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Do you struggle with finding the right stat or information for your content? You are not alone.

Carrying out research for a topic can be time-consuming, with tens of tabs open, endless scrolling, and lots of chaos.

While this part of content creation is essential, it doesn’t have to be so cumbersome.

All you need is a clear process that will help you find credible and useful info, spot different angles, and ultimately create content that will satisfy your audience’s needs.

In this post, we will share 10 research tips that will make your content research process better and smoother.

Let’s get started.

1. Begin With a Clear Goal or Question You Want to Answer

Your content goal is the first research tip. What do you want to achieve with your content, what’s your content goal?

Is it to sell, get leads, build authority, or just awareness? This will guide what you want to create and the message you want to pass across to your audience.

2. Check Other Content Already Published

Truth is, unless it’s a new invention, there’s already something out there about your topic.

Search for already published only. These will include blogs, social media, journals, and search engines like Google, Pinterest, and YouTube.

It will provide elements you might have missed and other angles to your topic.

This information will also reveal common content formats for your topic, which can inspire you.

3. Spot Knowledge Gaps

What did you notice about the available information? It could be lacking some important steps, have outdated data, or fail to address the audience’s questions.

For example, if a guide on “how to start a blog in 2025” doesn’t include monetization strategies, that’s a possible gap to fill.

Spotting knowledge gaps enables you to create richer content rather than just a copy of existing content.

4. Use Diverse Credible Sources

This research tip is now often overlooked due to the increasing use of AI and excessive confidence in authority.

You can combine sources from expert interviews, academic journals, podcasts, social media, or FAQs.

There’s harm in relying on one or too few sources. The information might be incomplete, biased, or even outdated.

That’s why it’s best to use several credible sources to be certain of the information you are gathering.

Before you trust, check the credibility of the author, the original source of data, and the date of publication.

5. Add Relatable Voices

If you don’t have firsthand knowledge or expertise of your topic, your content could seem off and not relatable. How can you solve this?

Check User Generated Content sites like Quora, Reddit, Facebook groups, and online communities.

This content goldmine reveals firsthand experiences from others, pain points, solutions, and more. This allows you to infuse relatable phrases and voices into your content. 

However, be careful in filtering through these sites; some posts might not be true but promotional.

Also Read: Smart Wins: Leveraging User-Generated Content

6. Rigorously Verify Information

In a time of so much misinformation, you don’t want to share what isn’t true.

Always verify your facts against several sources to ensure that it is accurate.

This will help you avoid errors, ascertain stat credibility, counter wrong information, and support your claims.

If you often use AI in content creation, you should take this tip very seriously because of the inconsistent data output.

7. Organize Your Research As You Go

If your research information is everywhere, you’ll have a hard time putting it together.

Instead, organize as you go. Group your notes to make retrieval easy. You can group by categories or content parts, or bold the main points to stand out.

In addition, add any links to make referencing easy should the need arise.

8. Make It Warm and Practical

Now that you’ve gotten the bulk of the information you need, apply it.

Turn the data into context and analogies that your audience can understand and relate to.

Consider this example: “data shows that viewers retain over 90% of a video message than text only.”

While this is a fact, it means that a majority of your audience gets your message in video content compared to text alone.

You can also do this after researching, but if you have any ideas, you could include them in your research notes.

Our post on finding your unique writing voice might interest you.

9. Know When to Stop Researching

This research tip might seem counterintuitive, but believe me, it’s not.

You have to know when to stop researching, or else you’ll fall into the trap of over-researching for more sources.

When should you stop researching?

Stop when you have gotten at least 3-5 credible sources, have a clear understanding of the subject matter, and have information that answers your audience’s questions.

Related Post: Content Curation vs. Content Creation: What’s the Difference?

10. Move on to Writing

Now that you have done the hard work of gathering information, it’s time to create your content.

The first draft is the hardest part of content creation; I still struggle with first drafts after writing hundreds of blog posts.

It’s best to begin writing right after your research while your thoughts are still fresh.

Remember, the first draft is usually a mess, and that’s fine; it doesn’t have to be perfect.

It’s an important building block that you will refine in the subsequent drafts before publishing.

FInd out how to write a good outline for your content.

Bottom line

Research is the unseen but vital foundation in content creation. It determines what is contained in your content and its outcome.

However, it’s not about knowing everything, it’s knowing what you are looking for with clarity.

With these research tips, you can find the right information for your content and create quality content that stands out.

Which of these tips do you apply when you conduct your content research?