[Public Release] My Operational Strategy for Saying Goodbye to 'Running Out of Ideas' with AI x Content Marketing

Hello, this is Takiguchi, the marketing manager at Blastmail.

Updating owned media, writing notes, and sending out weekly newsletters...

To all marketers, thank you for your hard work in creating content every day.

Whether you are a sole proprietor, an in-house marketer, or an agency representative, everyone faces the same 'wall of running out of ideas'.

While AI has spread rapidly and various tools are flying around these days, no matter how convenient the tools become, the fundamental worry of 'what should I post today?' never ends, does it?

This time, I would like to openly reveal the entire 'behind-the-scenes process of content creation' that I personally use to write these note articles and repurpose them for newsletters.

By the way, to give you the conclusion first, I do not have AI think of my ideas.

So, how am I able to continuously produce a large volume of articles and newsletters?

Today, I will reveal everything about what I spend my time on and, conversely, what I have stopped spending time on.

'I don't know how to incorporate AI into my practical work'
'I'm just struggling to come up with content ideas'

I hope this will be a hint for those who are worried about these things.

The battle against 'running out of ideas'

'I haven't written a single character for this week's newsletter yet...'
'I can't think of any more topics for my owned media articles...'

If you are in charge of content marketing, I think you can understand this pressure and frustration all too well.

I, too, as an 'ordinary marketer,' have spent every day in front of a blank computer screen, groaning while searching for ideas.

I've researched keywords with SEO in mind, scoured competitor blogs, and gone around asking our internal sales staff, 'What kind of things have customers been asking lately?'

Content marketing is a strategy that takes time to show results.

Even though I know in my head that consistency is more important than anything else, it is truly back-breaking work to constantly produce 'high-quality articles' while being chased by other tasks.

Creating over 50 pieces of content in about 50 hours per month

I was always living side-by-side with that 'fear of running out of ideas,' but to tell you the truth, I have recently been quite liberated from that suffering.

You might be surprised, but while handling my regular marketing and planning tasks, I currently create and publish nearly 50 pieces of content per month with only 20-30% of my working hours.

I haven't hired a dedicated team of writers, nor am I outsourcing everything to an external production company. I do it all by myself.

What used to take hours to write a single article now takes shape at an unbelievable speed.

As someone who works with AI every day, I am constantly amazed by the speed of its evolution and its high level of practicality.

Generating orders via note in 2 months of serious effort

"Even if you can mass-produce content, isn't it meaningless if the substance isn't there?"

As strict marketers, you would naturally think that.

However, it has been about two months since I started seriously publishing content with this system.

Recently, a very welcome change has occurred.

Surprisingly, actual orders (contracts) have started to be generated through these note articles.

Strictly speaking, I have received applications for sales partners, which I solicit at the end of every note article, and those partners have introduced projects to me.

Also, there are people who have signed up for meetings based on my request for information exchange, which I also include at the end of every article.

Click here to schedule a time >>
*This is an online meeting with me.

I truly feel that I am steadily connecting with marketers and email newsletter managers through my information dissemination on note.

Generally speaking, in content marketing, increasing the number of touchpoints (volume of dissemination) is a very powerful weapon for enhancing the mere-exposure effect with readers and getting them to recognize your brand.

By handling an overwhelming 'quantity' while maintaining 'quality,' I am definitely increasing my touchpoints with readers, and that is starting to show in the numbers as business results.

The key to mass-producing ideas is 'NotebookLM'

So, how do I balance 'quality and quantity'?

To reveal the secret, many of the articles I post regularly are written using an AI provided by Google called 'NotebookLM'.

Most of you are probably already familiar with it, right?

To tell you the truth, I am making extensive use of NotebookLM in the process of creating the very article you are reading right now.

The way to use it is very simple.

I stock (train) NotebookLM in advance with the 'owned media information' that our company has accumulated, such as blog posts I have written in the past, white papers, and transcripts of seminars.

All that's left is to give it instructions (prompts) like, 'Write an article on this theme with this structure.'

Then, the AI will quickly write the base of the article while firmly incorporating the habits of my past writing (tone and manner) and the specialized information unique to our company.

Unlike having a general tool like ChatGPT write from scratch, the biggest point is that because it uses our company's information as a source, it is less likely to have that 'AI-specific shallowness' and generates text at a level that can be used in actual work immediately.

Caution: This strategy assumes you have source assets.

As some of you may have noticed, this method works better the more assets you have to load as sources in advance.

I also wrote all of the first 15 articles by myself. This is just pure effort. About 15 articles is easy.

I first had it read those 15 articles to learn the following two points.

1. My writing habits (tone and manner)
Writing reveals personality. Even if you think you don't have any habits, they can be quite noticeable to the reader.

By the way, the writing habit I am aware of is that it is 'close to spoken language.'
Although I sometimes intentionally lean toward literary style, I basically transcribe what I think as it is, so the output is quite close to a conversational tone.

