Even with Facebook and Twitter, blogging is still considered worthwhile. But it isn’t easy. Coming up with a steady stream of ideas takes a lot more work than the brevity of most posts would suggest. I know because I’ve done some blogging for clients. One of those clients is CPE Link, an online provider of continuing education for accountants and financial planners. Fortunately, CPE Link knew what they wanted–informational posts that would connect to the content of upcoming courses and their instructors without directly promoting them. CPE Link was looking to hire someone who would take over blogging among other duties but, in the interim, they needed some help to keep up the pace of two posts per week. So here’s how I approached the challenge:
1. Look ahead two to three weeks for upcoming courses.
2. Google the instructors to find their websites. They may have posted articles that suggest blog content.
3. Google the instructors, selecting News, to see if they’ve written anything recently, or been quoted.
4. Review course descriptions for phrasing that suggests a blog idea (look for edgy words like: most, least, top, frequently, new, change, risk, overlooked, etc.).
5. Contact the instructor and request input. Interview the instructor by phone for 15 minutes. If I’m very focused and specific about the information I want–sometimes I’ll get it by email.
6. With the upcoming courses in mind, review several online news resources, including AccountingWeb, Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Today, Business Week, CNN Money, and some selected blogs.
7. While reviewing the online resources, see what’s a hot topic or featured article, and look for a blog angle that can be hooked to education or a specific course offering.
8. Keep a spreadsheet of possible blog topics as they suggest themselves. I’ve been using Evernote for clipping blog ideas as they come up.
This specific approach can be adapted in principle to other blogging situations. Have a clear purpose for the blog. Work two weeks ahead, or more, and keep a blog log of ideas. Have a process for generating ideas. Keep current on news and blogs in your field.
Remarkablogger has a recent link list of ways to get ideas for business blogging, including a post called “33 Thoughts on Creating Killer Content.” ( Thought 33, by the way, is “Forget about blogging: learn the fundamentals of good writing, period.” Amen.)
