Yippee! We finally made enough time to get our new Five by Five website launched.
The story of the plumber with the leaky tap is one we can relate to. We have been so busy delivering other websites ours had been neglected for so long. But not any more!
The next priority for us it to be much more active on our blog.
Writing content can be a real pain for even the best intentioned business.
Sure, it may seem like a challenge to find things to write about that are interesting and engaging but everyone is closer than they think. Below are 7 tips to get things started:
1. Talk to your customers.
Ask them what their biggest problems are? Where are the gaps in their knowledge? This can be done by picking up the phone, sending them a survey. Maybe your sales people are getting asked the same question on the phone day in day out. The aim here is to collect real ideas from real people. Step into the conversation in their head and answer it with a blog post. All you need to do is listen and take notes. When a customer is asking for help that is an idea!
2. Write about your products and services.
Who knows their products and services best? Hopefully it is you! Don’t use this for blatant self-promotion. More a tool to update or inform about changes in your product range, service offering or upcoming events. In a retail setting this works exceptionally well for product related reviews.
3. Industry trends and changes.
The nature of business is that it changes all the time. This is perfect for getting ideas. You will be seen as an industry leader and on the cutting edge. Google actually have a service called Google Alerts. They will notify you whenever there is a new news item on a specific keyword. Go to https://www.google.com/alerts and type in all your relevant industry keywords. Use this as fodder for creating content.
4. Predict the future.
Make predictions about the future. Customers don’t like to miss a thing so you will win their attention. Take a stance and become authoritative.
5. Reveal secrets.
What are the taboo questions that no one in your industry is willing to answer? Closely protected information about pricing, supply chains or intellectual property can be very revealing and will be hugely sought after. You will be seen as a hero to the consumer.
6. Online forums.
See what type of questions people are asking and then use that question as the topic for your next blog post. This will also give you a good idea about the industry keywords and terminology prospects are using.
7. Keep your ear to the ground.
Carry a notebook and jot down ideas as they come to you in the course of your day. Even record the next conversation with your customer on the phone and listen the language they are using. Then feed this back into your content.
