Introduction
You know the feeling. You want to write the content for your blog, but you have no idea what to write about. This is a problem that many of us face on a regular basis. Fortunately, there are ways to come up with ideas for writing blog posts without having to spend too much time thinking about it! In this blog I’ll show you what I’ve discovered that works for me.
Let’s dive in…
The importance of good content
Good content is a necessity for any business. Content is the foundation of your brand, and it should be engaging, useful, and easy to access. This can mean anything from informational blog posts about new products or service offerings to videos explaining how someone can use your product in their daily life.
You want your customers (and potential customers) to be able to find you easily when they’re looking for something specific.
What makes good content?
In order to create content that your audience will want to read, it needs to be clear and concise. It should use simple language in a conversational tone. The content needs to be relevant for the people you’re targeting—not just interesting or entertaining on its own. It’s also important that visuals are used effectively so that your readers can easily digest what they’re reading without becoming overwhelmed by too much information at once. Finally, make sure there are calls to action included at the end of each piece so readers know exactly what they need to do next (e.g., sign up for an email list).
How do I come up with ideas?
Sometimes, when you’re in content creation mode, there is no shortage of ideas flying around your head. Other times, you’re just staring at a white page and a blinking cursor. You may have an idea for a post that’s been floating around for weeks or even months. You might have thought about it for only seconds when someone asked a question about it at a conference or meetup that got you thinking about how to write it. Or perhaps there are dozens of other things you could do with all your ideas—blog posts, podcasts, videos, ebooks…
The key is not letting any of them go by without taking action on them:
- Take notes and record calls (take every meeting as if it were going to be recorded).
- Share videos and articles that give context to what you’re talking about.
- Expand on existing content (you don’t need new ideas when there’s so much out there already).
- Create content from existing content (curation is better than creation).
Take notes and record calls (take every meeting as if it were going to be recorded).
Make a point of taking notes during meetings, and record calls if possible. These are the kinds of things that are difficult to remember later when you’re trying to write them down. If you’re taking notes on a laptop or tablet, keep the screen open so you can see what you wrote as soon as it comes out of your head.
Because of the confidential nature of my client’s call, I typically only record my part of the feed (my own camera and audio). I review these recordings later and many times they are the basis of my content creation. If you’re recording the whole call, make sure that the person on the other end knows that you’re recording the call so they don’t get offended by it.
Finally, when you’re done with your call, make sure that you’ve got everything saved and organised in one place.
Take note of ideas that come up during the day
Whether you’re at home or in the office, take note of ideas that come up during the day. I typically use Apple Notes and Notion for this.
For me, this is the most important part of the process. Even if you write down all of your ideas and notes, they won’t amount to anything if they’re not organized to allow for effective decision-making later on.
Take notes of your conversations
You can also keep track of your conversations by taking notes in a notebook, on your phone or with a post-it note.
If you’re using an app like Notion or Apple Notes, that’s perfect! If not, then use whatever works best for you. Just make sure you write down everything that comes up during those chats so that you don’t lose it.
Share videos
As you know, video is the most popular and best medium to engage your audience. You can share snippets of calls with real clients or interviews with experts in the field. It makes it more genuine and it helps you to revisit some of the ideas which you would have explored.
Additionally, you can create a series of videos on how your product or service can help them solve their problem. This allows them to understand what exactly are you offering and why should they buy from you instead of any other company in the market?
Expand on ideas
Now that you’ve got your ideas down, it’s time to expand them into something more concrete. This is where you actually start writing the content. You can do this by adding more examples, links, images and videos:
- More specific: You might have had a general idea in mind, but now it’s time to get specific. What exactly are you going to talk about? A better question is probably “What are my readers interested in learning about right now?” or “What would I like someone else to help me learn today?”
- More detail: If there was one thing that wasn’t clear enough from what was written last week (or if there was one thing you wish somebody had told you), write more on that subject! It doesn’t necessarily have to be an entire post of its own—just add some extra detail here and there were needed so people don’t have any questions left unanswered by the end of their reading experience with your website/podcast/blog etcetera…
Conclusion
Now that you know what kind of content you want to have, it’s time to start creating. You don’t need to be an expert at coming up with ideas, but it helps if you have some knowledge about your topic or industry. The best way to do this is by looking at what you’re already saying daily in your conversations. Then ask yourself: Do these comments make sense? What would happen if I applied those ideas to my business? After all, we hope this blog post helps guide you towards creating something engaging enough so that readers will come back again and again!