Are you struggling to come up with blog topics? Do you find it difficult to come up with ideas for new articles?
Zero Ideas, Zero Fresh Content
Often when I talk to companies about blogging they tell me while other companies might have a wealth of things to write about, their company would probably struggle to write more than a few posts before the well is dry.
So they don’t bother trying.
It normally takes me coming up with ten or so topic ideas on the spot for me to convince them otherwise.
How do I perform this seemingly magical feat?
Like most seemingly-magical things, it is a trick, and one you can learn quickly.
Blog Ideas from Your Process and Results
One technique I use, amongst others, is “Reverse Process Discovery“. That’s a fancy name for something that is actually quite simple and one that almost anyone can do.
It’s an idea based on the fact that if you are still in business then there must be stuff that you are good at and know how to achieve.
Other people might like to get good at that too, or would be curious to know how and why you are so good at a particular thing.
Sometimes it is your quality control and higher standards that set you apart, and justify your premium pricing. Why not brag about how you do things and explain why your thing is worth more?
You have probably heard the story about Claude Hopkins helping the Schlitz Brewing Company tell a story about their filtration process that boosted them to success.
Working Back to Generate Blog Articles
Take your results or processes, outline the steps, and then reverse them so you are working backwards from the end result.
For Amazon, for example, they are really good at getting a choice of thousands of products to your door.
How does it get to your door?
Keep working back from the end point or deliverable, and as you do figure out what has to happen at each stage. Why are you doing what you do, and are you doing anything differently?
In the Amazon example it would be their extensive warehousing, logistics network, stock control and computer systems, etc.
Brand-building ideas are then generated when you think about what you do differently and why. You will discover lots of things you can talk about along the way.
Crafting a Story
Just listing your processes, though, is not enough, you have to find the story to turn them into blog post topics.
At a couple years ago I was asked about dealing with clients who do not see the value in what we do for them. How do we contend with that knowing if they don’t see value then they are unlikely to spend money?
I’d tell them my joke that I “found” millions of Euros in a spreadsheet.
It’s the story of how I provided data to my bosses to convince our client that our web campaign, that at best was being seen as a “necessary cost”, was actually a hugely profitable ROI asset.
Of course the real key was getting access to the data that proved what happened after we did our thing.
You see the website encouraged visitors to request perfume and cologne samples. The samples were the same thing that would be inserted into magazines, but instead you filled out a form and got sent a postcard through the post.
Sounds expensive for the client, right? Just in postage, but all that fulfilment.
Our story, and the campaign, is not finished, though.
Miss Joe Public gets a postcard or a sample through the post, but either way that is not all they get. Our smelly mail provides an incentive to go to a store and buy.
Wouldn’t you know, lots and lots of people who got samples enjoyed the scent so much that they went ahead and either purchased or heavily hinted to a loved-one that they would very much like a bottle at the next gift-giving opportunity!
Not only did people “convert”, but a massive address database of future buyers was created too. What is the average value of each of those contacts? Much, much more than they spent on the website, I am certain.
Your Process Becomes Your Story
At each stage you have to be aware of what makes this particular point or task different, better, remarkable, or newsworthy.
In Amazons case it is the sheer scale, the quantity of data and product, their massive popularity. Not just next day, but same day. For “free” in many cases. With a couple of clicks.
What stands out? Is something in the way you do things bigger, better, more difficult, more scarce, or more expensive?
For you it could be the other end of the scale, your highly-personal approach and individualized service, and such.
Putting Process-Reversal Into Practice
I use this technique to generate ideas for this blog.
What have I done recently that my core readers would like to replicate the results from?
To answer that question I can think of all our recent projects and think about what I would say to someone to get their attention about it.
Which projects or results stand out? Are some results or learnings particularly appealing?
This is where a lot of people turn back into a school kid
“What did you do today?”
“Nothing much”!
What is “normal” for you might be remarkable when looked at correctly.
After picking an example, then we can look at outcome or process-based ideas for what to write about:
- Outcome: “Thousands of happy subscribers” – How did they get those subscribers? What makes them happy? How do we know they are happy? Is thousands important? Would it have been a success had this not happened? What does success mean in this case? How do you work out what success means for you?
- Viral stories – How did we get to the top of a readers feed? How do we think of ideas that would work? Which social media platforms help create success? What happens in reality when you go viral?
- Regular posting schedule – Is a regular posting schedule important? How do we maintain that schedule? Does the client post or outsource? What are the factors required to decide?
- Spread of blog categories – How do we choose categories? How many categories is too many? What do you call your categories? Do categories help in SEO?
- Concept for the blog – How do you decide a blog concept? Should you decide a concept or allow it to evolve? How do you communicate this concept? How do companies decide when they disagree internally?
- Convincing client to blog – When I think a blog is a good idea, how do I convince a client to blog? When would I recommend not blogging?
- Client approaches me – What makes a client approach me? How do I find clients? Do blogs help me in marketing?
As you can see, from a relatively short list of events in one project I can come up with enough topics to keep this blog going for quite a while!
Next Steps
Have a good think about the activities and events in your own routine, what can you find that gets results, sets you apart, or might be interesting then drill right down.
Think from the point of view of a curious prospect and you might be surprised how many topic ideas you can think of!