If your content strategy starts with “uhhh...” - you need to read this

_{Day 55/100}

Hey - It's Tim.

I was scrolling Instagram when I found it.
Not “the idea” - just the spark.

Some random design reel.
No voiceover. Just music.
The caption said something like:

That hit. Because it’s true.
And it’s especially true in content marketing.

I’ve been doing this a long time —
50+ days straight writing this newsletter.
Two years of daily LinkedIn posts.
Dozens of clients who say the same thing in every kickoff call:

That’s the real bottleneck, right?
Not writing. Knowing what to write.

So today, I’m giving you my full system.
The same one I use to plan months ahead — and still get excited to hit publish.

🧠 THE CONTENT IDEA ENGINE™

(Yeah, it’s got a sick name. Don’t act like you don’t love it.)

The system has three parts:

Let’s break them down.

1. The Stockroom

Where all good ideas go to nap.

Whenever I say something that makes someone go “oh that’s interesting” - I save it.

What goes in the Stockroom:

• Slack rants

• DMs explaining something for the 10th time

• Questions from clients

• Screenshots from Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, Twitter.

• Weird metaphors I used to make a point stick

• Screenshots of great (or terrible) headlines

• Questions people asked me that I answered without thinking

• My own hot takes I blurt out before coffee

Where it lives:
Doesn’t matter. Coda. Notion. Notes app. Slack.
Mine’s in Coda, tagged, filtered, and searchable.
The important thing is no friction. Save it fast, sort it later.

My hack: I voice-to-text ideas on my watch while walking.
If you see a guy whispering “blog post, but make it about broccoli” - it’s me.

2. The Scanner

This is your “connect-the-dots” mode.

Once a week, I look at what I’ve saved and ask:

A Slack question about analytics.
A tweet about user intent.
An email where I explain “why we don’t chase traffic.”

Theme? → What actually drives qualified leads.

Now I’ve got a topic. A direction.
Not a blank page.

Bonus tip: Look for “contradictions people believe.”
Things like:

• “We need to post every day” vs “We have no strategy”

• “SEO is dead” vs “We rank nowhere”

Spot tension. Write into it.

3. The Shuffler

Here’s where the fun starts.

Take one idea. Apply different lenses.

Now, one Stockroom note becomes 5-6 content pieces.
You’re not just coming up with ideas.
You’re building a worldview.

And worldviews build trust.
Again, the easiest thing to do here is to throw your saves at ChatGPT and get it to find all these angles for you.

BONUS: My Idea Mining Routine

Here’s what I actually do:

1. 10-minute “scroll & steal”
   Go through old LinkedIn posts, podcast quotes, DMs, even complaints.
   I’m not looking for brilliance. Just sparks.

2. Write 5 headlines
   Not full posts. Just titles.
   Even bad ones count. Especially bad ones.

3. Pick one. Go.
   If it sucks, I save it for later.
   If it flows, I ride it.

You don’t need a lightning bolt.
You need a matchstick.
And I never wait for motivation - this is something I would do anyway. We’re all doom-scrolling something. Just put the good ideas somewhere you can find them later.

TL;DR - Build your Content Idea Engine

• Stockroom → Save every spark

• Scanner → Zoom out and spot the themes

• Shuffler → Remix ideas into content that actually hits

You don’t need a content calendar.
You need a system that helps you see the world like a writer.

Instagram’s never felt so productive.

See you tomorrow.

✌️ Tim “Writer’s Block Has Entered The Chat” Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.

P.S. This is part of my whole system I use to write all the content ideas for Penfriend.
Would you be interested in this system?

P.P.S. This might be my favourite page I’ve ever made on the Penfriend site.
Would highly recommend viewing on desktop.

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