100 Evergreen

Content Ideas
Consider this a shortcut to posting well online.This
guide is your saving grace when you’re stumped.
Your saving grace when you're stumped.

You know that in this day and age, you've got to post
online to get ahead. But, if you're like most people,
there's a road block.

Maybe you're concerned that you'll run out of ideas

if you start too strong, or that people won't care, or
that it will take too long.

I'm here to tell you that writing content doesn't have

to be hard. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. You
just need to answer the right questions.

This guide is going to be your saving grace when

you're stumped. If you've got a blog post that's long
overdue, crack this open, choose a question, and
start writing for your medium. If you're lost for an
Instagram caption, just look here for inspiration and
get posting.

I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions, just

send me a DM on Instagram—@philpallen.

Happy reading.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

I N S P I R AT I O N
01 What’s your favorite
color and why? 06 What do you like
listening to?
I’m into green right now. It goes with earth I don’t like to read, so I listen to audiobooks
tones or as a fresh standalone pop of color. with house music playing simultaneously at a
lower volume to avoid getting bored.

02 What’s your
favorite city?
07 What’s your
favorite hobby?
Mine is probably Stockholm. It’s an often
overlooked city with everything you could I seriously love to travel. I’m fascinated by new
ever want: great food, history, and design. language, culture, and food. Oh, and alcohol.

03 Who’s your very

favorite person? 08 What’s something
you want to try?
I’ll give this one to “momager” Sue. She’s I’ve always wanted to be a reader or learn
endlessly positive and shows kindness to how to DJ. I haven’t made time for either.
everyone she meets. Maybe I need a good book on how to DJ.

04 Who do you idolize,

living or dead? 09 What movie could you
watch 100 times?
I’d choose Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner. She’s Admittedly, I’m not a big movie watcher—my
hardworking, endlessly innovative, and stands attention span is too short, but the movie Up
her ground with a smile. makes me smile and bawl at the same time.

05 What’s the highlight

of your day? 10 Why do you love what
you do?
Agree or disagree: My day is always better I’m grateful that I can work with anyone from
when I make time to exercise. anywhere. I have the best job in the world.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

N O S TA L G I A
11 What career did you
aspire to be growing up? 16 What’s the best place
you’ve ever worked?
I wanted to be an air traffic controller when I My first real job was working at a fine jewelry
grew up (neon wands included). store in Canada. I learned how to connect
with customers, appreciate design, and sell.

12 What was your favorite

class in high school?
17 What’s the best book
you’ve read this year?
This is surprising given my creative profession,
but I always did best in school subjects with Every Solopreneur or freelancer should read
lots of rules like grammar. Company of One by Paul Jarvis. Really inspiring.

13 What other career

would you want? 18 What moment enticed
you to your industry?
I often think about what I’d do if I couldn’t do I knew I appreciated branding when I took a
my current job. Nothing comes to mind. I course on it during my Masters Degree at Full
guess I’m lucky. Maybe a DJ? Sail University. It just clicked.

14 What songs bring back

happy memories? 19 Who was the best boss
you’ve ever had?
Whenever I hear John Mayer’s album Or what do you think makes a good boss?
Continuum, I’m flooded with feel-good Believe it or not, I’ve mostly been my own, so
memories of college. answering this question is challenging for me.

15 What’s a great memory

of the past 5 years? 20 Who from your past
makes you smile?
Mine was visiting Stockholm for the second I’ve known my friend Jake since ninth grade.
time. It felt like returning home. He continues to make me laugh even today.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

FORECASTING
21 Where will your
industry be in 5 years? 26 What worries you
about the future?
Mark my words: everyone will need to be I do find myself getting concerned about all
comfortable talking in front of a camera. the hacking. Do yourself a favor and watch
what you write, publicly and privately.

22 What’s something you’d

recommend someone do?
27 How do you expect
your industry to evolve?
To get ahead of competitors or land that
dream job, get professional photos at least Like the resume of 10 years ago, everyone is
once a year. It’s the best money you’ll spend. going to need a personal brand in the future.

23 What should someone

buy with only $100? 28 What scares you about
the future?
I’d tell them to hire an aspiring photography Keeping up with more social media platforms
student for a quick photo shoot. As far as I’m can feel overwhelming. It’s better to be a
concerned, good photos are required online. rockstar on three than mediocre on ten.

24 Will you always have

your current career? 29 What’s something you
like about the future?
For example, I’m a brand strategist now, but I I’m excited about the efficiencies of working
have a feeling that I’ll be doing more public from home, and the masses becoming more
speaking and training in the future. comfortable with it. Less commuting is a win.

