you usually write blogs, try creating copy for social media and vice versa. If you’re always writing about the same industry niche or topic, try to find new ones or at least unique angles that you (and your competitors) have never used before.

If you see a lot of customer engagement in your industry, try creating user-generated content with photos, videos and reviews (with permission when necessary).

2. Go Beyond Your Target Keyword

Target keywords are crucial for SEO, but they’re just a skeleton of the bigger picture. To create content that can hold its own, you need to give it a few more things that data and algorithms cannot offer — I’m talking heart and soul (and more).

To give your content some heart, keep it focused on helping your customers achieve something or making their lives easier. For soul, ensure your company’s values shine through in everything you create — be mindful of what you say and how you say it.

Some content calls for muscle and wisdom, too. To strengthen content when it calls for it, use research and statistics to make powerful points. And finally, lean on your industry expertise to introduce a bit of wisdom. Offer a unique perspective to provide more meaningful insight that your audience can’t find elsewhere.

3. Don’t Ignore the Basics

Unleashing your creativity within a piece of content is a fabulous feeling, but letting it loose in the first place can be challenging.

It’s much easier to focus on being creative and telling a story while simultaneously achieving marketing goals when you’re not stopping every few seconds to fix a basic issue. Brushing up on some foundational elements of content creation can help you make better content (and to give yourself a better chance of achieving that ever-elusive flow state).

• Tip #1: Choose your POV early and stick to it. It should be the most effective choice for whatever you’re creating. Switching POV later on can be tricky and may even cheapen your content if you don’t catch yourself doing it.
• Tip #2: Cut the fluff. Good content is relevant and focused. When you do your second or third editing pass, make it a point to notice fluff and axe it.
• Tip #3: Use the right tools at the right times. Whether it’s GA4 reports, contentmarketing.ai or something else, get a handle on what tools work best for you. Then, take time to learn how to use them effectively — they’ll eventually become second nature and you won’t have to fiddle around as much.

4. Involve Your Audience

On some days, especially ones where your creative muscles just aren’t undulating, trying to make anything can feel fraught. The good news is that you’re creating content for an audience, and getting them involved in your project can help inspire.

Depending on your current project, you can try to:

• Crowdsource ideas by asking your audience what types of content they want to see.
• Run polls to decide your next topic or format (Look familiar?).
• Feature user-generated content like comments or reviews in your work.
• Run a contest or challenge on social media that prompts your audience to engage with you.
• Ask for feedback on your recent content and proceed accordingly.

5. Work in an Inspiring Space

It’s easy to underestimate the value of an inspiring workspace. Whatever the numbers say about the importance of office design on creativity, it’s hard to debate that producing content somewhere you’re comfortable and that makes you feel happy can do wonders for your work.

So, ditch the drab design and bring personality to your office space. If you have a dedicated home office, decorate to the nines (tastefully) with art, tchotchkes and colors that you love, so that stepping into it to work is less “Blah” and more “Aha!”

If you don’t have a particular place to make into a workstation and are used to opening a laptop at the dining room table, you can try switching up the scenery. If the weather’s nice, sit outside. If you need a boost, feed off the collective energy of everyone at your local coffee shop while you sit and sip on a latte.

Final Thoughts 

Creating engaging content is challenging, but don’t let that be your biggest hurdle. When the thing itself is what challenges you the most, it can be a recipe for procrastination. Instead, make it your best advantage. Stop, step back and break content creation into smaller, more manageable chunks. Use what’s available to you to augment your everyday creative workflows to get the ball rolling on your projects.

Whether that’s nailing down the basics to abolish waffling early, going beyond your required keyword to be more engaging or redesigning your home office to supercharge yourself each time you enter, there are tons of great ways to overcome all of your content-related challenges — you just have to look for them!

Note: This article was originally published on contentmarketing.ai.