If you’re like most of us, sometimes you get stuck. No matter how hard you try you can’t think of what to write that will interest your blogging network.
The problem is that we can’t just write about what we want, right? We have to write topics that are geared towards our audience. So, when I’ve hit a dead end, I like to:
Look on social media
I’m sure that you’ve read lots of advice about how to figure out what went viral and use it in your business. Well, don’t do that. Seriously, stop blogging what everyone else is blogging.
Instead, I want you to spin the ideas you see on social media differently than you are currently seeing them. If someone wrote an article titled, The 10 Best of something, go ahead and write, The 10 Worst of the same thing. If you see that a friend is asking a question, answer the question … in a blog.
If their question is: Where should I take my family for a beach vacation?
The blog will be: 3 Best Beaches for Kids (That Won’t Break the Bank)
Here’s an extra tip: Throw your post into the comment section after you’re done. You’ll get to piggy-back on their following but in a meaningful way that shouldn’t get you the stink eye from social media moderators.
Ask for ideas from your audience
Companies sometimes forget one major thing about mining for new content; You can ask your people what they want to read from you. I recently read a true-story adventure book by an author who never once mentioned her personal life.
She popped in references to Whole Foods and Gucci shoes, but I’ll be darned if after 300 pages I knew if she had a boyfriend at home or not … or a cat, for that matter.
You can also ask your contractors, vendors, employees and other associates to give you three topics each. Title a mass email: “Blog Help, Please” and let your team give you advice.
Have a good following? Send out a Survey Monkey questionnaire. Phrase every question in a way that makes it necessary to give solid answers. So, if you’re a travel agency, mining for new beach content:
- Where is your favorite beach?
- How many days are ideal for a beach vacation?
- What three things make a good beach?
Turn the answers into a research based blog topic that will be completely unique to you – a hugely shareable feature of blogs, by the way – such as: “Wow! 300 People Said This Was Their Best Beach Destination.”
Take pictures to inspire you
Once upon a time, long long ago when being a professional copywriter was just a twinkle in my 20-something year old eye, I had to write for a sign company blog. Bleh.
And it was brutal to get some of those SEO keywords into the blog. I learned one little trick that helped me rank some of the top blogs in the company; I started to use pictures.
When you see anything at all related to your field in action, snap a picture with your phone. I was able to show my audience a rusted channel letter (and how to fix it or call a sign service to fix it) as well as exactly how grocery stores were using floor graphics.
The bonus is that you own the photos. Plus you probably won’t find any images specific to those topics online. It makes it easy to discuss what you need to without any fear that you won’t be offering a fun, funny, cool blogging topic.
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How to Find New, Fun, Funny, Cool Blogging Topics
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