The best way to produce great content is to be inspired by great content. The better the ideas you’re exposed to are, the better your own ideas become.
But the content marketing community tends towards endogamy: we have a limited range of sources and we tend to imitate them.
Don’t get me wrong: I love copying. I not only think that imitation is the best form of flattery, but I also reckon it gives enough room to innovate in small, bite size chunks that contribute to the subject. It also allows you to speak about a hot topic, and add up your personal opinion and experience about a conversation taking place.
The problem is not copying. The problem is always looking for inspiration in the same places. MOZ is great and they do awesome content. Social Media Examiner really tends to nail it. Kissmetrics is a heavenly website made from a delightful mix of wisdom and code. But if online marketing professionals, as a field, only look at the same resources over and over, the whole industry is going to look like a Middle Ages European Dynasty, or a content marketing version of the human centipede.
So, assuming the centipede option isn’t attractive to most, what new examples of content should you check to inspire yourself? Check these out:
