After several months of steady blogging and regular newsletters, you
may be running short on ideas. When work picks up and you're running
from one project to the next, your readers usually take a backseat.
Besides, when your creativity is already stretched to the limit,
conjuring up ideas can seem like an impossible task.
Unfortunately, your readers may have already moved on by the time
you're ready to start writing again. With new blogs and newsletters
popping up daily in every industry, your competition could be taking
advantage of your dry spell.
Rather than letting your blog or newsletter go for weeks or
even months without updating, spark your inspiration with these simple
tips:
Get to know your audience
For any publication to succeed (and yes, your blog or
newsletter is a publication), it needs to deliver content readers
actually care about. In order to do this, you need to come up with a
reader profile. Hopefully you did this when you first started your blog
or newsletter. If not, this is a great time to re-focus and help get
the creative juices flowing again.
Think about your readers. What age group do they fall into? What are
their interests? Are they working in a specific industry? If so, are
they managers, CEOs, financial officers?
Create a clear picture in your mind of your top readers. Imagine a
person to represent each of your top 3 audience groups and write as
though you are speaking to these people.
Creating must-read content
Once you define your reader base, you need to focus on topics they want to read about. Ask yourself the following questions:
What problems are your readers or clients having? What issues
do they care about? What trends can you comment on? Have your clients
or readers asked questions or left comments that might make good
article topics?
Stay current on the latest news
News items provide endless possibilities for content. Bookmark
a few good news sources with interesting stories and look through them
when you're brainstorming topics for your blog. Weigh in on interesting
stories, industry trends, and new techniques from your unique
perspective. Also, by covering the latest trends, your blog or
newsletter can gain a reputation for cutting-edge content.
Read what they're reading
Browsing magazines, blogs, and other newsletters that your
readers already love will give you an idea of what they are interested
in. Consider spin-off stories related to topics you find in these
publications.
Added bonus for blogs: If you write a spin-off story, you can comment
on their blog and mention your article. Do this tactfully, and invite
them to comment on your story as well.
Added bonus for magazines: If your content is truly high
quality, consider pitching your story to the magazine as a column or
special feature. Take a look at their writer's guidelines and mention
the article when you write to the appropriate editor. List a few points
you cover in your piece and any credentials you have as a writer or
expert in your field.
Branch out
Your existing material could turn out to be a gold mine for new
article ideas. Look at old topics you've written about. Would any of
the sub-points make good articles by themselves? You can expand
previous articles into a series to cover things with greater depth, or
cover an old article from a new angle.
This will also help maintain a tight focus for your blog or newsletter.
However, take care that you don't simply say the same thing over and
over. Each article needs to have a unique focus and provide useful
information for new and old readers alike.
Keep a topics list handy
A little brainstorming on a regular basis can go a long way
towards maintaining a fresh stream of content. You may see a news story
or read an article that would be perfect material for a blog or
newsletter article.
If you don't have a single place to store these ideas, you'll be back
in the same spot again when inspiration runs dry. Keeping a "Topics"
document in your newsletter file lets you jot things down as they come
to mind, and prevents ideas from being lost.
If you're running low on ideas, Chris Brogan has a list of 100 blog topics here. Check it out, and see if any of the topics spark something for you.
The world is full of useful ideas for your blog or newsletter.
"I don't have anything to write about" shouldn't be an excuse any
longer. Keep your blog or newsletter updated consistently, and you'll
keep a loyal reader base that could very well turn into customers
someday.