Читать книгу The Small Business Guide to Online Marketing - Lola Bailey - Страница 18

It’s one thing to know you need to create content for your blog or website, but where do you start? Take your pick!

If you haven’t already, have a look at Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts). Set an alert with a few industry keywords, and ask it to deliver at least twenty stories a day. Read the headlines and copy interesting links into a file for future use. When you get several related stories, you’ve got an instant roundup piece.

Skim national and local newspapers and magazine stories. How does the news impact on your readers? Write about national trends, and you will soon be thought of as an authority. You could also visit Yahoo! Buzz and Google Trends to learn what people are looking for – you might just get an idea for an article that could drive some search traffic your way.

Read small publications and trade publications. If your business is in a niche area, check the experts’ columns in local papers or business weeklies. Few people outside your community will have read these, and their topics are often easily recycled.

Think “a problem equals an opportunity”. What are the biggest problems faced by your customers? Focus on topics that would provide balm to their wounds.

Tackle a controversy. Weigh in on your industry’s hot topic. This can be especially effective if you have a different viewpoint to offer.

Ask a question. Is there an industry issue that you’re undecided about? Discuss your mixed feelings.

Scan social bookmarking sites, such as Digg, StumbleUpon and Delicious. These are always great places to find buzz-worthy news to write about.

Review the developments in your niche. How has your industry changed in the past five years? Ten years? Look for milestones for reflection.

Create a regular feature. For instance, you could do a “Friday news roundup” every week or a “Tuesday tips”.

Write a book review. Tell readers if the hot new book in your niche is insightful or inane.

Do a product review. As with the book review: good, bad or ugly?

Review websites related to your niche. The best and the ones which don’t hit the mark, perhaps?

Visit question and answer sites. Listen for what is being asked about that you haven’t answered yet. Try Yahoo! Answers or LinkedIn for starters.

Attend a local community event. Then write about it.

Set yourself a topics challenge. Tell yourself you need to come up with 50 topic ideas today. Jot down anything and everything.

Take the one-hour challenge. Similar to the idea above, challenge yourself to find a story idea within the next hour.

Run a poll. Register for an account with a site like PollDaddy.com, then publish a poll related to a topic you have written about.

If you have express written permission, you could transcribe, or record an interview with a guest that will be of interest to your readers. Do you have a favourite thinker in your space? Get in touch. You’ll be surprised how many ‘gurus’ are up for a quick Q&A.