Good content is at the heart of an engaging online presence. You don’t want people to click on your website and exit seconds later. No matter what purpose your website serves, you want it to leave an impression on viewers.
Creating new and exciting content is rarely a big problem for the casual blogger. They can feel free to talk about anything under the sun; they have less riding on the overall viewership and engagement.
It’s different for a business, though. You have probably invested a lot of money into your website for SEO services and design and higher bandwidth and premium hosting features. There’s more at stake.
What happens when you run out of events or product releases? Not every company can sustain a feature-of-the-week type of news coverage. And unlike individual blogs, you can’t merely post random musings or reflections on a business channel.
Sharpen your writing skills
Not everyone who posts content to a website is a professional writer. You might be a marketing guru or web designer by trade or even the business founder, but someone has to do the job. And if writing isn’t one of your competencies, it’s time to start working on that.
Good writers don’t rely on talent, though they certainly possess it. They develop a process that works for them. Explore the methods of the great writers, and figure out what works for you. Stephen King, for instance, sets a daily quota of 2,000 words and never stops until he reaches that figure. Hemingway wrote standing (well before standing desks were a thing) and made writing his priority each morning.
You can also consult with a professional writer or have an editor go over your work. They will give you valuable feedback to improve your writing skill.
An issue of creativity
Becoming a better writer won’t necessarily give you good ideas. But it’s a vital part of the overall mechanism. It’s like having good physical fitness; it won’t automatically make you a powerlifter, but it provides a solid foundation should you choose to pursue that exercise.
The central pursuit is really about creativity. Creative people come up with good ideas more easily. And while we might be born with varying levels of creativity, it’s also a skill. Put in the effort, and you can become a more creative person.
Steve Jobs once said that creativity is simply about connecting things. And this is a great starting point for you to begin regularly churning out content that’s high in quality and relevant to your business. What are the things people find interesting? How do you make the connection between those topics and your business?
Connecting the dots
Armed with a better skill set in terms of writing and creativity, the challenge of writing good content now becomes easier. Even on a bad day, with no in-house news worth posting, you can draw from various sources to develop ideas.
Many of these sources can be found within the actual business framework and operations. User reviews can be an excellent starting point for content. How are people experiencing your product? You can reach out to some of your most satisfied or loyal customers and ask if they would be willing to do a short interview. That material could go into a video for social media or a longer feature write-up on your website.
Keyword research is another data point worth looking into. As businesses seek to improve their online presence, they use analytics. Those tools can tell you what consumers were searching for as they came across your site. It can indicate areas of interest. Make that connection, and you can tap into new ideas that your competitors wouldn’t consider featuring in their content.
Trends across the industry are another source of low-hanging fruit in terms of inspiration. And you don’t have to talk about trends directly concerning your slice of the market. For instance, smart security systems are competing against more traditional home alarms. If your company is selling the latter, you could feature content raising the awareness over cybersecurity concerns that allow hackers to compromise smart homes.
You can also take Jobs’ advice literally and make connections with people. Talk to industry experts and feature them in a podcast. Or if your company is considering a new line of business, you can kill two birds with one stone. Consult a business owner who’s currently engaged in that area and obtain their permission to be featured in your content.
As this exercise indicates, there are many other ways to come up with ideas. It’s all a matter of casting a wide net in search of inspiration and having the skills to turn those ideas into engaging new content.