Generating Content Ideas Should Never Be Random

Fake it 'til you make it? It's debatable as to whether or not it works. But when it comes to creating content that resonates, it's better to wait for inspiration than to force it.

After all, your customers can sense insincerity and all you're doing is undermining the effectiveness of your brand and its voice.

Now, normally I'm a huge fan of Ragan.com and its philosophies. I've referenced them -- and owner Mark -- a few times over the years. And I proudly admit that, attending a conference with Mark and Steve Crescenzo, I found kindred communications spirits who proved to me that Corp Comm didn't have to be a soul-crushing exercise in kowtowing to C-Suite preferred Biz Speak.

It's safe to say a lot of what I hold true to now, in terms of honest, clear, and direct communications has its roots in their message.

Which is why it bugs me when I see articles like this on Ragan's site -- 5 free blog idea generators to liven up your content.

It's not the only culprit. Recently digitalmarketer decided to showcase over 200 blog post ideas.

I get it. It can be tough to come up with blog ideas. But there are two things in that statement: one, writing is not supposed to be easy; and, two, easy does not equal valuable -- and that's what you should be trying to give to your customers and readers with each and every post.

Here are some tips to help you developer regular, elite-quality content, and not just settle for quantity over quality.

Harness Inspiration

It's true that it can be a challenge to force inspiration. I've done a lot of on-demand work over the years and, while it's good, it doesn't have the same heart or cleverness that my "inspired" work has. Inspiration comes in many forms and it's important to capture it when it arrives.

And you don't need to ride that horse right away -- you can harness it and keep it in the stable for future reference.

I have a folder on my computer for Blog Ideas (it's actually named Blog Ides because my fingers worked faster than my brain, and I kind of like the whole "Beware the ides" reference) where I keep things that I feel would be worth talking about. Sometimes, when I'm walking down the street, I get the foundation of a blog rumbling in my head. So I'll stop and make notes on my phone. If I'm at home, I may jot down something in a notebook.

In the end, I'm left with a list of quality topics that resonate with me -- not just topics. And they can be fleshed out into full-fledged content at a later time.

Read, React, But Make Sure to Augment

The worst kind of blogs represent what I call "Me Too" journalism. It's where you take something that someone else has reported or created, and just parrot it.

The value of your corporate blogs (or personal ones) comes from you being able to add something of value to the conversation. You're not just reading and reacting, but you're augmenting the issue.

Early on in my journalism career, I learned that -- when writing editorial content -- it's not enough to just criticize. You have to offer a solution. And that's where the value for your reader comes. Whether it's a product that can solve a problem, or a perspective that you can bring based on your experience, that's what's going to mean something to your readers.

I could have easily just written a blog that said, "Faking blog topics sucks." But that's pretty obvious. The value, I hope, comes from the experience and recommendations I'm presenting. And that's what you need to keep in mind when writing or responding -- what can you bring to the table that augments the discussion?

You likely have expertise that no one else does; you most certainly have a personal history that no one else shares -- so what can you add to the conversation based upon your accumulation of knowledge and experience? That's the added value.

Plan to Succeed, But Don't Fail by Planning

I really don't like scheduling blog posts without an idea of what you're going to write about. The idea of saying, "I'm going to write one blog a week every Thursday" may be helpful in terms of motivating, but it doesn't guarantee quality. In many cases, it results in a rushed blog that's devoid of any value other than simply filling a gap.

There's a balance that must be struck. You don't want to have your blog (or social feeds) go dormant for too long. That's obviously not good. And it's something you need to address, from a corporate perspective right away (we talked about the basic corporate foundations of a blog endeavour back in February 2013)

You can schedule stock posts for certain topics: times of the year, holidays, events, monthly designations. Those end-of-year blogs or holiday pieces are almost expected, but how do you make the what can be the routine become something more? By adding your personality and experience.

Reduce Stress by Reusing, Recycling

Your published content doesn't have to die. Life changes, technology changes, and your customers' needs change. So that post you wrote two years ago may still have value -- especially if you use it as the base to revisit the topic and update it with new information.

We're constantly learning and developing; we're always refining how we do business and exploring new ways to help our customers get what they want. So if we're not static, why should our content remain stuck in time?

Your previous content is fertile ground from whence fresh, new content can sprout. Take a look at your archives and see what might be worth following up on. Anything from, "this still applies" to "this is what we thought, but in light of new information/best practices, this is what we need to do now," makes for great content.

After all, who is to say that you can't inspire yourself?

The additional benefit to self-referencing content is that you can reinforce your level of expertise amongst your readers and followers. "We discussed this issue a couple of years ago..." or, using an example in this very blog, " we talked about the basic corporate foundations of a blog endeavour back in February 2013..."

The point is there are many ways to generate content -- but some just happen to result in content that's far more relevant and valuable to your customers.

You can use a random content generator if you'd like. I prefer to keep content focused on my customer's needs and use my knowledge and experience to give them a targetted response that resonates.

Not just content that fills space.