Does this happen to you?
You’re sitting with your fingers poised above the keyboard, however a blank screen is staring right back at you.
You just can’t come up with a topic to write about, especially a theme that’s going to be relevant and of interest to your ideal client?
Yes? You’re not alone.
This was me some several months ago every Monday as I sat in front of my computer ready to write an article for my newsletter subscribers.
It was often difficult to come up with a topic that I felt my community of ambitious business owners would find inspiring and relevant, and that would help them take their business to the next level.
Thankfully, this doesn’t happen that often any more as I’ve discovered a few different ways to get my ideas flowing.
So, if you find yourself sitting in front of my computer screen with writers block, here are three ways to help you get your creative juices flowing so you can create informative content that your ideal clients will love AND that will build your credibility and continue to position you as an expert in your field.
Step 1: Get Clear
Before you even get started you need to be clear on the general categories and/or topics that you want to become known as an expert in.
For example I’m passionate about helping service-based soloprenuers in taking their business to the next level.
An area they often struggle with knowing how to stand out from the crowd, get more clients and charge what they’re worth and getting it! So the areas I write about are Branding; Marketing; and Mindset (both Money Mindset and having a mindset for success) to help them overcome these daily challenges.
Figure 1: Main Topic Categories
1. What are the issues that your ideal clients often struggle with?
2. What are the general categories of services you offer that will support your ideal client in overcoming their struggles?
Step 2: Build Your Framework
I love Mindmaps. They’re a great way to brainstorm further ideas around a main topic and will often provide me with ideas that will later become the paragraphs in my article.
Here’s an example of the mindmap I created to come up with ideas for today’s article on the importance of building your brand by becoming known as an expert in your field so that clients will want to work with you!
Figure 2: Brainstorm further ideas on your main topic
Once I had this outline to follow it was then a lot easier to compile the information I needed and begin to piece them together for my article.
Step 3: Research & Compile Ideas
Here are three more ways to compile more information and get your creative juices flowing.
1. Search
Read other blogs and articles that also write about your particular area of interest. The idea is not to copy these articles, but rather add your own thoughts/opinions or provide a completely new point of view that the original author may not have covered.
Some great research tools include:
2. Listen
Stop and listen to what your ideal client is saying. Often they’ll tell you exactly what they need.
Here’s what I heard when I stopped and listened to the conversation going on in one of my Facebook communities. One of the people had recently listened to a Business Success Podcast interview and was interested in finding out how she could start creating her own audio.
It was this comment that gave me the idea to write my article: Build Your Brand with Podcasts
3: Ask
If you’re not sure – just ask!
Recently I asked the question: “So what are you struggling with in your business at the moment?” to the members on my Facebook business page.
One of my community members asked the question “I have a website, but now what? How do I tell people about my website and get them to stay?” which sparked a Tweet Chat #GetMoreClients session. We brainstormed and shared over a dozen ways to get people over to your website as well as what to do once they arrived.
This same question was also my inspiration to write the article: Get More Clients: How to build a website that engages your audience
So there you have it. Three easy steps that will help you create content that your followers will love and share, while you continue to build your expert status.
Was this helpful? If you did, please press the Like and Share button and share this article with your friends and colleagues – I’d really appreciate it! Do you have other search tools you use? Please leave a comment – I always love to hear from my readers.
Until next week, stay inspired!
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Annemarie,
I’d imagine that Pinterest would be a great place to search now. As it gains speed, I’m hearing news of people getting lost in it even!
I use Twitter Advanced Search and Google Search most.
Funny, these days I have more topics in my head and saved for later than I have time to write about them!
Great post,
~Keri
Keri recently posted..10.5 Practical Social Media Tools For Small Business Owners
I just read an article yesterday about the success one blogger was having with Pinterest. This is her greatest traffic generator, and as she gets over 3 million hits to her site each month, it’s something we MUST investigate further. I know I am – that’s for sure.
That is really right Anne. There is no harm in asking and getting information. When you write an article make sure there should be readers. Unless it is worthless and just wasting your time making the article.
Gray recently posted..Building Your Site’s Credibility and Trust in Five Simple Steps