Stuck for ideas?

Christina Robinson

As a marketer, I often get asked, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’

I’ve been coming up with ideas and seemingly pulling them out of the air for the best part of 10 years, so for me these days…the ideas just come! If you’re a lone content wolf, here are the places that you can go to find content ideas:

ANSWERTHEPUBLIC.COM

You can use it for free, you just input your keyword or keyphrase, and it supplies you with a wheel of options that you can develop into content ideas, blog titles, email subject lines, themes for a video, and so on.

ALSOASKED.COM

Similar to Answer The Public, but it’s mapping questions out for you. To explain, you input your question (something a prospect might Google), and AlsoAsked shows you what that prospect might have also asked, then off of that question –what also may have been asked, and on and on!

DAYSOFTHEYEAR.COM

There is a day for everything, a month of awareness for all sorts of things! This site collates them all on a global level.

CONTENTIDEAS.IO

This is a content suggestion tool. You plug in a few themes, and it suggests all sorts of things to you based on the top-performing content it’s found online

GREEN UMBRELLA’S 75 IDEAS OF THINGS TO POST!

Well, it would have been wrong of me to leave this out, wouldn’t it? Go grab your download, print it out and go through it with a highlighter. Simply highlight the ideas you know will work for you and your business. Once you’ve done this, you should have a crib sheet of 20-30 ideas you can keep cycling through.

There are a bunch of other resources you can use – but I think those 5 give you a solid starting point. Let me know how you get on!

01604 726758 christina.robinson@green-umbrella.biz and other activities that require a quick and easy way to update information. and dynamic QR codes, it’s important to consider the purpose of the code and how often the content that it links to will change. If the content is likely to change frequently, such as a product link or promotion code, then a dynamic QR code is likely the best option as it can easily be updated without changing the code itself.

Dynamic QR Codes are also trackable, which means you can get data and analytics to measure and fine-tune all your QR code campaigns.

Pros

■ QR codes are cost-effective, as they are easy to generate and don’t require printing costs.

■ There are lots of apps available to create them.

■ They are convenient and easy to use since they can be scanned with a smartphone.

■ They help to increase engagement as they can provide an interactive experience for users.

■ They can be used to track customer behaviour and gain valuable insights into customer preferences.

Cons:

■ Users must have a smartphone and the necessary app installed or photo feature to scan a QR code.

■ QR codes can be easily damaged or distorted, making them difficult to scan.

■ They can be replicated by cybercriminals and used to spread malicious links or content.

Using the QR Code generator in Canva

1. Find the QR code app

For a simple and straightforward code, try Canva’s easy to use generator.

Marie-Louise specialises in branding and Canva design for SMEs. She offers a range of logo and design services, Canva training and is an official Canva Creator. She’s approaching 20 years in the design industry with a degree in branding and packaging. She’s created everything from logo designs, social media templates and website design in the digital space, to printed brochures, adverts, banners and packaging. Her process focuses on collaboration, meeting on Zoom to bounce ideas and bring the designs to life before her clients’ eyes. She loves to work with entrepreneurs, coaches, marketing experts and virtual assistants to create consistent content that’s on brand but with the flexibility to evolve over time.

07736 234059 ml@lovelyevolution.co.uk lovelyevolution.co.uk

Open up a design in Canva and click on the Apps tab bottom left. Use the search tool to type in ‘QR code’ to quickly find the relevant apps.

Only the one by Canva keeps you in Canva. The other apps will take you out of Canva and on to their website. You will need to create an account with them to generate a QR code.

2. Generate your code

Use the one by Canva to easily type in your URL link, see a preview, customise the colours and generate your code. It automatically saves into your uploads folder so you can download it or add to your design.

Top tip: Make sure there is contrast between the background and foreground colours for best results. If the colours are too pale or similar, it can cause issues when someone is trying to scan the code. Please note: Canva’s generator creates static QR codes that aren’t trackable.

Other QR Code Generators

Here’s a round up of other QR codes for you to check out, in no particular order.

■ QR Tiger offers dynamic and customisable QR codes with a free version and pricing plans.

■ ME-QR Generator allows you to generate, personalise and track. This one has more free options and less limitations, as well as a paid subscription for even more features.

■ QR Code Generator is powered by Bitly. Free and easy to use when creating static QR codes that can’t be edited or tracked. They have a Pro option and have different price plans based on the number of codes generated each month.

■ Kaywa has the flexibility to edit your codes and other benefits but has no free package, and is more expensive than the others listed. They do seem to have some big name clients though.

■ Free QR Code Generator by Shopify allows you to easily create static QR codes at a couple of clicks with no account required.

■ Visualead has a free option with ads and a wide selection of paid packages to choose from, with the prices based on the number of scans and other additional features.

■ QR Stuff allows you to create unlimited static codes and up to

10 dynamic codes. The paid plan gives you more features and customisation.

■ QR Code Monkey is free to use with a lot of customisation options, such as adding your logo, colours and patterns of the code. It is a static QR code and links to the QR Code Generator Pro to create trackable versions.

Conclusion

With the popularity in smartphones as the norm, it makes using QR codes more practical and useful these days. When I first saw them 15 years ago, they seemed gimmicky and clunky to use. They sort of fell out of favour but now they’re on the rise again, I’m excited to use them in my designs, for my own and my clients’ marketing.

The key points or questions for you to consider with QR codes are:

■ Where can you save time (typing a long URL or searching for someone or product)?

■ When is it important for a person to reach a specific website designation (sales page or offer)?

■ Can you add value to the experience (launch a video or quiz)?

And use those answers as your guide as to whether or not to include a QR code in your marketing material, when and where. Don’t just include one ‘just because’. Be intentional.