Trust me, the number one challenge to writing a blog for your company is regularly coming up with new and interesting topics. You want to keep the reader engaged and wanting more. Sometimes, that is just a massive challenge! One I’ve definitely faced in my career on more than one occasion.
Try not to fall into the trap of writing about the same things repeatedly without you even noticing you are doing so. If you find yourself doing this, and you aren’t able to find a new spin or angle, then you may find your content becomes monotonous, with even less thought provoking material.
Here are the most productive steps I’ve taken recently myself when it has felt like the ink well was (very) near to dry!
Interviews: A quick Q&A with someone from across your company has always brought new ideas and topics to the fore in my experience. Prepare your questions carefully and give the subject of your interview scope to really express their views.
Check out your competitors: The next time you are struggling for subject matter, see what other companies in your area are blogging about. Not only can this give you fresh subject material you might not have considered, but it can also give you the opportunity to one up what they have written, and create a blog that presents your company in a better potential light than your competitors have.
Ask for ideas: Where you may have drawn a blank on something new to write about this week, there will be many people around your company who will have fresh and engaging ideas for you to capitalise on. If you have an internal social media forum for you company, tap colleagues up for ideas there. If not, try the water cooler (or your equivalent) – someone will always have an opinion! You can also spread the net wider and ask across your own social networks as well – but in my experience your colleagues will usually have their finger on the pulse of what is most relevant to your enterprise.
These are the steps I have taken that have garnered me the most productive results when I have been all out of blog ideas – however there are many more I have also attempted myself, or seen put to good use. Examples such as attending events and using that both as material and a forum to promote your blog can be very worthwhile, as can creating a survey relevant to your business and using the results to create new material. Seeing what news stories in your industry are trending can also give you new focus, as can using guest bloggers from around your business. I guess the bottom line is to just put yourself in the position of the reader – is what you’re planning to write going to be interesting to them? If so, you’re definitely on the right track!
