blog topics - Express Writers

#ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics

December 31, 2020June 10, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry! We have you covered with a recap of Tuesday’s chat, which was filled with great tips to help you come up with your next blog topic. Let’s dive into the tweets! #ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics Join us for #ContentWritingChat Tuesday, June 7th at 10 AM CDT with guest host @monikacjansen! pic.twitter.com/42ttM8vlxR — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) May 31, 2016 This week, Monika Jansen joined us as our guest host. Monika is the founder of Jansen Communications, as well as an experienced online copywriter. She shared key tips on creating “fresh” content for your blog. Q1: What are ways to come up with new topics for your blog? The truth is, sometimes it’s hard to come up with interesting topics to write about on your blog. Instead of stressing as you try to come up with ideas, check out these tips: A1: I always start with FAQs. What are your clients asking you about? #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 A1: Also – just ASK your clients/customers what they care about. They’ll tell you! #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 Monika suggested starting with your FAQ. Odds are, you’re getting a lot of questions from clients or readers of your blog. Address those questions in a blog post. It’s so simple, but it’s effective because you’re giving your audience exactly what they want. If you’re still stuck, just ask your audience what they’d like to see from you. They’re the best people to tell you what they’d like to read. A1) I like to cover topics relevant to a service/product that haven’t been covered yet or not in depth. #contentwritingchat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 7, 2016 Kyle knows it’s important to keep your content relevant to your product or service. His tip is to choose topics that haven’t been covered yet or haven’t yet been covered in depth. Ask yourself what could use more coverage in your field and start writing. A1) Google Alerts and #Hashtag tracking on social media. I also solicit ideas from colleagues. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/38CfYLzv2s — Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) June 7, 2016 Jenn likes to use Google Alerts and also tracks hashtags to see what other people are talking about. This is a great way to alert you to trending topics or questions people in your field may have. Asking your colleagues for ideas is another great tip! A1 I always start w/ brainstorming sessions the @Affinio content team! Then look at what is resonating w/ our audience #ContentWritingChat — Hannah Chapple (@HannahChapple) June 7, 2016 For Hannah, coming up with blog topics starts with a brainstorming session with the team at her job. If you have multiple people on your team, get everyone together to talk about ideas. They just might have some amazing tips you can use. A1 Brainstorm internally- teamwork can garner best ideas! Tools ie @Buzzsumo to research competitors & get inspiration #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 7, 2016 Our CEO, Julia, agrees that teamwork is powerful. She also likes to use BuzzSumo to research competitors for inspiration. A1: Read! Nothing works better than educating yourself on your industry. The more you read, the more you can share. #ContentWritingChat — Yelling Mule (@YellingMule) June 7, 2016 Don’t forget to read! You want to stay updated with everything that’s going on in your industry. Reading will help you come up with ideas, plus give you amazing content to share with your audience. A1 Social listening, like seeing questions folks ask in twitter chats, is a big source of ideas. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/jGIWgXi5d3 — Erika Heald (@SFerika) June 7, 2016 Erika said social listening is a great way to come up with content ideas. If you join a few Twitter chats, you’re sure to find people asking questions. Use those ideas to spark new content for your blog. A1b: Don’t just give audience what they want to know. Also give them what they need to know. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/DtxGHzizDp — Michael Kinney (@michaelkinney) June 7, 2016 One thing to keep in mind via Michael: give your audience what they need, not just what they want. Q2: What are your favorite tools/methods to help you come up with blog topics? There are plenty of tools you can use to find blog post topics, plus a method or two you can implement. Here’s what our chat participants like to do: A2: I know we already talked about this, but READ, read, and read some more. #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 Monika’s advice is pretty clear: read more often! Find books, articles, etc. in your industry and start diving in. A2 Google Keyword Planner, checking trends & hashtags, or old-fashioned brainstorming w/ a pen & a notebook #contentwritingchat — Brittany-dot-Social (@BrittanySocial) June 7, 2016 Brittany likes to use Google Keyword Planner and she also likes to check trends and hashtags. While they’re all helpful, she also knows sometimes you just need to brainstorm with a pen and notebook. A2: @BuzzSumo is our best friend, @feedly is an excellent tool and sometimes we just skim the tech section on @BuzzFeed #ContentWritingChat — Yelling Mule (@YellingMule) June 7, 2016 We’re also fans of BuzzSumo here at Express Writers, so we highly recommend it. Check out Feedly to see what other websites are posting about and it might spark some ideas of your own. A2 I use @Buzzsumo, google’s adwords planner, @Meltwater & @Feedly to generate content ideas. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/7W3ta4w4PY — Erika Heald (@SFerika) June 7, 2016 Erika is also a fan of BuzzSumo, which is awesome! Some other tools she uses includes: Google Adwords Planner, Meltwater, and Feedly. A2: Twitter, industry expert articles (SEJ, Search Engine Land, etc), Google Analytics; so many! #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/T3f7jQwhMS — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) June 7, 2016 Sarah from ThinkSEM knows Twitter is a great place to find ideas. She also turns to articles from industry experts and uses Google Analytics. Don’t … Read more

