Sometimes the obvious is so close to your nose you can't see it. I just spent the last 30 minutes searching for an idea that would make a good blog post about writing on the Web and content marketing.
One of the best ways to get ideas for content is by cruising over to MyAlltop page to read a few of my favorite bloggers for inspiration. Even if I don't find something, I always get an education and a feel for what's going on in the world of marketing and content strategies. For example, Problogger is a great resource of ideas.
Darren Rowse is challenging readers of Problogger.net to a 31 Day Build a Better Blog effort. Today is day 3. His suggestion from Day 2 is Write a List Post.
Ah-hah! It suddenly struck me… I can make a list post of the eight ways to search for inspiration and information for writing content for a blog post. Here we go.
- Open up MyYahoo Page and read feeds of blogs I subscribe to as well as news feeds.
- Go to Alltop.com and look at the Top Content Marketing blogs as well as MyAlltop.com where my favorite blogs are all aggregated on one page
- Open up Gmail and see if any clients present a challenge or question that can make a good post
- Look at the books I'm currently reading to see if anything pops to mind (Think Again, Spark, Subliminal Persuasion, Why We Buy, How We Decide, Predictably Irrational... I know, I read a lot at one time)
- Review my list of recent posts to see if I'm leaving a gap in my current writing, if anything needs to be added
- Review my list of comments to see if anyone has posted a significant contribution that can make a good post
- Look at any products or services that need to be featured, to promote them
- Think about what readers want and need most, how can I be most helpful to them, review any polls or surveys
That last tip, number 8, really should be #1 on the list. If you're not continually keeping reader's interests in mind, you're missing the most important reason for writing content.
What else can be added to this list? How do you find inspiration? What are the step you go through as your search for content ideas?
If you want to beef up your blog, don't hesitate to join Darren's 31 day challenge. If nothing else, you'll get plenty of ideas to post about! You might even end up with a better blog, what a concept…
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