New Input for New Output
A few weeks ago I made a committment to write more often. I am on a mission to bring the spark back to my writing and broaden the topics I write about. While I am enjoying stretching my blogging muscle, I also need to continue to write serious business posts about marketing, social media, networking, and web design.
So the next step in my writing adventure is to find new input for my business blogs to make those posts more interesting to write and to read. Here are my blogging tips for finding new inspiration.
Stop reading blogs by our competitors for a little while
It isn’t because I think they don’t have anything worthwhile to say. It is just that when you read too many articles by people who are writing in your industry, you start to sound like everyone else. If I want my blog posts to be authentic content only I can write, I need to write more from my experience, not other people’s opinions. The exception? When I am researching a topic I don’t know much about.
Refresh my reader
I have used the Feedly reader for years. It is a great way to collect and organize information from a variety of writers. As I started this adventure, I had added more than 50 blogs to my reader. No, I don’t have time to read every post every day. But the feed helps me keep up with trends and many of these authors write really great content. But in a way it is like eating at the same restaurant every day for a year. Even a great menu gets old so I am moving some of may favorites to the bottom of the list to force me to look at a some new writers and expand my daily dose of creative input.
Discovering new podcasts
Just as I had the same authors in my newsfeed, I had the same podcasts in my iTunes. I just got back from a women’s podcasting conference and discovered so many new shows and interesting women I want to listen to. One of my favorite discoveries is Unladylike. I am not sure how I will weave the story of the worlds foremost cave diver into a blog post about SEO, but there is inspiration in there somewhere.
Revisit old topics with new eyes.
I have written more than 2,000 blog posts over the last few years. Some have stood the test of time, but other haven’t, so every now and then it is fun to go back and look at a topic and see if my experiences have changed my opinions. Some times they do, sometimes they don’t.
What about you?
If you are writing blogs for your website, what are your favorite blogging tips to keep it fresh and interesting? If you need some help, give us a call. We would love to chat with you.