Finding inspiration for your blog and social media ...
You decided to have your blog and to communicate with you followers. This is a great thing and a big step in your community creation! Congratulations!
You added a blog part on your website and joyfully created your Instagram and Facebook accounts.
And then you opened a Word document, ready to be the next 2.0 Hemingway. You typed your post number, the date and… And then nothing… The white page… No inspiration… No nothing…
“What am I going to tell them?”
“I know nothing Jon Snow!”
“Nobody will read what I am going to write!”
“People will laugh at me!”
“I have nothing interesting to tell!”
Yes I know all of these… I went through it myself… I so wanted to have a blog, to write interesting, inspiring things, to become THE blogger everybody was looking for…
And then, each time I tried I just quit after some times. Because of the same questions, the same fears that you have: I HAVE NOTHING INTERESTING TO TELL!
And I can tell you that all of these are wrong!
You have plenty of interesting things to tell to your audience, plenty of valuable experiences to share, tips, insights and so on. And you will also soon discover that inspiration is not such a demanding muse…
Where can you find inspiration to write inspiring and truly yours posts and drive engagement?
Open your eyes big and let your inner child express his curiosity…
Always be curious the way children are and question everything that can cross your path: places, people, movies, podcasts, books…
If you like them, it’s possible that your audience might like them too.
You just read a book of an inspiring entrepreneur who created one’s company from scratch? You found so many useful tips that you would like to share with the others? Just write a book review and tell why you recommend it.
You had a working session in a brand new arty coffee and you loved the cappuccino and the atmosphere? Share a picture on Instagram with all your impressions about this place.
You admire a person so much, in your field or in a completely different one. Write an article about him/her and explain why this person is such a great source for inspiration. Bonus point if you can have an interview with him/her :)
Pretty good you would tell me, but how these kinds of posts will help me to increase my visibility and to find my future clients?
Yes, you are right. These posts won’t demonstrate any kind of knowledge. However, they will show that you are a human being with a unique personality.
They will help your potential clients understand who you are, how you work, how you see life, what are your hobbies and centers of interests.
Your potential clients will be able to identify to your mindset and way of life. And, between two similar offers, they may choose you, and only you, just because you show them your “behind the scenes”.
Just put yourself in the shoes of your potential readers and followers…
What kind of information would you like to read if you happen to arrive on your blog? What kind of things would you looking for? What kind of information would you want to learn in your sector of activity?
And how would you like to consume this information? In which format?
Try to remember why you decided to subscribe to that mailing list or to follow someone on Facebook or Instagram.
Was it because you liked the tone of voice? Or the layout? Or the topics? Or the atmosphere? Or all of them?
Always look at your own behaviour and information consumption. You are also the potential client of someone else… You are not that different from the people you target.
Do some Google researches also on the topics you want to talk about. Do you find easily some related articles? Or do you need to spend hours to finally find something?
If it’s your case, it is probably the case of your targets too.
Take inspiration but do not copy!
I am sure you are following a lot of people from your sphere offering similar products/services than yours.
Take inspiration from them: what are the topics they focus on? What are the topics they don’t talk about? Are they relevant to your business and your target audience?
Look at magazines, newspapers…
Make a list of all potential topics you find on their blogs or websites and confront them to your own situation. You will create yourself a stock of potential ideas to write about when you won’t have inspiration.
Depending on your sector, activity and seasons, some topics are “mandatory”. See how people from your field speak about them. And see how you can integrate them in your editorial planning with your own twist. And your own twist will make all the differences.
Look at Google Trends to see trendy topics depending on your activity.
And last but not least…
Don’t look for being perfect with the perfect tone of voice and perfect angle from your very first blogpost… Just start! Everything will come in time… The more you practice the better you become. There is always room for improvement.
The same with inspiration for your community…
Always have a notebook with you to write down ideas. You never know when inspiration will strike you :)
And read, read, read, read! Read the more you can!
And look at the world around you with big eyes!