25 What do you like about

your industry’s future? 30 What will be popular
10 years from now?
Instead of having silos between personal and Obviously technology will continue to evolve,
professional, you can have a blend of both. but so will the traditional workplace.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

EXPERIENCE
31 What was the best job
you ever had? 36 Is experience a
blessing or a curse?
I’ve learned something valuable from every job They say experience is everything, but I think
I’ve worked on. Both good and bad. there’s power in looking at something with
zero preconceptions.

32 What was the worst

job you ever had?
37 Do you have any regrets
from past decisions?
I worked in retail for a flagship clothing store
and there was nothing enjoyable about the I would have had my team start using a project
work. Folding and folding and folding. management tool (like Asana or Slack) sooner.

33 What past job most

impacted what you do? 38 What’s one thing you
wish you learned earlier?
I’ll never forget the time I pitched my first I’ve learned from experience that bigger isn’t
website project. I was so nervous and put so necessarily better. I enjoy having a small
much care into the proposal. company with a less stressful workload.

34 Are you a good

manager? 39 Who’s the best person
you’ve worked with?
I try to be aware of my weaknesses, and one I always work best with colleagues who think
of them is definitely delegating. I like to do and act differently from me. How about you?
things myself but that’s often not the solution.

40 What advice would

35 What does leadership you give someone?

mean to you? It’s important to do work that you really enjoy
To me, leadership is helping people become doing since you’re going to be spending a lot
aware of skills they didn’t know they had. of time doing it.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

FA I LU R E S
41 What’s your biggest
failure in life? 46 What do you do if you
make a mistake?
Every time you fail, you learn something that As much as it pains me to say, we all makes
will help you win. mistakes, but we learn from them. What was
your most recent one?

42 If you could change one

thing in your past…
47 What if your teammate
makes a mistake?
I wish I’d been more confident in my rate
earlier in my career. You’re often worth more I consider the fact that the fault might lie in
than you think you are. the system you’re working within.

43 What mistake do you

hope to never make? 48 How do you know when
to say goodbye?
I used to organize my daily tasks in my inbox. I’ll work with anyone who has the right
Switching to a software tool enabled me to attitude . But as soon as a client is
prioritize a lot better. disrespectful, that’s when I say goodbye.

44 What’s your greatest

weakness? 49 Does money make you
stressed or happy?
I tend to run away from spreadsheets. Be It’s definitely a combination for me, but I’m
aware of your weaknesses, and find someone less motivated by it than I used to be.
who has that as a strength.

50 How do you avoid

45 How do you get past dwelling on the past?

failure? We all do it, but it’s not the most productive
When I have a bad day, I let myself brood for use of time or energy. Don’t look back. Look
12 hours, and then it’s time to move on. ahead instead.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
51 What obstacle have
you overcome in life? 56 What in your professional
life are you proud of?
I moved to LA with no job, no friends, and no No matter what work throws at me, always
car. I still don’t drive, but I figured out the rest. try to be positive and see the good in people.

52 What inspires you

the most? 57 What was the best grade
you ever got in school?
I’m inspired most by travel. Foreign cities, My favorite class in high school was English—
architecture, food, and people. It always opens specifically grammar. I loved the structure and
my eyes and imagination. rules.

53 When you’re having a

bad day, what do you do? 58 Have you ever won
any awards?
If it’s a bad day, don’t force it. An afternoon off I won an award in college for a piece I did on
won’t affect anyone, but it will make all the donating blood. Do you think awards matter?
difference for you. Why or why not?

54 What are three things

you’re grateful for? 59 What legacy do you
hope to leave behind?
I’m grateful for my health, my freedom, and my I try to be hardworking, trustworthy, and fair.
ability to wear sweatpants while I work from It’s what I hope to be remembered for.
home. Thank the Lord for that.

60 Which family member

55 What in your personal are you most proud of?

life are you proud of? My mom never received a formal computer
I’m proud of my ability to make every moment lesson, but she’s worked hard to become
of my life an adventure. proficient and helpful.

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HYPOTHETICALS
61 A customer is unhappy.
What do you do? 66 Someone offers to buy
your company…
I’ve discovered the best way to overcome a If someone offered to buy your company,
hiccup is to get on the phone and talk it out. would you take it? I don’t think I’d say yes
(even if it was a lot of money).

62 A business opportunity
falls through. What now?
67 You have to move cities
for a dream job…
Your business will have ups and downs. During
the downs, act a fine balance of rocking what I don’t think I could ever work a job now that
you do best and trying something new. forced me to work in one place.

63 You’re on deadline but

exhausted. What now? 68 Build a company for scale
or for lifestyle?
I’m the type of person who needs to sit down Obviously the idea of a big payout is exciting,
and hammer out work, even if it means pulling but I’ve built my work entirely around my
an all-nighter. lifestyle, and that’s my preference.

