Yesterday we talked about ways to ramp up member acquisition for the upcoming year. Our strategies included evaluation of your value proposition, analysis of the buyer’s journey and the importance of starting a blog on your site. If you missed it, check it out here >> 3 Ways to Ramp Up Membership
While strategy one and two are seemingly simple, starting a blog can be really challenging. There are best practices to follow and a detailed content calendar to manage. One item on your blog to-do list that some people miss is actually coming up with the content and specific copy for each post. You may have a theme or topic in mind, but when you’re faced with a blank word doc and serious writer’s block, you need a backup plan.
Outbrain, a content marketing company, wrote a great post on content discovery. They branched outside the average “check your favorite websites” or “follow industry leaders”. We thought we’d share some with you. To read the entire article, click here >> 12 Ways to Source Content Topics for Your Blog
Join an Online Community
Get involved at the ground level. What are people in your industry talking about? What are their goals, ideas, questions? Use this information to develop content pieces that serve as helpful resources. “Spending just 10 minutes a day in group discussions can provide a constant flow of content ideas,” says — Ken McDonald, Chief Growth Officer of TeamSnap.com.
Ask a Question on LinkedIn
Pose a question to your followers. Ask them about their struggles or interests. If you have established yourself as a credible source of knowledge in the industry, you’ll at least get a handful of people to respond. Not only with their answer give you more clarity on content ideas but also hopefully make you more visible.
Search Quora or Yahoo Answers
I’ll be honest and say I haven’t heard this strategy before but I can see the value. Hop onto to a question thread in your industry. What are people talking about? And how beneficial are the answers listed? If you’ve got the expertise, jump in with a resourceful answer. If it seems like a good exchange, turn it into a post to help others as well.
Read Comments on Popular Blogs
Similar to the idea above, see what’s going on on popular industry blogs. How do people receive their content and how can that affect your strategy?
Not every strategy will work for you too. Take a deep dive into what your members need. How does the way you configure your blog help them? Plan your content surrounding their questions.
You’d like a blog but just don’t have the time to write? We’ve got multiple content writers on staff here at ArcStone. If you’d like to chat, shoot me a message at aketcham@arcstone.com.