17 Secrets To Creating Awesome Blog Topics

December 31, 2020February 20, 2015 by Adam Oakley

It’s that time again – you’re stumped for awesome blog topics and you aren’t sure how to come up with any. I know—I’m a writer over here. It’s as frustrating as the feeling that everything you touch turns into ice, right? Time to “let it go…” Sorry, I think I got carried away there. In any case, you really CAN create some incredible topics that are sure to please every single one of your readers, and I’ve got some tips to help you. Let’s take a look at 17 different ways you can easily come up with some awesome blog topics for your business and readers! How to Generate Engaging Blog Topics Use the HubSpot Blog Topic Generator. You already know the area you want to write about, and you likely already have a few nouns and keywords at the ready. However, you might be stumped for creating great headlines and forming topics. HubSpot understands this, and we love them for it! In fact, they created an excellent topic generator where you can put different nouns into a search field and have them generate headlines and topic ideas to help inspire you. You might not use what they come up with, but it can help get those creative juices’ flowing. It is important to remember that this is a computer generating the ideas, so use discretion and decide if it is a decent topic or headline. Pick Evergreen Topics for Your Blogs. You can also come up with awesome blog topics by utilizing evergreen topics. Evergreen means that the topic will last for a long time instead of writing on trendy topics that only last for as long as the trend does. You can come up with some great evergreen topics that pertain to your business by researching your audience, asking what they want to read about, and searching Google for some great ideas.For example, if you write a blog about foot health, then you will want to write on things like how to treat plantar fasciitis or diabetic foot care. This is a great example of a topic that will remain popular long after trends fade away because people will always need to learn new ways to take care of their feet. You will notice that using evergreen topics will not only get more social shares and views, but also give your content more mileage and allow you to reuse parts of it throughout the year. Always Create Excellent Headlines. When creating great blog topics, you have to make sure you also come up with awesome headlines. Headlines are what will make people click on a link or avoid it all together. Craft something that gives the audience a question while also giving a small answer. Consider staying away from click bait sounding headlines and craft something that doesn’t come across too sales-like, but as something that offers the reader real value. You might even notice that by crafting a great, powerful headline, you can come up with a few more topics, too! This has happened to me more than a few times, and it is wonderful. Use “Trigger” Words to Pique Interest. Along with crafting a great headline, you should make sure you use “trigger” words. This is what can convince someone to click on the link, instead of passing it by. A few trigger words are things such as “awesome,” “top secrets,” “top tips,” “great,” “amazing,” “perfect,” and so on. I am going to use foot care as the example yet again. If you are writing about how to treat a common foot condition, you don’t want the headline to sound bland and boring. Instead, you can write a headline that says, “The Top Awesome Ways to Keep Your Feet Wonderfully Healthy” or something similar. Keep a File of Ideas for the Future. This might not seem like a way to come up with new blog topics, but there have been several times where I have thought of several topics, only to forget them. When you begin brainstorming, you will find that it is easy to come up with a plethora of topic ideas. This means you need to write and file each idea away in order to remember it in the future. You can use something like Evernote, Dropbox, or Google Docs to create a file for ideas and resources. This will help significantly in the future when you begin to hit the inevitable topic idea brick wall. Take Inspiration from Other Blogs. While you don’t want to steal their information and exact headlines, gaining inspiration from others is a great way to come up with great blog topic ideas. You can take a look at what your competitors are blogging about, and follow industry leader blogs to get notifications about new posts. This will help you generate some great ideas for your own content and might even help with your social media posts! Again, only gain inspiration from others; never copy or steal what they are doing. Create an Ideas Board When Brainstorming. Sometimes people have trouble brainstorming by staring at a computer. However, if you make an ideas board, you might find brainstorming easier, especially if you are brainstorming with multiple people. In fact, find one or two people to brainstorm with to come up with some great topics. While you might be stumped for ideas, others might be able to come up with some great ideas that you hadn’t thought of. Don’t go brainstorming alone! Take along a pal or two and use an ideas board to keep things organized and in view the whole time. Ask Your Audience What They Want to Read About. You might not realize it, but your audience is one of the greatest resources you should be using for topic ideas. You can ask your readers what they want to see and even have them ask questions to be featured in a question and answer post. This will give you … Read more