For a lot of business owners and marketers, the hardest part about creating a great piece of content is taking the very first step: sitting down to face a blank screen until an idea for a blog post comes to mind.
It’s easy for that momentary delay or confusion to turn into full-blown writer’s block. To help save you from that dreaded fate, here are a handful of things you can do to find a great blog topic in five minutes or less…
Look Through Your Inbox
A quick scan of your email inbox will probably yield dozens of topics that your prospects and customers have been asking about. These questions or issues can make great starting points for new posts. For one thing, they deal with topics you probably have to regularly dress anyway. And for another thing, if one buyer has a question, then it’s likely others will, too.
Check Your Social Feed
In the same way, a quick look through your feed on Facebook, Twitter, or Google + could uncover a number of subjects that are on buyers’ minds. This is particularly true if your industry (or the industry your customers work within) is undergoing major changes or shifts. Speak to subjects your readers already care about, and you’ll find the key to getting views and comments on your blog posts.
Imagine Your Ideal Customer
Picture your ideal customer in your mind. What do they look like? Where do they work? How do they make buying decisions? And most importantly, what would they want to know about your products and services? Or conversely, what would you want them to know about what you sell? The closer you can get to the heart of these matters, the easier it is to produce great blog posts that readers will love.
Scan the News
News items are everywhere, but real insight and actionable advice is hard to find. So, if scanning the headlines gives you an idea you can use to make a good point, why not build on the item and make it personal to your readers? You’ll have the added advantage of producing a blog post that is timely and relevant to current events. Note that the news piece you draw from doesn’t even have to be nationwide, local, or tied to your industry. Just find something that helps you illustrate a point and see where your creativity takes you.
Pick From Your Evergreen List
Every marketer should have an ever-growing list of blog topics to pull from. These should be subjects you want to write or post about at some point, and that can be used regardless of what else is happening on the calendar or in the world. These tend to be of the “how to” or “quick tips” variety, and are the staple of many successful marketing blocks. If you don’t already have a topic list started, consider beginning one today. It can be a life-saver when you don’t feel inspired to come up with a new post.
Creating unique, interesting, and timely blog posts is a cornerstone of your search engine optimization efforts. Give our device a try and see just how easy it can be to come up with the article concepts you need. Make them habit, and you’ll never have to face a blank screen again!
