So you’ve launched your blog. You’ve named it something cleverer than just “blog,” and you’ve posted a few pieces. Now what? How do you generate new content for it? Fortunately, your potential sources surround you—your colleagues and employees, clients, and prospects. The conversations already happening can provide a generous source of ideas—provided you learn to listen to them slightly differently.
When I worked on writing teams, we used to spend quite a bit of time seemingly shooting the breeze. Topics varied widely—the news, the questions we got from colleagues, the things we were reading, and, yes, analyses of our various teams’ recent wins and losses. I’m confident many thought we were wasting time—but in fact, those conversations were often the source of our content ideas. We’d be chatting and suddenly, one of us would say, “Hey! That’s your next blog post!” Often it would be about something about which we were particularly fired up. The best topics (and therefore, posts) are those on which you offer a strong point of view—on which you willingly plant a flag and defend your position. Such opinions make for more interesting reading (provided, of course, you make your case articulately and clearly).
Incidentally, this is why writers are often best in packs. Yes, it’s possible to write solo, but I’ve never found my writing suffered from kicking it around with colleagues or friends. On the contrary—they’ve often provided a fresh perspective I hadn’t thought of. Or pointed out a hole in my argument or a logical leap—feedback for which I’m always grateful prior to publishing, as opposed to learning about my failings from readers. Good writers are always grateful to be surrounded by fellow writers who can help them iron out their arguments.
Another good content source is questions from clients and prospects. Answer a handful of common questions in a single post (or heck, several) that not only helps those folks who’ve already asked but may also reach some who’ve not yet thought to ask them. Then, too, consider the questions you don’t get. Maybe the not asking betrays a misunderstanding or knowledge gap among your target audience—answering the unasked and unidentified questions provides the kind of value many readers will likely recognize, increasing the likelihood you create a consistent audience.
Coming up with content boils down to being informed about your field. What’s topical? What’s timeless? If you haven’t covered that ground yet, you should have a decent well from which to draw for a while. And when all those posts are written, start listening to the daily conversations around you differently—if you tune in, you’ll no doubt find the seeds of new posts. Yes, including the chatter about the latest episode of your favorite show. Or even last weekend’s football game—I once wrote a blog post about the stock market lessons to be gleaned from being a Cal football fan. Anything’s possible!
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