Where does inspiration come from? How we create content inspired by games, music and books
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 5:09 am
Finding inspiration is easier if you never stop looking for it. Learn how we create valuable content inspired by video games, books, and music.
Table of contents
I must have heard the phrase “Fiorella, help me: I’m teacher database package not creative” a hundred times. When someone confesses something like that to me, I always doubt every word of that sentence. Then I get scared, like when someone tells me they don’t like chocolate. Why is creativity always thought of as a magical talent?
A few months ago I discovered a live version of my favorite song “I'll be” by Edwin McCain. Before singing, McCain tells the audience about the moment he started writing the song. It was in a bar, while he was listening to a drunk guy declare his love to someone. Suddenly the chorus line came to him and he asked for a napkin to write it down. Is inspiration a divine occurrence?
There are many stories like this. One day you're in the shower and you come up with a solution to a problem at home. Sometimes you watch a movie and a concept comes to you that could change your product or service. We feel that inspiration comes suddenly and hits you like a punch in the face in the form of an idea. But inspiration must be sought and pursued, as if it were a snitch in a quidditch match.
Waze, what is the path to inspiration?
Where do you look for inspiration? There's no exact place, but it works to look everywhere: books, movies, games, afternoons in the park, trips to shops. Ideas are in unexpected places, but also accessible. Creativity is finding connections all the time. It's seeing a plant and forcing yourself to think about how that image could help you create content. That's why the number one rule of brainstorming is to forbid saying no. You have to give way to the absurd in order to create.
When Woody Allen is looking for inspiration, his favourite place is the shower. According to him, the feeling of falling water makes him forget about the world. Given the number of films he has directed, we assume he has spent a large part of his life bathing. John Lennon, on the other hand, wrote songs based on posters in an antique shop. JK Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter while travelling on a train. Any moment can be a trigger, if your mind is ready to take the shot.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_1
There are studies that support the theory that changing your environment increases creativity and lateral thinking. Even taking bathroom breaks. According to neuroscience, dopamine is responsible for increasing our ideas, but dopamine is usually released during moments of relaxation, such as taking a shower; or leisure, such as going to a museum.
4 tips that have helped me create content
1. Help yourself get inspired
In our daily lives, we don't always find time to think about abstract concepts or crazy ideas. That's why it's important to use tools that force us to have that time.
I find it very useful to have time for what I call creative research. I always start my day by reading a newsletter. Sometimes it's about serious news and world politics. Other times I choose to read about the intelligence of parrots or the mating ritual of seahorses. I subscribe to several newsletters on a wide range of topics: from sex to board games.
This way, the topics arrive directly to my email inbox. If Muhammad doesn't go to the content, the content can reach Muhammad.
2. Consume stories
When I'm on the go, I take advantage of the opportunity to listen to podcasts on different topics, but I'm going to recommend three podcasts that not only make me think about ideas and places outside my comfort zone, but also almost always make me smile.
Radio Ambulante , a Spanish-language podcast with stories about Latin America. Drugs, football, drama, romance, bird sounds. It has everything you need to understand this side of the world. Each episode is so well told that you'll feel like Chile, Venezuela or Brazil are as close as your own backyard.
TED Radio Hour , TED Talks in radio format. Ideas made into sound. Updated every week with a new topic that covers everything from motherhood to important questions like where does the fat we lose when we lose weight go?
Serial. The most downloaded podcast in the world. Listen to season 1, where they try to find out what happened to a Korean teenager who was murdered in the United States 20 years ago. Thank me later.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_5
3. Do things that seem silly to the average adult
When we are children, everything amazes us. A few days ago I was talking to my godson about the concept of halves. That half of 4 is 2, that half of 10 is 5. He asked me about half of 10,000 and I answered quickly and without mistakes. The look of astonishment on his face made me feel like Einstein. That wonder makes us discover things all the time, but we lose it as we grow up.
With that same curiosity and carefree attitude , she takes on projects, creates songs, buys a watch just to take it apart . But, above all, she plays all the time. When I feel grown up, sitting in front of a desk for 8 hours, I think: how can I make a game out of this? Because I find motivation in play.
Playing has helped me create content strategies , understand different buyer personas, and, above all, create emotional stories.
4. Write down and record everything you can
One time when I was at school, I was trying to come up with a name for the cheesy pop band I had put together with the people in my class. One night I dreamed up the perfect name, but when I got to school I couldn't remember it. It was terrible. Maybe if I'd had a notebook handy, I'd be touring the world playing Westlife covers right now.
After all the effort you put into making the idea happen, there's nothing worse than forgetting it. Keep a notebook handy even on your nightstand. Or record voice messages on your cell phone for your "future self." At some point, these notes will make sense.
