Drawing eyes to your company can be done through many different means, but one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your page is by blogging regularly and frequently. Once viewers see what you have to offer, they may keep coming back, recommending your site to others and sharing your content, which gets new eyes on your site.
While that is the goal, sometimes a lack of time or new ideas can make a regular blog a bit of a challenge. To help you gain inspiration for keeping your own blog fresh, 13 experts from Forbes Communications Councilshare their go-to sources for finding inspiration when their creative well is dry.
Members of Forbes Communications Council share go-to sources for inspiration for blog topics.PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.
1. Industry Trends
We’re in a specific industry, but there are ways to bring in topics that are industry-appropriate and relevant. For us, we think outside of the (coffee) bean and also look at real-time beverage trends and how larger trends such as sustainability affect our industry. For that, we constantly talk to our partners and pay attention to the news, even outside of our industry. It’s not rocket science. – Kat Krieger, Joyride
2, Your Customers
We maintain an editorial calendar for themes we want to advance each quarter. But inspiration for content should always come from customers. “Look in” however you can: focus groups, informal “advisory” calls, surveys, trade pubs, sitting in on sales calls, staffing conferences and asking pointed questions of passersby to get to true pain points. Better yet, get them to author a guest blog for you! – Omar Garriott, salesforce.com
3. Feedback Forms And Lost Sales Surveys
It’s easy to recognize that your customers are the best source for new ideas and inspiration. The key is how simple and accurate their insight will be to your efforts. Sometimes asking customers directly doesn’t get the most accurate results. There is bias when being asked. I find going to the source of their frustration is the best way to be inspired. Where are their pain points and challenges? – Seth Waite, RevUnit
4. Brand Ambassadors And Experts
Our team collaborates regularly with brand ambassadors and health experts to keep blog content fresh and updated. We also recently folded in licensed content from Matcha as a great turnkey content solution when our team is under other deadlines and feeling resource-strapped. – Janine Robertson, Insect Shield Repellent Technology
5. Your Community
Rather than guess, we go directly to the source. We always start by listening, either by monitoring social media, posing questions in our online communities or fielding surveys. It’s the best way to ensure we’re constantly writing about the things our audience cares about. – Jeff Murphy, SnackNation
6. Industry News
One tactic for writing blog content is simply to write about what’s in the news for your particular industry—new technology being developed, trends in the industry, forecasting for the next quarter or year, and so on. You can also write posts about your own company, its technology, the team, plans for the future, etc. Make a running list of topics that you can go to when you’re planning your next post. – Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC
7. Google Keyword Data
We always start with keywords that we should be ranking on, but perhaps aren’t as highly. These relevant keywords aren’t ones that simply drive web traffic, but those that drive quality customer traffic. Understanding what those potential customers are searching for through the keyword data provided by Google almost always provides our next blog topic to share unique insights for. – Alina Morkin, Voices.com
8. Brainstorms With Diverse Colleagues
I do brainstorms with my colleagues. Diverse perspectives, broadened by our collective knowledge of topical issues, helps me discern and develop themes I’m most passionate about that should also be compelling to readers. I hold these brainstorms monthly to develop a rolling calendar of topics for the quarter and year ahead. – Alex Goryachev, Cisco
9. Your People
We started a company blog in early 2018 and saw a 200% spike in website traffic versus the previous year. The creativity in our blog content was a main driver for this. We turned to our teammates to draft articles and share ideas, trends and best practices. In turn, this gave opportunities for them to be positioned as thought leaders while giving deeper authenticity to our agency. – Glenn Gray, Buffalo Agency
10. Poetry
I’ve always found it valuable to step outside of my field/industry to stoke creativity and inspiration. For example, if you’re working in a niche technology industry, such as messaging middleware, reading modern poetry may open up new ideas and add new textures to your thinking. Reading a few concise, image-rich poems typically allows me to generate new ideas within minutes. – Cameron Conaway, Solace
11. Company Newsletters
Sign up for as many company newsletters as you can, especially for businesses that seem wildly outside your own industry. If the newsletter isn’t good you can always unsubscribe, but chances are, if it’s a quality email, you’ll find inspiration in the news they’re sharing and how they’re sharing it. – Melissa Kandel, little word studio
12. Dinner Table Discussions
Pay attention to what friends and family are talking about at the dinner table, or colleagues and customers over drinks. Those are the topics that people are most interested in discussing and learning more about. Oftentimes we try too hard to identify good blog topics by doing research in front of a computer when we should really be having more conversations in person. – Keith Bendes, Float Hybrid
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