News & Notes

I have a lot of people ask me how I come up with ideas to blog about every day.  It’s not that difficult – I just end up thinking quite a bit about various topics that can also be used for blog posts.  Not all the time, mind you, but I do carry around various devices (iphone, pen & paper) to record ideas when they do hit.  Here’s some ways to get ideas:

1. Read – a lot – Other blogs, Twitter feeds, books.  Anything related to your area of business (and some that aren’t) can spark a great blog post.
2. Ask – your customers, your colleagues, your friends.  What have they always wanted to know about (related to your business/industry)?
3. Help – Provide helpful information, not only specific to your products and services, but related to your industry in general.
4. Brainstorm – Sometimes just a regular old brainstorming session surfaces some great new post ideas.
5. Spark – some controversy – Within reason, feel free to have and state an opinion related to your industry.  Just do it in a friendly way, back up what you say and invite others to comment.
6. Converse – with other bloggers. Post your thoughts on what others are blogging about.
7. Share – links to other sources of information.  Feel free to add your thoughts and comments.
8. Review – products and services of interest to your readers.  Skip your own (and probably those of your competitors).
9. Support – take a look at questions your customers are frequently asking.  If you have a FAQ (frequently asked questions), take the time to expand on them in various postings.
10. Inform – Keep your readers aware of various events, industry happenings and news of interest.
11. Create – If you’ve been able to gather some information or data that may be of interest to your readers/customers, create white papers and supporting blog posts to share your findings.
12. Reuse – Take old posts and update them.  If you do list posts like this one, take them and expand on the individual items in larger posts.

For tips on how to get started, check out today’s post over on Insights Group – Blogging, Are You?

How do you get ideas for business blogging?

(photo by apesara @ Flickr CC)

Technorati tags: content strategy, blogging strategy, blogging, content, strategy, business, marketing

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