If you talk to me directly, you will probably be able to play back this article in your head.

*By the way, I am writing this part directly right now; it is not AI.

2. Consistent content I want to advocate through note

In the first 15 articles, I wrote many articles that define the positioning of this note account.

- Newsletters are not difficult
- Email marketing is still sufficiently effective
- There are hurdles to getting emails delivered
- Deliver on a proper foundation
- I am not an amazing person

I suppose that's about it.

As a fellow content marketer just like all of you, my note concept is to share raw information as much as possible.

You can read those arguments in the following articles, so please take a look if you'd like.

Once I had the AI learn the basic media policy and the writer's habits in that way, it became lightning fast.

I will also release the prompt for this article at the end, but you can create articles quite easily.

Of course, the same applies to email newsletters.

And this operational method using 'NotebookLM' is applied directly not only to writing notes but also to 'email newsletters'.

In the case of newsletters, I have NotebookLM read the text of emails sent in the past and their results (data on open rates and click-through rates).

On top of that, I ask,
“Looking at past data, what elements received a good response from readers?”
“What theme do you think I should use for the next distribution?”

The AI analyzes the data and gives reasonably accurate advice, and if I just ask it, “Then write the text for next week's newsletter with that theme and structure,” it produces a draft that is at least readable, even if I can't say it will definitely resonate with readers.

We are no longer in an era where you have to open Word from scratch and squeeze out sentences.

If you use AI skillfully, we have entered an era where you can mass-produce high-quality content indefinitely.

Conversely, what humans should be particular about is 'theme setting (angle)'.

You might have thought, “So, in the end, you're just having the AI do everything.”

However, this is the most important point I want to convey.

There is a part that I absolutely do not leave entirely to AI, and that I think about thoroughly with my own head is.

That is 'theme setting (angle)'.

Even if you vaguely ask the AI to come up with ideas by saying, “Give me some interesting topics for next week's newsletter,” what comes back are just textbook generalities like “latest industry trends” or “basic usage of tools.”

Such safe articles are buried in the sea of information and read by no one.

As I wrote in a previous article, “using AI” is like training that forces you to confront your own ability to verbalize and your logical thinking skills.

• What are many people questioning right now?

• What do people on the front lines really want to know?

• What angle should I use to make them think, “That's interesting!” and get them interested?

This 'perspective that only a real human can notice' is something that must be thought through with your own mind, based on daily sales activities, conversations with customers, and your own real-life experiences.

AI is a super-efficient assistant that can polish and expand upon the 'angles' we come up with into beautiful prose.

That is precisely why I believe the first step of 'what to talk about' must be thought through by us ourselves.

To answer the question from the beginning, this is my solution to 'running out of ideas'.

Minimize your work time to the absolute limit and spend your time on information gathering and brainstorming.

You lose the time to think about themes because you are buried in busy work.

While freely gathering information, create and post articles quickly on the spot whenever an idea comes to mind.

I believe this is the correct answer for content marketing in the AI era.

By the way, this article I've written so far (which I will post immediately after writing) is something I thought of the theme for and started writing after arriving at the office this morning.

Since I post about once a day, I will spend the rest of today thinking about ideas for tomorrow and beyond while doing other work.

Summary

'Think through themes and angles thoroughly with your own mind'
'Leave the writing of text and analysis of past data to NotebookLM'

Ever since I was able to clearly divide roles like this, I have been completely freed from the fear of 'running out of ideas,' and I have been able to enjoy creating content while thinking purely about 'what kind of information will make people happy'.

If you are also stuck with daily content creation or coming up with ideas for newsletters, please try using AI as an 'excellent sparring partner'.

The ideas in your head should take shape at an astonishing speed.

Request for Information Exchange Regarding Newsletters

Thank you for reading this article to the end.

'I want to use AI, but I can't give instructions well.'
'How should I have AI learn from past content?'

If you have such concerns, why don't we talk directly?

As a regular marketer myself, I am struggling in the field, so let's exchange information on AI utilization techniques and content creation at a realistic, practical level.

Or even for sales, that is fine too.

Click here to schedule a meeting >>
*This is an online meeting with me.

Free trial available

"I want to deliver the high-quality content I've painstakingly created with AI to my existing list first."

If that sounds like you, please consider Blastmail.

It features a simplicity that allows for intuitive use even without specialized knowledge.

Start with a 7-day free trial to experience its ease of use for yourself.

Sales partners wanted

For those handling client work, email delivery agency services, or affiliate marketers, Blastmail offers a sales partner program with a stock-based revenue model.

It is the perfect proposal tool for solving your clients' 'email delivery' challenges. If you are interested, please apply. (Registration is free)

The prompt used to create this article is revealed!

The prompt I entered into NotebookLM when creating this article is as follows.

The prompt is 575 characters. This article I am writing is currently 5,544 characters.
I have been able to generate roughly 10 times the amount of text.

Everyone, let's use NotebookLM and be freed from the pains of creation!!