How Do We Come Up With Blog Ideas for a Professional Services Website?

Often, when I talk to subject matter experts at various professional services agencies, they explain that they don’t write blogs because they just don’t know what to say. At first, I didn’t get this. These people are EXPERTS, for heaven’s sakes! Any one of them could talk for hours about one single aspect of their business. How hard can it be to commit that expertise to paper (or pixels)? 

But, as I thought about it, I started to get the issue. It isn’t that these experts don’t know what to say; they don’t know how to get started. The blink of the cursor is never so loud as on a blank page. As an organization that writes lots of blogs for lots of organizations in a vast number of industries, this is a problem Spring Insight is equipped to help with. 

Get In The Right Mindset For Blog Writing

Content creation is an extremely valuable asset to increase sales to your business. But sometimes knowing you should do something, and actually doing it are two different things. Before we talk about how we come up with blog ideas, here are some tips on creating a blog writing mentality:

1. Blog Topics One Day, Content Writing Another.

The best way to set yourself up for failure in content writing is to set aside a day to write and sit down without a topic. You always want to have a topic and point of view before you sit down to write your blog.

There are two reasons for this. First, the part of your brain we use to come up with blog topic ideas is completely different than the part of the brain we use to write them. Expecting both to be firing on all cylinders on the same day is a big ask.

Second, the moment you come up with an idea for content, your unconscious mind will start working it through. If you give your mind time to process the information, you’ll have an easier time writing (and a better piece of content) as a result.

Have you ever noticed that often when you procrastinate on a task, it turns out to be way easier to do than you expected? This is because, during the time you were procrastinating, your subconscious mind was shuffling information, editing ideas, and getting the process started.

2. Keep A Running List of Blog Ideas.

Where can business owners and subject matter experts find ideas for blog posts? The answer is all around you. For example, is there a question you’re tired of hearing people ask you lest you go crazy? Boom. That’s perfect fodder for blog posts. So stop cringing at those questions and start writing. If your clients are asking them, then chances are many others are too. Bonus points, you already know the answer and have discussed it so much that you could write that content in your sleep.

Another way to make your life easier with content ideas is to keep a running list of topics. The more that content writing is at the forefront of your mind, the more you’ll notice that content ideas just come to you. I can hear you shaking your head at me. But, trust me; there will be a time when you think, “I should write a blog about this.”

Of course, most of the time, you aren’t going to drop everything and start writing at that very moment. So, capture the idea and save it for later. You could do this as a literal list in a journal, a section of a digital to-do list, a content grid, or a notebook on your project management system. Find somewhere that you can track blog ideas. Then, when it comes time to do the writing, maybe even on a monthly or biweekly basis, you’ll be thankful to have them.

Spring Insight’s (Not So) Super Secret Method for Generating Blog Ideas

Hopefully, the above tips and tricks give you a sense of how to keep and generate ideas from your surroundings and get started.

But what if you’re still adrift?

(Erika looks both ways to see if anyone is around before typing the next sentence.) We got you. Here is our super-secret list of questions that never fails to generate a blog post:

• What is something tactical in your business you can explain how to do?
  (Example: For my business, it might be “How do you come up with blog ideas?”) 
• What is a top-five list about your business?
  (Example: Top five red flags to beware of, top five publications to keep an eye on, top five most essential items to keep in mind, etc.)
• What is something you wish prospective customers knew about the cost of your product or service?
  (Example: What is included in pricing, why your pricing is more or less than others, etc.)
• When are the important times of the year for your business? How does seasonality impact the work you do and when clients need your products or services?
• How are your products and services different from your competitors?

After considering these questions, you should have some ideas in your head. But, again, don’t overthink it. Often, you don’t need to reinvest the wheel to deliver exciting content that gets new prospects in the door.

What if writing isn’t for you? Or what if you’re too busy to write content? As a business owner, I understand that many other things might come before blog writing. In any case, Spring Insight has you covered. Our expert marketing strategists and copywriters are ready to work with you to create meaningful and valuable content while always keeping your brand’s voice at the heart of everything we create. Contact our marketing team today to get started.