How to Come Up With A Years Worth Of Blog Content
You’ve probably heard of those people who have their entire year planned out. They seem so on top of their game, don’t they? It’s not such a difficult thing to do (maybe a bit more difficult if you publish daily, like friend Randy Clark does–check out his Randy’s blog posts). You, too, can be prepared to write at the drop of a hat. For this exercise, I’ll be giving you some real-world examples that you can perhaps translate to your own industry.
Brainstorm
Get out a big sheet of paper or a bunch of sticky notes, and write down everything you can think of as fast as you can. Or you could have a friend help you to write while you dictate. You could also use a tape recorder and then later transcribe your ideas. The idea is to get into the creative flow and not stop yourself. You might need a few minutes to get warmed up, but when you do–look out for the onslaught of ideas! Here are some other ways to get topics for your blog: Blogging Beginner? How to Get Ahead of the Game.
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is where you take an idea and then take all the ideas that are roughly related to that idea. One idea leads you to the next and the next. It’s fun and it’s especially good if you are a visual learner. If you’re the type who likes to use software, here are some software programs you might check out: 11 of the Best Mind Mapping Software to Brainstorm Better Ideas. A few of them are even free!
Ask Friends
Ask your friends what they’d like to read about. Ask on social media. Call them up or text them. Write down everything they say. You might be surprised. Sometimes your friends may have bad ideas. You can turn those around by doing the opposite of what they say! Just say thank you and move on.
Look at Old Posts
What posts have worked for you? What has not worked for you? Are there any old posts that you could rework? Can you rewrite something taking a different approach? For instance, here’s a post of mine that I really liked: For Better Social Media Results, Focus on Engagement. So if I were to follow up on that theme, I could maybe have five different posts, as follows:
- How you can engage with people different from yourself?
- The many types of engagement there are
- Engagement using simple emojis
- Engagement for the high-tech crowd
- Social media engagement for startups
You get the idea. That’s already five different posts, which if you post once a week is over one month’s worth of posts.
What is Your Audience Like? What Are Their Pain Points?
If your audience never has time, you could talk about time management. My audience is extremely busy, and that’s why I often write about time management. So I could write these posts for my audience:
- Time Management for the Startup Crowd
- Time Management When You Have No Time
- Timeless Time Management
- Stop Staring at the Clock
- Getting More Time for All Those Critical Things You Never Have Time to Do
Ask Yourself Before Going to Sleep
This is one I’ve been using a lot lately. I ask myself what to write about before going to sleep. By the morning, I have an answer. Make sure you have a way to record your ideas before they slip away.
Lots of people think using a notebook and pen is the best way to get your dreams recorded. But you can also use your phone and maybe record them as you speak.
How Do You Come up with Ideas?
And are you staying ahead of your blog posts? Leave me a comment! Thank you.
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