From creativity to content marketing
While inspiration can come from anywhere, you have to know how to focus it. Where is all this music I'm listening to taking me? It's good to take some time to read about what saliva is for, but how does that help you create relevant content?
Connections are key. Every interaction you make with people, ideas, and even objects creates a new connection in your brain. That's how we at Impulse created a Pokémon-inspired Pillar Page.
At Impulse we work under the Inbound Marketing philosophy with different brands. One of them is a university, which asked us to create a Pillar Page to publicize its program, as part of its content strategy.
For inspiration, I started playing Fortnite at home. Fortnite is the game of the moment. The one that a lot of teenagers are playing instead of doing homework. So I started doing the same. While I was choosing my avatar, I remembered what I used to play as a teenager, and the intro to Pokémon Red, the Gameboy game, came to mind. It looked something like this:
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_2_1
In the 8-bit intro, there was a dialogue between Professor Oak and you, the new aspiring Pokémon master of Pallet Town. So I thought about making a fun Pillar Page . With dialogue, with customization. Where each content topic is like a video game world. From that flight, we landed several ideas that later served to create this Pillar Page. It doesn't look anything like Pokémon, but it was born that way, from a nostalgic memory of my Gameboy. You can see the complete Pillar Page here.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_3
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_4
In this case, Audrey would be a kind of Professor Oak.
In less than a month we reached 80% of the leads we had set as our goal. Further proof that Pokémon is a great influence for children and adults.
At Impulse we create different digital assets: emails, landing pages, pillar pages, videos, and many blog posts. Every day we have to change a text, we have to find an innovative format to present serious content, we have to “make pretty” a hard line that is sent to us in a brief.
That's why we always try to inject creativity into it. When we create content, we want it to help, but above all, to excite.
TL;DR Chef's Recommendations (content manager)
Here are some of the things I've learned as a Content Manager that I'd like to share with you:
If you have a creative on your team: don’t worry if they’re not in place all day. What seems like a distraction is sometimes inspiration to create. Remember that ideas, no matter how ridiculous they may seem, can be focused on a clear objective within the marketing strategy. Content creation at Impulse has been inspired by analysis of song lyrics on Spotify and even by weird book formats like “Choose Your Own Adventure.”
If you are responsible for the content: always keep your ideas within a framework. In inbound marketing, we first work on defining an objective and creating an ideal client or buyer persona. This helps us focus our ideas. In this way, we redirect our efforts and places of inspiration to a digital asset (email, landing page, blog post) that works both in design and content.
In short: fly wherever you want, but keep an eye on where you need to land.
Table of contents
I must have heard the phrase “Fiorella, help me: I’m teacher database package not creative” a hundred times. When someone confesses something like that to me, I always doubt every word of that sentence. Then I get scared, like when someone tells me they don’t like chocolate. Why is creativity always thought of as a magical talent?
A few months ago I discovered a live version of my favorite song “I'll be” by Edwin McCain. Before singing, McCain tells the audience about the moment he started writing the song. It was in a bar, while he was listening to a drunk guy declare his love to someone. Suddenly the chorus line came to him and he asked for a napkin to write it down. Is inspiration a divine occurrence?
There are many stories like this. One day you're in the shower and you come up with a solution to a problem at home. Sometimes you watch a movie and a concept comes to you that could change your product or service. We feel that inspiration comes suddenly and hits you like a punch in the face in the form of an idea. But inspiration must be sought and pursued, as if it were a snitch in a quidditch match.
Waze, what is the path to inspiration?
Where do you look for inspiration? There's no exact place, but it works to look everywhere: books, movies, games, afternoons in the park, trips to shops. Ideas are in unexpected places, but also accessible. Creativity is finding connections all the time. It's seeing a plant and forcing yourself to think about how that image could help you create content. That's why the number one rule of brainstorming is to forbid saying no. You have to give way to the absurd in order to create.
When Woody Allen is looking for inspiration, his favourite place is the shower. According to him, the feeling of falling water makes him forget about the world. Given the number of films he has directed, we assume he has spent a large part of his life bathing. John Lennon, on the other hand, wrote songs based on posters in an antique shop. JK Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter while travelling on a train. Any moment can be a trigger, if your mind is ready to take the shot.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_1
There are studies that support the theory that changing your environment increases creativity and lateral thinking. Even taking bathroom breaks. According to neuroscience, dopamine is responsible for increasing our ideas, but dopamine is usually released during moments of relaxation, such as taking a shower; or leisure, such as going to a museum.
4 tips that have helped me create content
1. Help yourself get inspired
In our daily lives, we don't always find time to think about abstract concepts or crazy ideas. That's why it's important to use tools that force us to have that time.
I find it very useful to have time for what I call creative research. I always start my day by reading a newsletter. Sometimes it's about serious news and world politics. Other times I choose to read about the intelligence of parrots or the mating ritual of seahorses. I subscribe to several newsletters on a wide range of topics: from sex to board games.
