Have you finished your blogging plan, chosen the perfect category topics, but you still don’t know what to blog about? This happens, and doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong track. What’s more likely is that you just need some ways to access the blogging ideas that are all around you.
Here is a three-step process that will help:
1. Receive – with blogging antennae
With your blogging antennae on (thanks to online visibility expert Denise Wakeman for coining this term), you’ll be more likely to recognize the blog-worthy moments in your day. Maybe a client asks a question that you’ve already answered several times this month, or someone in line at the grocery store asks how you plan to use one of the healthy ingredients in your shopping cart.
The key to keeping your blogging antennae in good working order is to have a keen focus on the most pressing problems and concerns of your ideal clients. This reader-focused approach helps you spot new solutions for them, and fresh ways of sharing your core pieces of wisdom and advice.
2. Record – with idea catchers
When these ideas spark, it’s so important to jot them down so you don’t forget them. Capturing these snippets in a central place also means they’ll be right at your fingertips the next time you sit down to outline or write your next post.
Which tools make the best idea catchers?/ Whichever ones you’ll actually use! Personally, I look for apps that sync across different devices, such as Wunderlist, Trello or Evernote. But no matter how many people tell you a tool is great, it has to feel right for you. I love Wunderlist, but Evernote has never clicked for me. Go with what works.
Always have a low-tech option at your fingertips as well, such as a simple notepad and pen, along with a process of regularly entering those into your digital file.
3. Refine – with questions
As you’re populating your editorial calendar and planning your next few blog posts, open up your idea catcher and review everything you’ve added. Here’s where focus and discernment come into the process. Always take a moment to filter your ideas through the unique lens of your blog’s main purpose. Who does it serve, and what have you committed to deliver to that audience?
Will this idea fulfill that purpose? Or is it something better suited to your personal journal or another setting? Does the idea firmly fit one of your blog’s established categories, or are you introducing a topic you probably won’t want to write about again?
When you apply these three steps, you’ll have a constantly flowing stream of new ideas to work with, so you can turn the best ones into valuable content for your audience of clients, prospective clients, and referral sources.
Want an easy way to create your own idea catcher? Join my next blog writing class, which includes templates for blog posts, editorial calendars, idea catchers, social media promotional text, and more!