In response to my birthday request for article marketing questions, one reader asked:
How can I feel like what I'm contributing is fresh and new?
Great question, and one that I hear a lot. The truth is, much of what we're writing about may have been said before, in one form or another. So why bother saying it again? Here's why:
1. It's still new to someone. What you think is obvious may still be new to someone who is not as far along the path as you are. It might be an extremely helpful insight to them and they will be grateful to for you telling them. Writing prompt: When you look at it with a beginner's mind, what is fresh and new about this topic?
2. You are a unique and special person. No one else has had your life experiences, successes, failures, triumphs, challenges or lessons. If you are a member of your target market, then telling a story is a great way to put your own slant on any message that you share. Writing prompt: Can you make a connection between something that happened in your life and what you are writing about?
3. Your readers are unique. Hopefully you've chosen a niche market and you know enough about them to write what they want to read. Writing prompt: When you look at it through the lens of their particular problems, what do you think they need to know about the tool, resource, strategy or theory that you're writing about?
4. You have a unique connection with your readers. They relate to how you express yourself and your ideas. In fact, some of them are so precisely tuned in to the frequency that you transmit from that they simply cannot hear this message from anyone but you. Writing prompt: How can you deepen that connection with your readers and continue to deliver what they have liked about you?
5. Articles are ideas in progress. Your ideas will develop and ripen over time. You may repeat yourself or even contradict yourself (I know I have!), as you look for new and better ways to explain your ideas and help your readers. Give yourself permission to grow as a writer and as a tribe leader. Writing prompt: How have your ideas and knowledge developed, and have you kept your readers up to date?
So if you want your articles to be fresh, try to express your uniqueness and that of your readers. Tap into your passion for the topic, your desire to help, and your willingness to challenge old ideas (even your own) and give them a new spin.
