Content Creator: Prime Your Idea Pump

by Angela Booth on May 17, 2013

Research What's Hot

I’ve been receiving questions about content creation this week, so let’s look at some resources you can use to get ideas for content.

The easiest way to get ideas for content is to monitor the news in your industry.

Monitor news sites

Check these sites first. When I’m working with a new client, and the company needs fresh content regularly, I visit Google News to set up some Alerts. I’ll create an Alert for the company’s name, as well as Alerts for their major competitors.

To create an Alert: run a search, and at the bottom of the page, you’ll see an option to create an email alert.

google alertJust click to create an email alert

Depending on the company, I’ll visit other sites to check on whether there’s news in an area – Reddit, Digg, Techmeme… If there is, I’ll make a note to keep on eye on the site.

Monitor industry news in your favorite reader

Google Reader, bless its heart, used to be my favorite way to monitor the news in an industry for content ideas.

Since GReader is almost defunct, I’m now using Feedly.

Choose an RSS/ news reader app, and set up a folder for your industry. Then add feeds and searches to the folder as you come across them.

Monitor social media

Create some industry-related lists in Twitter, and then monitor them using a tool like Hootsuite.

Monitor what’s new with you

Useful as it is to monitor the news in general, you also need to be alert to content opportunities in your own business.

Your sales and customer service people can be prime sources for content. Make it a practice to chat with them regularly. Encourage them to forward material to you too. You’ll be amazed at the content opportunities you find right in your own backyard.

Writing for the Web? Go Beyond the Words

The Web is changing fast. Are you changing with it?

Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter…

Images, video and audio enhance content on the new Web. Do you know how to create them and use them to enhance your Web writing?

If you’re a newly minted Web writer, start by becoming a master at creating Web articles.

Then get experience as an audio-visual writer, and you’ll be streets ahead of other writers – you’ll out-pace the competition, and you can charge more.

Ready to master the new Web, and become a master content creator?

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New Google+: Bright, Shiny and Fun to Use

by Angela Booth on May 16, 2013

New Google+

Are you using Google+? If you aren’t and you want to be found on the Web, do consider using it. I’ve noticed that my posts on Google+ are being returned for searches, before the blog articles to which they link.

I must admit however, that although I liked Google+ for the content, I wasn’t thrilled about the Web interface — confusing and clunky.

Google’s just unveiled a new interface for Google+. It reminds me of Pinterest. The stream now adapts to your screen size, and scrolls more easily, making for a much more enjoyable experience.

Here’s what Google says, Google+: New Google+: Stream, Hangouts, and Photos:

“Stream: modern design, multiple devices, more to explore

These days people increasingly move between devices. So to build software that builds real relationships, you need a simple and beautiful experience across mobile and desktop. We’ve worked hard to make our phone and tablet apps intimate and immersive — today we’re just improving them further and adapting their design for the web, including:

* A multi-column layout. You’ll see one, two, or three columns of content depending on your screen size and orientation.

*Awesome-sized media. Photos and videos can fill the entire width of the stream, making it easier to scan, and nicer to look at.

*Delightful animations. The sharebox bounces, the menus slide, and the cards flip and fade — just to name a few.”

Should you use Google+? You’ll consider it for SEO, but I’m sure you’ll stay with it for the Communities, the Hangouts, and now the experience.

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Creative Trouble: If You’re Creative, You’re Anxious

May 15, 2013

Fresh air and exercise help with creative anxiety If you’re creative, you’re sensitive, and anxiety comes with the territory: Therapist and creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD notes there are many different kinds of anxiety around creative expression, with different symptoms including confusion and a “weakness of mind and body” and persistent worry. But, he says, [...]

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Social Media: How Much Time Should You Spend?

May 14, 2013

Social media is essential. Or not. It very much depends on your business. Let’s say you own and operate a small business. Your customers are on Twitter. You make sales when you post specials. This means that Twitter is worthwhile for you. Once you’ve decided that social media is a useful marketing adjunct, how much [...]

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Press Releases: For Traffic, Not Just For Press

May 13, 2013

Have you discovered the power of press releases yet? You’ll get traffic, without getting “press” per se. This is the way publicity works now; you’re going directly to your customers. Press releases are simple and effective marketing. You can do very well with press releases if your business is new, as I mentioned here: He [...]

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Get Productive: 5 Simple Steps to To Do List Mastery

May 13, 2013

Although working from home has its benefits (no commute, for one), it also has pitfalls. I’m coaching an entrepreneur who’s getting a new business off the ground. She’s pregnant, so she’s uncomfortable with morning sickness which she says is more like “all day sickness”, and is coping with a toddler as well. Before we started [...]

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Everyone’s a Writer Now: 2 Tips to Make Writing Easy

May 13, 2013

Everyone writes these days – you need to write emails, marketing materials, Web content. No one escapes. It’s debilitating if writing is a chore for you. It needn’t be. I’ve been coaching a couple of solo entrepreneurs to help them to have fun, enjoy writing, and write more. They’ve found these two tips useful – [...]

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Writing a Book? Check Out My Blog for Authors

May 12, 2013

My Just Write a Book Blog I’ve received several email messages about my “write a book” blog post. I’m glad you like the tips. :-) If you want more tips on writing and selling books, check out my Just Write a Book Blog. Over the years, I’ve written many books for major publishers, both fiction [...]

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Writing A Book? Maybe You Need a Ghostwriter

May 10, 2013

I run a busy ghostwriting practice, and wish had a dollar for every person who’s ever said to me: I’m going to write a book when I: retire have more time start working part-time start working from home take my sabbatical take a course If you don’t start writing your book now, it will never [...]

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Press Releases: Not just For SEO

May 9, 2013

Have you been using press releases for your business? For a time, they were out of fashion, because Google’s Matt Cutts discounted their value for search engine optimization (SEO). However, apparently they are still worthwhile for SEO. If you choose to use them for that. This article reports: … we showed one case where Google [...]

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