This way, the topics arrive directly to my email inbox. If Muhammad doesn't go to the content, the content can reach Muhammad.
2. Consume stories
When I'm on the go, I take advantage of the opportunity to listen to podcasts on different topics, but I'm going to recommend three podcasts that not only make me think about ideas and places outside my comfort zone, but also almost always make me smile.
Radio Ambulante , a Spanish-language podcast with stories about Latin America. Drugs, football, drama, romance, bird sounds. It has everything you need to understand this side of the world. Each episode is so well told that you'll feel like Chile, Venezuela or Brazil are as close as your own backyard.
TED Radio Hour , TED Talks in radio format. Ideas made into sound. Updated every week with a new topic that covers everything from motherhood to important questions like where does the fat we lose when we lose weight go?
Serial. The most downloaded podcast in the world. Listen to season 1, where they try to find out what happened to a Korean teenager who was murdered in the United States 20 years ago. Thank me later.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_5
3. Do things that seem silly to the average adult
When we are children, everything amazes us. A few days ago I was talking to my godson about the concept of halves. That half of 4 is 2, that half of 10 is 5. He asked me about half of 10,000 and I answered quickly and without mistakes. The look of astonishment on his face made me feel like Einstein. That wonder makes us discover things all the time, but we lose it as we grow up.
With that same curiosity and carefree attitude , she takes on projects, creates songs, buys a watch just to take it apart . But, above all, she plays all the time. When I feel grown up, sitting in front of a desk for 8 hours, I think: how can I make a game out of this? Because I find motivation in play.
Playing has helped me create content strategies , understand different buyer personas, and, above all, create emotional stories.
4. Write down and record everything you can
One time when I was at school, I was trying to come up with a name for the cheesy pop band I had put together with the people in my class. One night I dreamed up the perfect name, but when I got to school I couldn't remember it. It was terrible. Maybe if I'd had a notebook handy, I'd be touring the world playing Westlife covers right now.
After all the effort you put into making the idea happen, there's nothing worse than forgetting it. Keep a notebook handy even on your nightstand. Or record voice messages on your cell phone for your "future self." At some point, these notes will make sense.
From creativity to content marketing
While inspiration can come from anywhere, you have to know how to focus it. Where is all this music I'm listening to taking me? It's good to take some time to read about what saliva is for, but how does that help you create relevant content?
Connections are key. Every interaction you make with people, ideas, and even objects creates a new connection in your brain. That's how we at Impulse created a Pokémon-inspired Pillar Page.
At Impulse we work under the Inbound Marketing philosophy with different brands. One of them is a university, which asked us to create a Pillar Page to publicize its program, as part of its content strategy.
For inspiration, I started playing Fortnite at home. Fortnite is the game of the moment. The one that a lot of teenagers are playing instead of doing homework. So I started doing the same. While I was choosing my avatar, I remembered what I used to play as a teenager, and the intro to Pokémon Red, the Gameboy game, came to mind. It looked something like this:
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_2_1
In the 8-bit intro, there was a dialogue between Professor Oak and you, the new aspiring Pokémon master of Pallet Town. So I thought about making a fun Pillar Page . With dialogue, with customization. Where each content topic is like a video game world. From that flight, we landed several ideas that later served to create this Pillar Page. It doesn't look anything like Pokémon, but it was born that way, from a nostalgic memory of my Gameboy. You can see the complete Pillar Page here.
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_3
inspiration_creativity_inbound_content_4
In this case, Audrey would be a kind of Professor Oak.
In less than a month we reached 80% of the leads we had set as our goal. Further proof that Pokémon is a great influence for children and adults.
At Impulse we create different digital assets: emails, landing pages, pillar pages, videos, and many blog posts. Every day we have to change a text, we have to find an innovative format to present serious content, we have to “make pretty” a hard line that is sent to us in a brief.
That's why we always try to inject creativity into it. When we create content, we want it to help, but above all, to excite.
TL;DR Chef's Recommendations (content manager)
Here are some of the things I've learned as a Content Manager that I'd like to share with you:
If you have a creative on your team: don’t worry if they’re not in place all day. What seems like a distraction is sometimes inspiration to create. Remember that ideas, no matter how ridiculous they may seem, can be focused on a clear objective within the marketing strategy. Content creation at Impulse has been inspired by analysis of song lyrics on Spotify and even by weird book formats like “Choose Your Own Adventure.”
If you are responsible for the content: always keep your ideas within a framework. In inbound marketing, we first work on defining an objective and creating an ideal client or buyer persona. This helps us focus our ideas. In this way, we redirect our efforts and places of inspiration to a digital asset (email, landing page, blog post) that works both in design and content.
In short: fly wherever you want, but keep an eye on where you need to land.