Guest Post – Our host is Rachel O’Riordan, here Rachel has some really interesting ideas to spice up your blog content.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.
Content is king in the online world. It’s got to be fresh, got to be unique, got to be new. Some days knowing you need to provide a new blog or article on the same niche product AGAIN is enough to make even the most creative of us wake up with a headache. But there are some easy techniques to use to freshen up those samey subjects.
I’m going to look at five ways to get a new angle on the same subject, and give you some examples. These five methods will work on a massive range of topics, so apply them as you need. I’m going to imagine we’re working on content strategy for an estate agent to illustrate ways to use each method, but they could be used for any business or client.
1. Whose voice? Change the point of view
Let’s say you’ve already written several advice style articles or blog posts on area guides and property for your estate agent. Trouble is the estate agent only covers certain areas. So you need to take a new point of view.
For the estate agent: have some fun here – what animals live in the area? If you’re covering any area of London it’s likely there are some urban foxes lurking. So let your next blog posts be from Frankie the fox – how does he like the area? What does he see as a nocturnal creature? The nice thing about this approach is you can write in the first person, add in Frankie’s tips, and most likely get a whole series of posts out of him.
2. History – educate your readers
Everyone likes to feel a bit more educated, especially if they can get well researched info in bit size chunks. This approach takes some fact checking and you’ll be learning too as part of the process
Estate agent: the history of any area they cover is going to be a sure fire hit with their prospective buyers. Find out any interesting events that have happened in the area, look for notable architecture, blue plaques and famous historical characters.
3. Newsworthy – make your writing current
Watch the news- what headlines are grabbing your attention? Can you link it to your client or business? Is there a story you can use to boost the popularity of your latest blog post?
Estate agent: property prices are in the news a lot, so look around the subject. Did a very quirky house just get sold, or the house that was used as a location in a film. Is there regeneration going on in the area, or did a local school do a sponsored event? Any of these will work well as the start of a story.
4. Stardust- find a celebrity story to increase interest
Now I know this may seem a bit cheap, but there are thousands of celebrity stories, magazines and pictures out there. We all catch a glimpse of this stuff sometimes even if we’re not proud of it, so why not pique your readers interest with some celebrity glamour.
Estate Agent: are there any celebrities moving in or out of the areas your client promotes? Have they been spotted at bars or parks anywhere near you? If all else fails a story about a celebrity and their amazing house, or the price they sold it is a great starting point.
5. Getting it wrong – learn from other’s mistakes
You know what my favourite kind of mistake is? One that someone else has made! This way of repositioning content could be a guide or a list. It’s a great way to demonstrate knowledge of a subject.
Estate Agent: what are the pitfalls of buying a house? What should every buyer not do before they hand over that deposit? Work on a title like this for you client and your story will run.
So for those times when your blog post task keeps creeping lower and lower down your to- do list, use one of these techniques to generate yourself a title, and let the creativity flow. If you still get stuck, mix these up or combine them – why not try historical celebrity news or mistakes from a new point of view?
