The co-authors of this article are Monica Norton.
We’ve all been there.
Someone comes up with a content marketing strategy or topic and you immediately think, “This is a terrible idea. We can’t do it.
Maybe this is a new tactic that doesn’t fit into your content strategy. Maybe this is an idea that has come to fruition. Or, the proposal may require significant resources, and your content and marketing teams are already stretched thin.
Rather than saying “no” to them right away, why not explore how you can transform bland ideas into engaging, audience-engaging content? This isn’t a pipe dream – it’s a set of skills and frameworks you can learn.
We divide this process into two parts—gathering information and developing a communication roadmap. Let’s get started so you don’t waste more time worrying about less exciting ideas.
Part 1: Prepare smart responses to bad ideas
let curiosity Lead the journey and turn a bad idea into something fantastic, or band together to destroy it. Follow this framework to make every transformation step purposeful and impactful.
Step 1: Understand the question
“Let’s do a podcast,” the chief marketing officer said.
“Let’s create a microsite to talk all about our new customers,” the CEO said.
“Let’s write a blog post about all of our updated product features,” the VP of Product Marketing said.
requests like this Ask the question: “Why?” Try to get to the root of the request. Are CMOs asking for podcasts because they enjoy listening to them? Does the CEO want to celebrate a new customer in a big way? Does the product marketing team believe that blog posts are the only way to inform customers about new product features?
To gain insight into motivations, ask the requester some questions, such as:
- Why is this idea the most important?
- What do you like best about this idea?
- How did the idea come about?
- Have you done it or seen other companies do it?
Then, ask what success would look like.
Sometimes, even if your partner has the best intentions, they will come up with deliverables that could be better achieved in different ways. By understanding the context of your request, you can consider other options. For example, this blog post might work better as a newsletter. This microsite may be more successful as a case study for the main website. This podcast may never achieve the desired results.
Step 2: Determine Intent
Successful organizations have goals that range from company-wide to single-team KPIs. So, please pay attention to the intention of this idea and answer the following questions:
- How do its goals align with existing goals?
- Are the goals aligned?
- Where are they and why?
Find any overlap or inconsistency between ideas that the requester considers successful and your team’s KPIs. Now you can evolve this idea into something new.
For example, when our CMO wanted a podcast, the goals and metrics for the podcast were inconsistent. The team’s content KPIs relate to increasing website traffic and directing people along the pipeline to leads. However, podcast hosting platforms only track subscribers. We are unable to track any listeners who visit our site or convert into leads. Ultimately, this inconsistency led the CMO to accept no podcasting and instead pursue the following activities: Better aligned with goals.
Step 3: Focus on your real audience
You’ll typically start content planning by understanding the needs of: Your brand’s target audience. However, this is the third step of this framework because your first audience are the requesters of a bad idea. You can redirect the conversation back to the customer by understanding their requirements and expected outcomes.
Look for opportunities to change ideas to meet customer needs. Use a “yes and” approach with the requester, for example: “Yes, I love your idea for a blog post about product features, let’s kick off the post by explaining how our customers solve their pain points.”
Step 4: Determine where the creative fits into the content journey
Now you must determine how this requirement fits Planning editorial calendar. You have content gap How can we be filled with such thoughts along the way? Can you optimize other assets to help meet this requirement?
you may need Review your published content Understand what really works for your audience and why. This data can help you transform conversations into better ideas.
Step 5: Review your resources
Too often, not-so-good ideas are accompanied by a great deal of enthusiasm and urgency—causing delays in other activities and creating stress about how to execute them. Instead of giving in to this distraction, assess what your team needs to facilitate conversations about what to do next:
- Do you need more budget or resources?
- Do you have the right tools in place to measure the impact of your requests?
- Do you have time to do it properly?
With all the knowledge gained in Part 1 of this process, you now have enough information to start the next framework and build better ideas.
Part 2: Collaborate to get better ideas
Now you are ready Communication and collaboration This way you and the requester can move forward together. You may need written communications and face-to-face conversations to finalize proposals or strategy documents and creative brief.
Step 1: State the commonalities
Begin by stating your position, for example: “I’ve spoken with everyone involved in the project and we all agree on who the audience is and we don’t want this project to hijack this quarter’s work.”
Such a statement lays a solid foundation for the future.
Step 2: Acknowledge the Obstacles
Be open to factors that may hinder success. Be candid about uncovered challenges, anticipated issues, and areas of disagreement. Is the budget sufficient? yes Execution team overloadedforce reprioritization? You don’t need to spend a lot of time on this step. Simply naming challenges makes it easier for everyone to discuss them and work together to overcome them.
Step Three: Reiterate Goals
Next, build a business case for the revised idea. List the goals identified during the information gathering step. You don’t need an exhaustive list. Capture the most important top-line goals of key stakeholders and the goals expressed by multiple individuals or teams.
Step 4: Find a common goal
If you’re lucky, step 3 will reveal a common goal, or at least identify the overlap to create a common goal or two.
But more often, shared goal setting requires face-to-face dialogue or debate. To make the discussion productive, use everything you learned in Step 3 to narrow the list. Start the debate by suggesting three or four possible goals.
Let the requestor and other stakeholders narrow the list to a common goal. (If a goal is impossible to achieve, identify primary and secondary goals.)
Setting shared goals can anchor the next step in brainstorming to ensure new ideas will make it happen.
Step 5: Let the ideas roll
Now comes probably the hardest and most fun part. Your approach to exploring new ideas will vary depending on your situation, organizational culture, and the nature of the request.
one brainstorming A session with most or all players may result in several options. If the number of participants is too large, brainstorming with a smaller subset may be more productive. In any brainstorming group, you should include an outsider—someone in the organization who is not a stakeholder or directly involved in the project. This fresh, unburdened perspective is exactly what you need to have that aha moment before your winning idea emerges.
Another option is to start the ideation process by coming up with a short list of alternative ideas. To gain recognition, show more than just your “good idea.” Even if the decision-making process is not democratic, asking for input during the selection process can help everyone support the chosen idea and do their best on the project.
As you work through the ideas that emerged from the brainstorming exercise or your final list of options, keep everyone guided around the shared goals identified in the previous step. Put aside really cool ideas that don’t achieve that goal and discuss them next time. Getting your colleagues back on target is also a convenient way to stop new “bad ideas” from arising.
Step 6: Repeat as needed
It’s time to admit a hard truth: the process may not be linear. Taking two steps forward and one step back is normal. You may need to revisit previous steps or even start over. But even so, it’s a sign of progress – your learning early on will make it easier and faster the second (or third) time around.
Step 7: Reach a Final Agreement
While each person’s path through these steps may be unique, the sense of triumph of moving in a better direction is universal. At this stage it is helpful to summarize the journey and thank everyone for their participation. You want them to feel invested in the process and results, as you may need their help and support during execution.
Work together to get better ideas
Even if the information gathering and framing process isn’t simple, turning those not-so-good ideas into something wonderful is incredibly satisfying. You work together to consider more options and keep everyone involved for a smooth transition from idea to action.
So instead of saying “no” right away to a bad idea, say: “Come to us. Give us everything you have. Let’s turn the bad into magic and discover the true magic of innovation with best-in-class content .
Updated from November 2023 article.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
