This is a guest post courtesy of Alessandra (love her name!).
It’s a fave sorta topic around BGB land since I am a freelance writer whose biz revolves around online content (just a smidge).
Since writing is essentially BGB’s bread and buttah, feeling a bit stuck some days is pretty common. We can’t all be creative geniuses 24/7 right? Hehe
Fortunately Alessandra is to the rescue! Make her feel welcome in the comments below and feel free to share some of your own tips.
Creating content, and especially content that is deemed valuable, relevant and worth reading is not always easy to achieve. However, inspiration can come from anywhere, so do not give up when the writer’s block seems indestructible.
Whether you are a small business owner coming up with content for your newsletter and blog, or a professional writer creating content for your clients, feeling ‘stuck’ happens to the best of us.
Developing great content is crucial to any strategic marketing plan, but it is important to keep in mind that you are representing a brand, and therefore must deliver content that is relevant to your industry.
It is ok to stray from time to time, but stay focused on your primary agenda, which is to establish yourself as an industry expert and have your brand’s messaging resonate throughout your content.
When creating content it is important to remember these key points:
- Stay consistent with your brand’s messaging
- Content must be seen a valuable and relevant to your readers
- Don’t just throw a bunch of ideas out there and see what sticks. Be strategic in your content marketing plan.
Now that we have reiterated these key points for creating content, let’s talk about where one finds the inspiration to keep coming up with inspired, compelling, and influential online content.
Surf your favorite websites and blogs.
When you are stuck, check out what some of your favorite industry bloggers are saying to inspire your creativity. Keep a collection of your favorite industry and non-industry blogs so you can reference them and remind yourself of your goal.
Discover what they are talking about. They may bring up topics that generate questions, inspiring your next blog post with the answers, inspiring a topic for your next blog post.
Brainstorm with your comrades.
Remember the saying, “The more the merrier”? This isn’t always true, but when you are at a loss, discussing your ideas with friends, fellow bloggers, or coworkers can provide you with insight on topics you should address in your blog.
Write a case study.
Many people do not realize that a lot of content is sitting right there in front on them. Case studies are more valuable than most realize because they not only illustrate how your business is making an impact on your customers, but also give you a chance to showcase your products and services in a less-promotional way.
Case studies are great to make readily available on your website for potential clients and customers to access when determining whether they should use your product or services.
Share stuff!
Share new features, new clients, or any noteworthy news going on within your company. It is great to share your successes, just don’t brag about it. People like working with fresh, successful, and companies that stay ahead of the curve.
Show your readers why they should choose you, or why your current customers should stick around. You may put this on your social media or your newsletter, but not everyone reads them, so blog about it.
On top of sharing what’s new, let them know why it is beneficial to them and how it’s going to affect their lives.
Take a step away.
Get out and breathe a little. Banging your head against a wall is not going inspire great content; it’s going to give you a great headache. If you are stuck, stop thinking so hard about it, in fact, stop thinking about it at all.
Go surf, take a walk, or get a good work out in. Clearing your mind of the business going on inside will make room for other ideas to make their way in.
Re-read your old blog posts.
Find inspiration and ideas from topics you have already written about. Chances are, you will find topics and ideas that you haven’t yet addressed. This is a great way to come full circle with your blog. Remember to refer back to your old blog posts by linking your new blog posts, if applicable.
Content marketing is a key component to any online business, and we all have experienced lack of inspiration.
However, by taking the above steps, you will find that even when you think an idea will never come to you, there are a myriad of ways to inspire ideas, questions, and eventually killer content that will engage and interest the minds of your readers.
Hey you! Yeah you! Please share this post around if you liked it. BGB thanks you. 🙂