How to Write Great Content – When You’re Out of Ideas

 

You’ve decided on a content marketing strategy. You’re going to write blogs, integrate a few downloads, or an infographic, and drive return traffic to your website. The only questions is – how are you going to do it?

When you’re fresh out of ideas, staring at a blank page in front of you can be disheartening.  Don’t fret, even great writers find themselves in a similar situation. Luckily, coming up with new ideas and creating quality content can be done using a few simple techniques, despite even the most severe cases of writer’s block. 

1. Brainstorm – with peers

Two minds are always better than one, and you can get some fresh topics from your coworkers and bloggers.  Get everyone together with some hot coffee and brainstorm away. Throw out any idea you have and write it down on a piece of paper. Compiling a large list of ideas is key. The more information you have, the better chances you have of narrowing down your list to great topics you can pursue.

Be careful to avoid restricting your co workers in the types of ideas they bring up. By setting boundaries you may be missing out on some great, out-of-the box concepts you may have not previously thought of. The more evergreen your content, the more likely you are to write a topic that’s relevant.

One way to improve the brainstorming process is to look at competitors to see what topics they’re writing about, which you can then create your own unique content around. Each coworker or blogger can look at industry blogs or competitors to collectively find new topics to write about, without struggling to come up with topics that may not be the most relevant. You may be surprised to find a topic that even educates you, which you can then cover and educate others about.

2. Voice your opinion

No matter what industry you’re in, there is always something in the news. A great way to generate content for your blog is to comment on current events impacting your particular line of work or industry.

 

Commenting and voicing your opinion about current events or news is a great way to let your audience know that you’re staying relevant.

2. Curate your content

Compile a large list of articles, books, blog posts, downloads, SlideShares, videos and infographics on a common topic and write a post about them. Evaluate their effectiveness in conveying an idea, comment on the position the author took and give feedback. Evaluating the work of others can help you get noticed in the community of bloggers and can bring traffic to your own blog.

Also, make sure each piece of content you create is measurable in Google Analytics, and see how well each one performs. Does one blog get a higher bounce rate than others? Maybe it would benefit from expansion and further optimization, or could use an image or two to break the content up and make it more readable. There are many ways you can curate and update content, especially as SEO keeps changing.

3. Talk with experts

Doing an interview with an expert or specialist in your company can bring is a great way to generate content that puts you as a thought leader in your space. By sharing knowledge and expertise, you directly impact your audience, providing value. Having a reputable figure in your industry take time to contribute to your company and your audience also makes your company look good and trustworthy.

4. Let someone else do the work

Allow a guest bloggers to publish on your website or blog. This solution requires the least amount of effort on your part, and gives you a high quality piece of work and a new business relationship. A win-win for the both of you!

5. Start a discussion

Write a blog post centered on exploring an idea and start a discussion around it. Encourage your readers to give their feedback, participate openly and ask you questions. Who knows, you might even get new ideas!

Content marketing is a long-term strategy.  Creating, valuable and compelling content for your audience is challenging but can be very rewarding. Next time you run out of ideas, try one of these techniques and you’ll be sure to have an abundance of topics!