Mind Mapping: Turning Ideas Into Content

This is a guest post by Mario Mendoza.

Developing a consistent writing habit was my biggest obstacle. I had ideas scattered: my proof was notepads filled with article topics and potential project ideas that just had a title and nothing else. I had the missing pieces; I just lacked a way to channel my ideas into action.

I decided to give Mind Mapping a chance and see if it could help organize my music projects and website tasks. I was intrigued by the claims of the process: easier organization, remembering ideas, solving problems better and increasing productivity.

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping is considered a form of “creative note taking” meant to map out your ideas similar to how your brain processes them. You start with a central topic or bubble and branch out accordingly to categories and sub-categories.

Your ideas all branch out from your center concept, keeping you focused on your mission. Some forms of mind mapping are plain while others include images and multi-colors.  I chose to use a free version of Xmind.

I use Mind Mapping now as a way to jot down thoughts and create specific tasks for them. I was pitching: my ideas were in the windup position, but they lacked the follow thru.

I found myself speaking of plans in the first stage and not offering specific action to get the ball rolling and see if the idea was worth developing. Trying to balance my music projects and blogging tasks became more of a pain. I tried mind mapping on a sheet of paper and began to brainstorm.

Bloggers can relate to musicians. You can find yourself encountering inspirational moments and not writing them down, or assuming you will remember later. It can be a blog topic, hook, melody, lyrics or an idea. Trying to recall those can be painful, especially when you can’t remember where you were going with the original thought.

Now I follow one simple rule: Give detail to your inspiration.

Simple Plan

I wanted to use Mind Mapping with a purpose and keep it simple.

1. I think of areas I want to work on my blog.
2. I add any projects or products I am working on.
3. I add ideas on how to integrate into content.
4. I list specific tasks: Article Topics, To Do List, Promotional Campaigns.
5. I send the tasks to my Calendar.

Content Ideas

In the picture below I used 2 examples of how I can organize my ideas. I created two sections: “Random Article Ideas” and “Keyphrase Article Ideas”. In the random category I like to brainstorm and add any article ideas that come to mind that I’m interested in, be creative.

Click the image for a larger image of this mind map. 

The keyphrases section I like to fill in with some keyphrases found on my control panel stats. I look at keywords with increasing searches and topics that are relevant to my blog and think about expanding on them. Connecting better with your visitors.

This example reaped 6 article ideas. My maps generally have more article ideas and are broken down further, just to make writing the article that much easier. I’m even adding another category next month for “Reader Suggestions/Comments”. I am creating another channel to keep creative ideas flowing in.

Project Ideas

The reason I like this one is it takes a project in development. You can see where your project is in production and still brainstorm on future articles for promotion. My example is an EP I am working on. I am almost done mixing it down but that shouldn’t mean I have to wait till its finished to begin thinking content. I came up with four article ideas for future use.

This is very relevant for bloggers that are working on e-books, newsletters, mailing lists or future products. Think ahead and watch more ideas branch out. The best part here is I am kick starting my project in motion with getting it finalized and I am prepared to integrate it into the blog.

Why I Enjoy Using Mind Mapping

• Ideas get sent to a Content Calendar and are put into action: I have specific article topics I can research and space according to difficulty of topic. Eliminate writer’s block and save time.
• Visualization= Easier Explanation: I showed my friend my mind map and he gave me more ideas after seeing the layout. I received better input and focused ideas coming back once a general idea was laid out. People were able to relate to my thought process better and this led to less misunderstanding, just action.
• Monthly Planning for Multiple Websites: Stay on top of all your projects and keep injecting ideas into your projects.
• Stay 10 Steps Ahead: A project can be in production phase and I could generate possible content idea ahead of time.
• Critique Your Writing Style: Am I too focused on assembly line writing or am I being creative? Is each project getting its due promotion? Mind map lays out your ideas for evaluation.
• Ideas keep focused on your main goal.
• Where is Your Time Being Spent? Keep improving your site. Maybe you are neglecting a vital category on your blog but didn’t realize it.

Take your thoughts and let them breathe. Create a mind map and take a topic you want to fix.  Brainstorm for solutions and think of specific tasks to accomplish that goal.  Send it to your calendar and start writing.

Mario Mendoza is an independent musician and  music marketing blogger.  Hip Hop Distribution was created as a way to help independent musicians sell their music online with free web tools, social networking and developing online marketing strategies.