to a current event? Open up your daily newspaper or your RSS news reader and
see what's happening in the world, your country, your state, or your city.
Give your opinion about the event and a solution, if you have it, and relate
that to your business if you can.
2. Trends in your industry. I read constantly and subscribe
to more industry publications than I have time to review. However, there are
a handful that I do regularly read, and it's to those that I look to for
what the trends seem to be. When you blog about the trend, put your unique
perspective on it, or write a rebuttal post, disagreeing with the relevance
of the trend.
3. Get personal. Tell a story about what's happening in your
life or in your business that would be useful or instructive for your
readers. Chronicle both your highs and lows, your wins and your struggles.
One key to successful blogging is getting personal with your readers. The
more "real" you are with your readers, the better your reader gets to know
you and begins to like and trust you. You become a "real, live" human being
to them who faces similar issues that they face.
4. Top 10. Most of my writing is in the form of a Top 10
list because it's an easy way for me to outline the points I want to make
and then go back and fill in the details for each point. In this case, each
of your points for a topic can become an individual blog post, and when all
the points are complete, you can compile the full list for an article for
your ezine or website.
5. Frequently asked questions. If you've been in business
for awhile, you know the questions that clients and prospective clients ask
you to answer over and over again. Instead of repeatedly responding to the
same questions, write a series of blog posts that answer your target
market's most frequently asked questions.
6. How you helped a client solve a problem. Clients hire you
to solve a specific problem they're having, whether they do that when they
buy your service or your product. List 3-5 most recent problems that you
have helped your clients solve. Create a post that talks about the problem
and the solution you provided (either with your client's permission, or by
making it generic enough to hide the client's identity) that becomes a
learning experience for your readers.
7. Interview an expert. What people do you know and admire
in your industry? If you admire them, chances are that members of your
target market do, as well. Contact them for a short email or recorded
interview and ask them 3-5 questions that you'd like to hear them answer
about their lives, their businesses, industry trends, or how to solve a
particular problem. Publish the interviews as blog posts, adding audio and
graphics if you have them.
8. Solicit and answer questions. Ask your ezine subscribers
or blog readers to ask you their most pressing question related to what you
do. I do this and get questions for 1-2 blog posts per week, and it helps me
stay in touch with the needs of my readers, as well.
9. Review something. Read a good book lately related to your
industry? Just purchased a product to help you solve a problem? Reviews
aren't limited to the critics at the New York Times. Blog about your
experience with a product, book, or service, highlighting both the high
points and low points, and whether you would recommend that others use or
purchase it.
10. Read other blogs. Go to Google's Blog Search or
Technorati and find other blogs related to your industry or your target
market. Add those to your blog reader and take an hour or two each week to
read the posts on those blogs. Do you agree or disagree with the post? Have
another point of view? Think the blogger was on target but you want to
expand on her point of view? Reading other blogs is a great way to generate
ideas for your own blog.
11. Keep an idea file. Sometimes a blogging idea or concept
will strike you when you don't need (or want) to blog. Begin a blog idea
file by creating a document or spreadsheet to track your ideas and thoughts.
If you're in the zone, go ahead and write the post, and then you can post it
to your blog on a day when the idea well is dry.
12. Create a tutorial. There's always something you can tell
your target market how to do. Create a written, audio, or video tutorial of
the process as your blog post. Depending on the complexity of the tasks, the
tutorial may need to created in multiple parts, like Part 1, Part 2, etc.,
which would make for multiple posts to your blog.
13. Share a positive/negative email. I often share
exceptionally positive or negative emails I receive from people (without
names to protect their identity as appropriate) either to celebrate kudos
I've received or to demonstrate how I responded to a particularly nasty or
upsetting comment. I get the most mileage out of the negative emails, and I
often ask for feedback about how my readers might respond to the situation.
14. Take a tour. Take a self-made in-person or virtual tour
of something useful to your readers. For example, if you're a dating coach,
tour the top 5 online dating sites and report your experiences as a client
in each. If you're a restaurant consultant, visit 3 local restaurants and
evaluate what's often overlooked in staff training based on your experience
as a customer.
15. Write about a Twitter or Facebook update. You only get
140 characters in Twitter to write about something. If you need more space,
or want to respond in greater length to someone's Tweet or Facebook status
update, do so in your blog. Thought-provoking questions are often asked on
Twitter, and the answers may inspire you to blog.
16. Create a "Best of" list. What are the top 7 blogs to
read in your industry? How about the top 5 people to watch? What about the
10 most useful online tools you use? Nothing attracts attention on a blog
quicker than a list, so create one yourself or ask your readers to help you
in the process.
17. Report from an event. Attending a professional trade
show, conference, or networking event? You can report live about your
experiences at the event on your blog. Talk about the workshops your
attended, the vendors you met, the speaker you heard -- the sky's the limit!
18. Debunk a myth. Each industry is plagued with myths and
fallacies about success/failure or what does/doesn't work that the industry
professionals would like to see vanquished once and for all. Use your blog
to debunk some of the most common myths/preconceptions/notions in your
industry and set the record straight.
19. Talk to newbies. Picture yourself as a newbie in your
industry once again. What do you know now that you didn't know then? What
questions did you ask? What knowledge do you have that you think everyone
knows? Getting back to the basics can help bring all of your blog readers up
to speed.
20. Write about a client conversation. Many times I'm
inspired to blog as an expansion or continuation of a conversation I had
with a client. The blog post focuses on a topic of the conversation, not the
conversation itself. Typically the strategy/idea/technique you've discussed
with one client will benefit your blog readers as well.
This is just the tip of a very large iceberg of ideas for
posts to your blog. Take a look around your life, your business,
conversations with clients and colleagues, and what's happening in the world
around you. You'll soon begin to see more potential for blog posts than you
ever thought possible!
AskDonnaGunter.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment