Where to find your next 30 content ideas (and how to never lose one again, with IFTTT)

You know you should post more. Then it's actually time to post, and your mind is blank. The frustrating part is you had ideas this week, in the shower, mid-scroll, in a DM someone sent you, you just didn't write any of them down.

Most content ideas don't disappear because they were bad. They disappear because there was nowhere for them to land in the ten seconds you had to capture them.

The good news is you don't need to trust your memory to fix this. IFTTT can catch a voice memo, a saved post, or an audience question the moment it happens and drop it straight into a content backlog automatically. If you don't already have an account, you can sign up for IFTTT free in about a minute, you'll need it to build any of the Applets below.

Here are 30 places your next idea is probably already sitting, and after that, how to make sure none of them get away again.

30 places your next content idea is already sitting

From your audience:

1. A question someone asked in a comment you never answered

2. A DM that asked something more people are probably wondering

3. A confused reply to a post that means you weren't clear enough the first time

4. A recurring question from your community's FAQ channel

5. A live-stream Super Chat or donation message with a question attached

6. A request someone made for a follow-up on an old post

From what's already trending:

1. A hot post in a subreddit relevant to your niche

2. A tweet or thread getting unusual traction on a topic you know well

3. A sound or format spiking on short-form video right now

4. A competitor's post that's clearly resonating, reframed in your voice

5. A news story your audience will have opinions about

6. A recurring seasonal moment (a holiday, an anniversary, an annual event)

From your own archive:

1. An old post that still gets engagement months later

2. A raw video clip sitting unedited in a folder

3. A photo you saved but never posted

4. A half-finished draft you abandoned

5. A behind-the-scenes moment you didn't think was content at the time

6. A mistake or failure you could turn into a lesson post

From conversations and observations:

1. A voice memo you left yourself walking somewhere

2. Something a friend or colleague said that stuck with you

3. A hot take you talked yourself out of posting

4. A question you had to Google, that other people probably have too

5. A tool, product, or process you use daily that you've never explained

6. A before-and-after moment, a change, a result, a transformation

From your calendar and process:

1. A recording or livestream you have scheduled this week

2. A milestone coming up (a launch, an anniversary, a number you're about to hit)

3. A recurring content series you keep meaning to restart

4. A collaboration or guest you haven't followed up with yet

5. A how-I-actually-do-this walkthrough of something you do without thinking

6. A reader or viewer's success story you could feature

The ideas aren't the hard part. The hard part is that most of them show up at a random moment and are gone thirty seconds later if there's nowhere for them to land.

How to never lose one again, with IFTTT

A content backlog doesn't need more ideas. It needs a place for the ones you already have to land the moment they show up, whether that's a voice memo, a saved post, or a question from your audience.

This pipeline covers two layers:

Capture: whatever strikes you, wherever you are, lands as a row or page automatically

Collect: recurring questions and mentions from your audience get gathered into the same backlog

Here's how to build each one.

Step 1: Turn a quick note into a backlog entry

This is the core of the whole pipeline, and the pattern your idea capture should start with. The moment you save a new note in IFTTT's Note widget, whether typed or dictated, it's added as a new row to a Google Sheet automatically.

A second version of the same idea creates a Notion page instead, useful if you want room to expand the idea later rather than a single spreadsheet row.

Step 2: Capture raw video and photo assets automatically

Ideas aren't always words. This Applet creates an Airtable record the moment you drop a raw video into a Google Drive folder, tracking editing and caption status from the moment it lands.

A second Applet does the same for photos, adding each new Drive photo to the top of your content backlog sheet so fresh visuals stay easy to find.

Step 3: Save inspiration and prep tasks on the go

Sometimes the idea is an asset you found somewhere else. This Applet saves an external URL straight into a Google Drive folder with a single Button widget press, so inspiration gets archived instead of lost in a closed tab.

A second Applet turns your own calendar into a prep system: every new content shoot or scheduled post on Google Calendar becomes a Todoist task, so preparation doesn't get forgotten between scheduling and shooting.

Step 4: Turn audience questions into a content list

Recurring questions are some of the best content ideas you'll get, if they're actually saved. This Applet appends every new Google Form response to a Google Sheets spreadsheet, building a running list of exactly what your audience wants answered.

A second Applet does the same into Notion instead, useful if you want to tag and triage questions rather than just log them.

Step 5: Mine your own platforms for ideas you already have

Content ideas are often hiding in activity you've already generated. This Applet adds a quick Google Calendar task every time you publish an Instagram photo, prompting a repromotion or caption variation you might not have considered.

A second Applet saves YouTube Super Chat questions from your livestreams straight into a Notion to-do list, turning paid audience questions into a ready-made backlog of follow-up content.

A third Applet saves new posts from subreddits you follow into Notion, so a relevant thread becomes a saved idea instead of something you saw once and forgot.

Step 6: Keep collaborators looped in on what's coming

A content idea that involves other people needs more than a personal note. This Applet emails your collaborators automatically the moment a scheduled recording or livestream begins, so everyone's reminded and ready without you sending a manual heads-up.

Discover more ways to catch ideas as they trend

The pipeline above covers capturing ideas you already have. If you also want a nudge the moment a topic starts trending, IFTTT covers that layer too.

Connect your capture and idea tools

Your Applets can work across any combination of the note-taking, form, and organization tools you already use. IFTTT has over 1000 connected services, so whatever your actual stack looks like, there's likely a direct connection for it. Here's a list of the services this pipeline uses to get started:

Never lose a content idea again

None of the Applets in this pipeline require the others to work. Start with whichever capture habit matches how ideas actually strike you: if they come to you out loud, start with Step 1. If they come from your audience, start with Step 4.

A content backlog isn't a discipline problem. It's a capture problem. Fix the capture, and the backlog fills itself.

FAQs

Do I need to use all of these capture methods?

No. Pick whichever matches how ideas actually reach you, a note widget for on-the-go thoughts, a form for audience questions, saved posts for inspiration, and build outward as you notice gaps.

Where do these ideas actually end up?

Most land in a Google Sheet, Notion database, Airtable base, or Todoist list, whichever you already use for planning. The point isn't a new tool to check, it's routing ideas into wherever you already work.

What if an idea needs more context than a single note?

Use the Notion-based Applets instead of the spreadsheet ones. A Notion page can hold more than a single row, useful for ideas that need a longer note, a linked source, or space to expand later.

Can this replace actually reviewing my backlog?

No. Capture and review are two different problems. This pipeline solves capture, making sure ideas land somewhere instead of evaporating. You'll still want a regular time to actually open the sheet or database and turn entries into scheduled content.

What if my ideas mostly come from watching what's trending, not audience questions?

Check the Discover More section below. Those Applets are built around catching a trending topic, subreddit, or hashtag the moment it spikes, rather than capturing something you already thought of.