People often ask me where my blog inspiration comes from. After all, I have been writing about marketing, social media, graphic and web design, email and content marketing for nine years. While some things change often, much has remained the same, so how do I find new ideas to keep the content fresh? Here are some of my favorite sources of blog inspiration.
Blog Inspiration Comes from Customers
Answer questions – Every conversation with a prospective client includes questions. They are usually the same questions I have answered 100 times before. Every now and then however, a client asks a question I have never been asked before. That question becomes the foundation of a blog post
Real world examples – Rather than write about generic rules of thumb, I will look at things we are actually doing with our clients which have worked well. Without giving away trade secrets or proprietary information we can use the examples of real companies to explain the rules and real results to build a case study of how other firms should approach the same problem.
Reading Fuels Writing
I spend time every day reading what others have to say about content marketing. It is always nice to find people who agree with me. I can use their content to substantiate an opinion I have. But I also appreciate completely different opinions which make me step back and review my assumptions. When it comes to content marketing, here are some of the blogs I read regularly:
- Convince and Convert – Started by Jay Baer, this blog is a steady stream of ideas on how to use your web site to attract prospects, encourage them to learn more and reach out to connect with you. In addition to great, in-depth content, they do a terrific job of creating interesting and unique images for each blog post. They even wrote a how-to piece on Selecting the Best Images for Your Content.
- Copyblogger – Long before content marketing was really a thing, the team at Copyblogger realized the value of writing interesting and informative blog posts. Almost a decade later, they still turn out some of the most well-written content on the subject of writing for the Internet. One of my recent favorites addressed the idea of presenting alternative and conflicting views to keep your readers engaged. Transform Your Content from Predictable to Provocative
- SEO Moz Blog – The world of SEO is complex, confusing and rapidly changing. That is why I love this blog. Sure it can be a little geeky, but many of the blog posts boil down a topic into very simple and very straightforward actionable outlines. In addition to the blog posts, one of my favorite features on this site is the WhiteBoard Friday video with Rand Fishkin. Hiss presentation style is approachable, informative and a little bit fun. Check out his comments on Keywords and Year Content Rankings.
Unrelated Blog Inspiration
Sometimes life just hands you a blog topic. Two years ago as I was touring Scotland tasting scotch, I saw the parallels between the distilleries creating distinctive flavors which would only appeal to a segment of the population and the wisdom of every business being clear on their niche. The result was this blog post, Taste the Difference.
These are my blog inspirational points. What are yours?