64 Is it important to
always be honest? 69 You win the lottery.
What do you do next?
I think it’s important to be honest if it’s going I would still want to work on the types of
to help the other person. projects I do today. I guess that’s a good sign!

70 If you could live

65 Working with a friend isn’t anywhere else, where?

going well. What now? I think I’d choose Mexico because the cost of
When something’s not working out, don’t living is lower and the weather, food and
force it. Know when to part ways. people are fantastic.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

GOALS
71 What do you want out
of your life? 76 Do you have your sights
set on any awards?
On days I’m not feeling it, I take a breath and I don’t think much about awards, but if I had
remind myself of the big picture. to choose one, I’d say Fast Company’s Most
Creative People.

72 What do you want out

of your career?
77 Imagine yourself one
year from now…
My goal in life is to be recognized as the
world’s leading personal branding expert. I look forward to continuing my frequent
Ambitious, I know. travels and working on my own terms.

73 Work alone or with

a team? 78 Any advice for someone
setting goals?
I’ve always been a team player for the most I’m always amazed at how every little thing
part. I find working alone more challenging. adds up. 5 minutes a day on a task can save
Are you the same? you major time in the long run.

74 Do you have a
monetary/sales goal? 79 Where will you be 20
years from now?
I find it hard to set a sales goal. I just try to I wish I could see where I’ll be 20 years from
work as hard as possible. now. Maybe a tarot reading will do the trick.

75 What do you want to

be remembered by? 80 Do you struggle with
NY resolutions?
Remember: The way you make someone feel I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s
is more important than what you say. resolutions. I’d rather just start now.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

O B S E RVAT I O N S
81 Who are your indirect
competitors and why? 86 What’s something
people might not know?
An indirect competitor satisfies the same For example, a personal brand identity doesn’t
customer need as you, but in a different way. have to mean a logo. A good photo, consistent
color, and clean font could work.

82 Who are your direct

competitors and why?
87 What issues need to
be solved?
My direct competitor is anyone who
specializes in personal branding. Thankfully I People think that your content has to be
haven’t found that person (yet). brilliant. It doesn’t. Just write what you know.

83 Name a few observations

about your competitors. 88 Who are the leaders in
your industry?
I admire branding agencies who present their I’m proud to be friends with amazing thought
portfolio in a thoughtful, creative way. Mass leaders like Janet Murray, Kaye Putnam, or
portfolios can look junky. Jenny Melrose.

84 What does your

customer care about? 89 What behavioral trends
have you noticed?
The quality of your work matters, but if you People are going to invest less in outsourced
truly listen to your client, the quality should be content and invest more in tools that allow
an automatic result. quick content creation.

85 Where is your industry

heading? 90 What type of marketing
works best?

I think personal branding will be a norm, even Online, the best kind of marketing recreates

within corporate structures. the in-person experience.

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 100 EVERGREEN CONTENT IDEAS

A D M I R AT I O N
91 Who’s got the best
work ethic? 96 What’s the best
character trait?
My designers Kostya and Thanh both have an I’d say honesty, trust or dependability. Those
amazing work ethic. They work very hard. are really important character traits to me.

92 Whose career do you

wish you could have? 97 Who do you admire for
overcoming adversity?
Do you ever wonder what would happen if When visiting South Africa, I visited the Nelson
you decided on a different career path? What Mandela museum and it was incredible to learn
might that look like? more about his story and influence.

93 If you could switch places

with anyone, who? 98 What quality do you like
most about yourself?
If I could swap places with anyone for a day, it I think I’m generous when it comes to giving
would probably be Cardi B. I’d love to know people time and resources to help them out,
what it feels like to be completely unfiltered. and I’m glad I have that quality.

94 Who’s someone you’d

love to meet in person? 99 Name one of your
brand heroes.
A lot of entrepreneurs might say Richard I love the brand Ugmonk by Jeff Sheldon for
Branson or Elon Musk, but I’m more excited its beautifully designed products.
by people in media like Oprah.

95 Who was the best

teacher you’ve had?
100 Who would be your
dream client?
I’d love to opportunity to work with a prime
I had many in high school that were inspiring. minister or a president on building their
Too many to choose from. brand, digital footprint, and legacy.

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 Now what? It doesn’t have to end here.

COURSE S E RV I C E S RESOURCES
Create a content workflow that We know that branding is the Blog posts, podcast episodes,
you can actually stick with. most powerful business tool to ebooks and worksheets—all
What, when and how to post. achieve your goals. focused on helping you brand.

→ → →

Last updated 05/16/20

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