How Do I Keep My Blog Fresh and Pertinent?
For some, the answer to this question is as difficult to answer as responding to a 6-year-old asking: “Where do babies come from mommy?” You kind of know, but can’t really explain it in words that your toddler understands. Instead, you yammer on about fairies or the cabbage patch and change the subject as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, in business today, you can’t ignore this valid question if you want to continue to make your blog as valuable as possible. After all, you aren’t creating this daily, weekly or monthly content for your health — blogs can play an important role in your current marketing strategy. And if they don’t, they should!
What If I Run Out of Ideas?
Solopreneurs who don’t have a partner or staff to turn to for blog ideas often have the worst time. When the well runs dry, it can be difficult to replenish without outside help. That’s where your network of peers, your tribe, your drinking buddies, your family and friends come in. Don’t hesitate to tap into their creativity by:
- Throwing out a challenge over a dinner party so everyone can collaborate
- Sending out a call for ideas through your private messaging apps
- Asking for help one on one or in small groups
- Creating a game with prizes for the best ideas to be played at parties
Even if you work within a partnership, corporation or team environment, it can be tough to draw others out to help you with what they may assume is your work task. If you’re the boss or a supervisor, try:
- Using the same technique as you do at parties, with prizes each week for the best idea (note: one good idea is always worth at least a drink at the local coffeeshop)
- Requiring one to three ideas a week from all team members as a part of their job description
- Doling out the duty of coming up with a brilliant blog idea each week to a different team member or partner
- Adding 20 to 30 minutes onto monthly staff meetings for a brainstorming session, taking note of all blog ideas, whether you plan to use them or not (you never know when what you think is a bad idea at the time, turns out to be gold later on)
What Are the Best Blog Ideas?
Once you’ve figured out where to glean your best blog ideas, you need to develop cues and clues to get yourself and your idea teams on track. Ideas flow best in a brainstorming environment, but the second-best way to trigger good ideas is with simple guides such as:
- How the blog ideas relate to current events
- Where the ideas fit into your business model
- What the ideas have to do with the seasons
- When the best blog ideas relate to holidays
- Who might the target of the blog be in any certain week
- Why anyone should care about the blog content
Kick off the creative juices with little nudges that answer the who, what, where, when, why or how. Let your idea-makers know that you want blog ideas that month to follow a pattern or a theme. Get in the habit of cultivating blog ideas on a regular basis instead of waiting till deadline time and you won’t ever have to answer that uncomfortable question again because you’ll know exactly where your next great blog ideas come from.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.