Need to write an article or blog post – but out of ideas?

We all know the value of getting fresh, new content up on your website on a regular basis. It helps your site rank higher with the search engines, which enables your target market to find you more easily. And once visitors arrive on your site, new content is crucial for creating and maintaining interest, adding credibility and helping to establish yourself as an authority on a given topic. Web articles and blog posts are two of the most common ways to accomplish this.

Are web articles and blog posts at the bottom of your “To Do List”?

If you are like most people, myself included, web articles and blog posts inevitably get pushed to the bottom of your “To Do List” for a number of reasons:

• They aren’t billable.
• You don’t particularly enjoy doing them.
• You never know what to write about.

It’s true: web articles and blog posts may not be billable, but they play an important role in future billability by helping with new business development and maintaining dynamic relationships with current and past clients. As for not enjoying the writing process, I believe strongly that once you have a strong and compelling idea for an article or blog post, it almost writes itself. (Well, almost!)

So, how does one generate strong and compelling ideas for articles and blog posts?

Writer’s block? There is no need to stare at a pristine, white screen any longer. Here are five fool-proof ways to generate outstanding and remarkable ideas for your next article or blog post:

1. Pretend you are talking to a friend or colleague: You are knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics relating to your business. Imagine that a friend or colleague is interested in learning more about a particular subject. What questions would they ask you? How would you explain the topic so that it is interesting and compelling?
    
2. Check out the web forums: Peruse some of the forums and discussion boards in your industry. It won’t take long for you to uncover some patterns of people asking the same questions over and over again. And voila! You now know exactly what people will want to read about in your next post.
    
3. Subscribe to industry magazines and e-zines: Read voraciously. What are hot topics affecting your industry, and, as a result, your customers? Pay special attention to the sections where it mentions what hot topics are coming up in future articles. You may want to pre-empt those articles with your own two cents.
    
4. Use other websites and blogs: Be careful with this one. If you simply re-hash what someone else has said, it probably won’t be very interesting. Rather, you will want to put your own spin on the topic, look at it from a different angle and discuss your own personal opinion on the matter. Be sure to link back to the site that inspired your article or post.
    
5. Interview a subject matter expert: Chat with someone who is well-known in your industry. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble thinking of some interesting questions to ask them. What have you or your readers been wondering about lately? Tape the interview (with their permission) and then transcribe parts of it into an instant article or blog post.

These are just a few of the ways I come up with new ideas for web articles and blog posts. I’d love it if you would share some of yours.

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