Coming up with interesting and relevant topics is one of the
most challenging aspects about maintaining a blog. If you don’t provide blog posts that resonate
with your readers then they’ll stop reading and the number of engaged readers
is one of the key metrics in measuring the effectiveness of your blog.
Here are some of the top places that we turn to for
inspirations when setting out on a blog post:
- Real-Life Stories – Real-life stories are awesome because of their originality. The tricky part to real-life stories is making them relevant. Take for example our last blog post about the bird that hopped onto my hand in a client’s parking lot. Yeah, it’s interesting but my readers don’t really care about just that. I had to put a spin on it that made it relevant so I used it to put a human touch on me and my company. What stories serve as a good basis for blog posts? Anything you’d tell your spouse over dinner or a buddy over a beer.
- Life Lessons – Life lessons that you learn from mistakes serve as great blog material because you can show your readership a sense of humility, modesty or vulnerability that they will respect. To err is human and openly discussing your life lessons will add an element of honesty and trustworthiness to you and your company. Also, as well as describing the mistake that you made you can also brag a little bit about how well you rose to the occasion, innovated to correct a mistake or went that extra mile to save the day. Be careful about being too honest, though: you don’t want to give your readers the impression that you’re clumsy, incapable or incompetent.
- Current Events – News headlines are a great source of blog inspiration but again only if you can make it relevant to your readership. How many articles did you see this past summer about how we can learn something to do with our businesses from Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt or Ryan Lochte? How many articles did you see about how we can apply strategies from Angry Birds to our everyday jobs? Apparently everyone from instructional designers to environmentalists to enterprise software firms could all learn a thing or two from Angry Birds.
- LinkedIn Groups – Two particular LinkedIn features are rich with ideas about things to blog about. First, the “LinkedIn Today” section, which shows near the top of the page when you log in, lists top stories of interest. Our favourite source, though, is LinkedIn’s Groups. Join a handful of groups that are related to your business and keep an eye on what is being discussed and you’ll likely find a bountiful supply of blog topics.
- Competitors Blogs – Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? In a pinch, head over to your competitors blogs and see what they are blogging about. A couple of things to keep in mind, though: First, you should only use their topics as inspiration for your own, so don’t steal their content, that’s plagiarism and generally frowned upon. Second, don’t go to this well too often. If you do you risk them – and potentially some of your prospects or clients – finding out. If you are going to do this, make it less obvious by looking at their archives and seeing what they’ve blogged about in the past, it might seem too coincidental if you use their current posts as inspiration.
Conclusion
A well-written blog can be the cornerstone for establishing an online presence that can help your business grow through showcasing your expertise, building credibility with prospects and keeping your clients up-to-date on your latest offerings. However, keeping fresh and relevant content flowing can be tough. There are many sources close at hand that we can draw inspiration from, including real-life stories, life lessons and current events to name but a few. And, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that if you need help starting a new blog or continuing an existing one then we’d love to help. Check out our website and visit our Contact Us page to find out how to get in touch and get started!Other Blog Posts
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you liked this blog post, here are some other blog posts that you might also
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- Social Media and Content Marketing: In-House or Outsource?
- The Importance of Tone in Business Writing
Steve
Hartley, Managing Partner
Fering
Communications Inc.
Website:
www.feringcommunications.com
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