In researching info for a chapter we're contributing to a book on email marketing, Patsi put together a list of 17 sources to get inspiration for creating content for your ezine and blog. Here goes...
1. Where is your readers' pain?
2. What current event ties in with readers' problems?
3. What client situation can you use as a case study?
4. What unusual or unique story could benefit your readers?
5. How do you differ from your competitors?
6. What Web or blog resources would your readers love to know about?
7. Who can you interview to provide your readers with information from other experts?
8. What personal experience or mistake can you turn into a valuable lesson for readers?
9. Set up Google Alerts to send you notification of web and news content in your field.
10. Set up blog feeds for all your keywords.
11. Using a service such as HitTail.com on your blog will give you specific keywords readers use to find you and suggest article topics using "long tail" search terms.
12. Use a keyword tracking tool such as Overture to find out what terms people use most frequently when searching on the Web. Then create content using those specific keywords.
13. Scan the online article directories for articles in your field. You can use OPC - other people's content - as long as you keep their name and URL intact.
14. Instead of using OPC, however, use articles as inspiration to write your own version on a topic.
15. Professional organizations, trade shows, keynote speakers all provide targeted information in your field that your clients would love to know about.
16. Use quotations. There are many books as well as online quotation directories.
17. Use Amazon.com to track bestsellers and learn the hot topics that are popular in your field.
Got more sources? Add to the list by submitting a comment below.
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I've already be inspired from comments that readers leave on other blogs. Those comments can tell a lot about readers (consulting firms and independant consultants who are in my target market) concerns or behaviors (sometimes people act on blogs as they act in the real life, with bad manners, which can hurt the relationship and I imagine how (bad) they take care of their own clients)
Posted by: Nathalie Marteau-Yarzabal | October 31, 2006 at 09:12 AM
This is a great resource, for sure, Nathalie! Thanks for suggesting it. Reading comments on blogs is indeed a good way to take the pulse of what's going on in a field or area of interest; it can supply inspiration for new articles and posts.
Posted by: Patsi M. Krakoff | October 31, 2006 at 01:13 PM
Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, reminds us to use clients' emails about challenges and problems as a source for blog posts. She left a comment over at BizTipsBlog.com.
So now we have 19 resources; anyone want to make it an even 20?
Posted by: Patsi M. Krakoff | November 01, 2006 at 02:48 PM
How about http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/23/blogging-tips-hundreds-of-resources-for-finding-content-for-your-blog/ to make it an even 20 plus. ;-)
Posted by: Lorelle | November 02, 2006 at 05:18 PM
Some other great sources that we've been writing about over on Build a Better Blog are www.stumbleupon.com and www.digg.com
Posted by: Denise aka The Blog Squad | November 11, 2006 at 01:09 PM