It’s a tough job keeping up with your blog and it’s even harder to keep topics fresh and interesting without the content sounding bored, cliché, or even worse; just like every other blog in your industry. Here are a few ideas to help spark some new topics. Or, if you outsource your blog writing, this is a good way to keep a running list of themes to present to your blog writing service.
Past Blog Posts:
Good news! All that hard work you’ve already put into your blog can be recycled. Those posts will provide you with lots of useful information about what your audience finds interesting. Review your most popular blog posts. Take bits and pieces of the posts and change up the angle to give the topic a fresh perspective.
Debate:
People love to see two different sides to something. Conflicting viewpoints bring a post alive! If you have a topic that can be examined from two different sides, lay it out in a post. Or, even better, if you interview or have two writers contribute their opinions, it’s a great way to bring intensity to the post. This also could be a great way to get some readers to leave comments on the subject.
Questions or Feedback:
What are salespeople hearing on the other end of the line during sales calls? Check in with them to see if those questions or feedback could be turned into a blog post. Or, has your marketing department done any industry surveys lately that resulted in some interesting data that’s worth sharing? As I discussed in my previous post, The three problems content marketing can solve, it’s important to bring your audience what they need and educate them on the subject you are an expert at.
Google Alerts:
Set an alert with a few industry keywords. Go through the headlines and save the interesting links for future use. If you see several headlines about a particular topic, you’ve got a blog theme and you already know the interest is out there.
Industry Events:
Attend industry events, journal about your experience, write down your best takeaways and check the event’s Twitter hashtag to find out what everyone on the Twitterverse is saying about it. Write a blog post soon after it’s over and tell your readers something interesting you’ve learned from attending. Remember to include the event’s hashtag; if applicable, join the conversation and bring more exposure to your post.
Try these techniques and see if brainstorming for topics becomes a little easier. Blog topics are all around us, we just have to take note and keep track so when it’s time to write, the idea is already there.
