Write Smarter – 3 strategies for content development

One of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients is that it’s hard to generate new content for their blogs and articles week after week, or develop their ideas into actionable content. To help, I’ve put together some strategies designed to help you write smarter.

In addition to giving your creative muse a break, these strategies will help you build relationships with potential customers, keeping your name top of mind when they need the products or services you offer. Best of all, with these strategies, you won’t need to search for new topics every time you sit down to write. In fact, you might even have fun with your writing!

Let us begin.

Content Strategy #1: Layer Up

In Strategy #1, you’ll brainstorm a topic that can overlap throughout your marketing or networking vehicles.

On Twitter, Facebook and/or LinkedIn

One idea is to ask your followers on Twitter or other social media platforms to tell you their stories. For example, if you’re a dating coach, find out the worst thing that happened on your prospects’ dates. Career coaches may ask the most embarrassing thing that has happened to their prospects at work. Financial coaches may ask people to share a financial crisis they experienced and perhaps learned some lessons from.

People love to talk about themselves and tell their funny stories, and it also gives them the therapeutic benefits of letting off steam about their challenging experiences.

on your blog

Next, choose a story to talk about in a blog post and offer personal thoughts on the topic, including your own experience with the topic in question (if applicable).

Ask your readers if they have ever been in a similar situation and what they did to resolve it. Even if you haven’t found yourself in such a situation, you can still share possible solutions that come to mind.

At the end of the post, tell readers that you’ll be offering their suggestions in a few days, so they should be sure to check back (or, better yet, subscribe to your blog).

In your follow-up post a few days later, summarize the situation in one sentence, such as “The story we talked about on Tuesday was shared by Mary, who (insert brief synopsis of the issue here)…” Then summarize the best Suggestions or comments received from other readers, followed by your own advice or professional suggestions as promised. Not sure what to write? Simply answer as if you were advising one of your own clients who presented with a similar situation and requested your help.

in an article

Your next step is to extract the story, reader comments, and your own suggestions into an article that can be submitted to Ezine Articles and published on your website.

Just continue this process with the best stories you receive, and before you know it, you’ll have several months worth of blog posts and various articles that can help you position yourself as an expert in your field.

The articles can then be turned into free reports to be delivered to your website in exchange for your potential customers’ contact information. Eventually, you can combine these articles and reports into an eBook that will further establish your credibility as an expert (more on that in strategy #2).

Content Strategy #2: Spin off

In content strategy #2, you’ll build your star product and scale it up.

Consider the main message you want to convey to your client coaching and the main products you already have in place to convey that message, such as your curriculum, success plan, articles, emails, etc.

For example, as a health coach, you might have a 3-month plan to help clients get started on an exercise routine. In a series of articles, she briefly discusses the steps she typically takes her clients through. Provide enough information to whet the appetite of your prospects and make them interested in learning more.

From there, you can branch out and offer eBooks, teleclasses, oral presentations, live events, or other spin-offs – the possibilities are endless. Just keep developing your core message further and further as you gradually lead your prospects along the path to eventually buying your coaching services. The best part of this strategy is that people can try your services in a low-risk, low-cost way by reading your free articles or buying an inexpensive eBook. If they like what they see, they can dig into one of your teleclasses, oral presentations, or other product until they’ve developed enough confidence in your expertise to hire you as their coach.

Content Strategy #3: Plan Ahead

In content strategy #3, you’ll use an editorial calendar to set up discussion topics for the year.

Start with a blank calendar: Use a standard printed calendar, create one on your computer, or sign up for an online calendar service (many are free). Then sit down and set your themes for the year, using the holidays and seasons as a guide. In February, for example, you could talk about relationships (family or business).

You don’t have to stick to traditional holidays either. Search the internet for lists of unique and weird holidays that you can talk about. For example, did you know that January 13 is Make Your Dream Come True Day? You can easily tailor this topic to your area of ​​expertise and advise your readers to take a step in the direction of their goals and dreams. You might even have a special offer that could be your first move.

Another online resource for topic ideas is the Quote Garden, where you can easily find quotes to share with your readers. Be sure to include your own thoughts on dating and offer insight into how your prospects can solve their problems.

In addition to specific topics, you can also create an editorial schedule for the types of blog posts you want to write. Having this type of structure takes some of the anxiety out of sitting in front of a blank screen or page.

Here’s an example of a weekly blogging schedule:

• Week 1: Share your thoughts about a meaningful date or an interesting vacation.
• Week 2: Ask readers to share a story (see strategy #1).
• Week 3: Follow up on the story by sharing other readers’ comments and your own suggestions.
• Week 4: Give an update on what’s going on with you so readers get a personal look at your life. Readers are more likely to work with and recommend people they know, like and trust, so help them get to know you.

In the next month, during weeks 2 and 3, you could comment on another story you received in your first month. In fact, if you get several quality stories, you could easily have several months of blogging. Once it runs out, simply request more stories. Chances are, you’ll catch a few people who didn’t see your application the first time, and you’ll have a whole new batch of new material.

Do you want to write smarter? If you use these three simple strategies, you’ll discover that there are endless topics waiting to be covered by you, and your difficulties in finding new content will be gone forever.