Creating quality content

1. Build a profile of your customer.

The more you know about your customers, the more likely you are to create content they will find interesting. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What drives/motivates them at work?
• What drives/motivates them in their personal lives?
• What does their boss want to see from them?
• What are their most pressing problems at work?
• What do they love about their job?
• What do they hate about their job?

If you don’t know the answer to these, spend some face-to-face time with a couple of your favorite customers, and ask them these questions. What they tell you will provide you with some great inspiration for blog posts that will also be interesting to others like them.

2. Brainstorm a commanding title or headline. 

The title of your blog post is the first impression you’ll make on your prospects. It will also create focus for the ideas you want to address, as well as the customer’s incentive to read the rest of the article. Blog titles are also a great opportunity to showcase the humorous or creative side of your business.

3. Conduct a Google search.

Research industry news, topics that are being discussed, competitor activities, etc. Frequently doing this will highlight topics on which you have an opinion you’d like to share.

4. Browse Twitter.

Look for topics on Twitter that are being discussed as well as articles being shared by the people you follow in your industry. These will often provide inspiration.

5. Call a couple of your more opinionated customers and ask them for their thoughts on the topic.

Showcase the ideas and opinions of your customers on industry topics.

6. Create a PowerPoint deck that walks through the points you were thinking of making.

A lot of the time, writer's block comes from some confusion about what to write next. Laying out the topic in this simple form with bullet points will help you organize your thoughts. As you see the complete story emerging, you will inevitably realize what edits need to be made, and the short form of slides and bullets makes these changes far easier to make.

7. Use one of the following topic guidelines for inspiration:

• Educate them on a topic that they care about
• Entertain them
• Give them data and statistics
• Comment on topical news in your industry

8. Brainstorm topics to avoid.

Blatant sales messages are a major turn-off. Instead, think about using your blog to build a relationship with your audience. Over time, the right content will help you gain their trust, and once that happens, you'll find that you'll end up getting the sale without ever having to sell.

9. Write down your customer’s objections, concerns, and areas of resistance.

Think about common objections that come up during your typical sales process, and ask your sales team to help you do this. Thinking of how to address these objections can trigger great ideas for blog posts.

10. Read and annotate 2 or 3 related articles to the topic of your choice.

What points did the authors of those articles fail to touch upon? What statistics or data points could have strengthened their argument? Use the weak spots in their writing to bolster your own. Even if you haven’t started writing your content yet, you can still use this to help you structure your key points.

11. Tweet or post your desired blog topic on Facebook for feedback/ideas.

If you’ve been staring at the same blank Word document for more than 10 minutes, it’s probably time to call in reinforcements. Message one of your friends with literary inclinations, or post your article’s title as your status for everyone to contribute. Sometimes the only thing holding you back is someone else’s fresh perspective. It can also be beneficial to get an outsider’s point of view who is unfamiliar with your company or service.

12. Find a virtual mentor.

Chose a well-known public figure or company in your field and use them as inspiration. This tip is especially helpful if you haven’t taken a break in a while. Browse YouTube or TED’s video section to find a relevant video for a motivational boost. Ideally, seeing the passion and success of someone in your field will remind you of the bigger picture and trigger ideas for topics.

13. Use your down time for creative thinking. 

Many times the best inspiration strikes when you are not forcing yourself to think creatively. Putting your brain and your body to work at another task relieves the stress of coming up with ideas, and frequently, the lack of pressure will help your ideas to flow.

14. Tie your blog topic to your SEO goals.

Use the keywords you've identified in keyword research for SEO to motivate blog topics. Look for ways to tie these in to each of your blog posts to maximize results.

15. Interview someone.

Reach out to an industry expert and interview them on their topic of expertise, either over the phone or via email. Then construct a blog post around it.

Read Original Article at Hubspot