🧠 Become an Ideas Factory

Never struggle to find a newsletter topic again.

Apr 14, 2024

Do you sometimes struggle to get ideas for what you will write every week? This is especially hard if you write a weekly newsletter like me. Well, it doesn't have to be.

If you have made time to collect ideas throughout the week, it does not need to be that hard when you sit down to write. It can also cut the time it takes to produce it by half.

Many people advocate for having a set plan for producing your newsletter. Schedule out a year's worth of content and then sit down to write every week. This is all good, but knowing what you are writing about is sometimes boring.

What do you do if you get a killer idea in the week? Do you write on this topic or stick to the plan? If you write on the topic, what will you do with the piece you were meant to write? What about if it informs future pieces?

Okay, so you are going to stick to the plan. Then what happens to the idea you had? If you wait until the next plan to add it, you might not have the same passion for writing. You can see why planning, in my opinion, doesn't work.

I speak from experience. I have tried to run newsletters with set articles every week, but they all failed. Why? Because I was bored writing them, the poor readers.

How do we overcome this? How do we ensure we are not too planned whilst not sitting down to an empty page? Simply, you use the content you consume to inform your newsletter.

Read an article this week where you thought you could add to what was said. Write it down. Read an article that you disagreed with totally, write it down. Published a tweet or Facebook status that got lots of engagement; you got it. Write it down. Overhear an interesting conversation you have an opinion on, write it down. Write down anything that comes into your head.

Then, when it comes to writing your newsletter, you should have a good ten ideas to choose from. Now, pick the one that really interests you, and you have the topic for your newsletter.

What do you do with your other nine ideas? Some of them will be deleted because they are so ridiculous you wonder what you were thinking. Some can be full-length articles, and a few you might put in a pot for those weeks when everything goes wrong and you haven't been able to compile your ideas.

This is what I do every week. I have a folder on my Apple Notes and throw everything in there. Articles I have loved are dropped in there for recommendations. Books I have read go in there, along with my ideas. This folder is the basis of this newsletter. On average, the writing and editing take no more than an hour a week because of this preparation.

The other bonus is that I am actively consuming knowledge, as discussed in the last newsletter. I am also never bored of writing to you all. In honesty, this is the easiest thing I write every week and the most enjoyable.

If you enjoy this email, please share it so more readers can find it.

Until next week, stay safe

Sam 😊

Weekly Three

The Wild Swimmers, William Shaw - This compelling crime story will drag you in from the first page. Whether you have read the whole series or are starting here, The Wild Swimmers will not disappoint.

Line a Day Diary - Have you tried to journal and consistently failed? This is the easiest way I know to start a habit. As it says in the title, you write a line every day for five years. The first year is okay, but as you add to each date, you have the previous year's entries to read. You can write one thing you are grateful for, a quick summary of your life or, as Austin Kleon does, a quote that grabbed you.

The Book of Grace McQuire - Grace is new to BookTok but not to TikTok, however, the stats on this channel would suggest she has been producing content for years. Her success is due to her effortless style on camera and the fact she is not afraid to say what she thinks, even if it is an unpopular opinion on the channel. If you like content about books then I would check her out. Be warned, though, that it might start costing you money as you buy her recommendations.