Quality content requires serious investments of time and energy. If you've ever written a blog post, designed an infographic, or put together a guide, you know that creating original material is no easy task. How can you make sure that your hard work doesn't go to waste? The best way is to spend time finding out what your audience wants before creating content.

Even if you personally find a topic that fascinates you or think your idea is incredible, that's no guarantee that everyone (or anyone) else will agree. By monitoring or getting involved with the conversations taking place within your industry or niche, you give yourself a much better chance of creating content that people will find relevant, interesting, and worth sharing or linking to. Keep reading to find out where these conversations are happening and how you can use them as a source for content ideas that your audience will connect with.