Help for Your Inbound Marketing Strategy!
We’re huge fans of infographics, and we’re not afraid to admit that this one really hit close to home. Even the world’s most prolific writers get a little burned out sometimes, and almost no one is immune to the phenomenon of writer’s block. IMA’s content team tends to deliver almost 60,000 words on a weekly basis. To put things in perspective, the average novel is between 60,000 and 80,000 words. We’ve all run up against a wall or an impossible title 5 or 5,000 times in our careers, and the suggestions in this infographic are spot-on. We won’t get into all of them, but we’ll highlight a few of our favorites:
1. Content Curation
See what I did with this content? The folks at Copyblogger made the infographic, I gave them credit for their hard work, and then I used it as inspiration for sharing my own experience. Chances are, many other marketers don’t mind being used as inspiration as long as you don’t plagiarize and give credit where credit is due. There’s no shortage of content online, just a shortage of really super-awesome content, which is why you can totally reuse and recycle stuff the right way.
2. Accept Guest Posts
Guest posts are kind of like Christmas or other winter holidays. You get to experience the gift of not having to create original content, but still having something amazing to share with your readers. Make it a positive experience for your audience by being clear about your guest posting guidelines, and offering something in return when you have the time to write something to share.
3. Give an Insider’s Look
I really, really want to know what HubSpot’s blog analytics look like. We all want to know what goes on behind the scenes at truly successful businesses. I can’t make Jeff Bullas or ProBlogger share their secrets, but I can suggest that giving a behind-the-scenes look at how you create information at your organization and developed a readership has worked for you. Reveal your blog analytics and top-performing posts. Let people know what went wrong when you slaved over a post that crashed and burned. They’ll appreciate the knowledge and the honesty.
4. Do a Mashup
Ah, mashup posts are so much fun. I know I haven’t stopped talking about “Why Hashtags are Like Hashbrowns” since it was published, but it was one of the best posts I’ve ever read. Compare two totally unrelated topics, especially if one of these factors has some name recognition. SEO and Superman. Email marketing and Evil Knieval. This option is only as limited as your imagination, to paraphrase a line from my favorite childhood show Reading Rainbow.
5. Get Personal
You’re a real person to your prospects. You don’t need to get super-duper personal, and in fact, you probably really shouldn’t, but you also don’t need to write behind a steel veil of intense professionalism. Weave a little of your life experiences into your blog posts. It’s bound to be awesome.
6. Drop Some Names
How would Superman approach on-page SEO? What if the Academy Awards were handing out trophies to blogs, and giving recognition for best titles or images instead of cinematography? Letting your imagination run wild into the realm of pop culture might be the best thing you ever do for your writer’s block (or inbound marketing analytics!).
7. Step Away from the Screens
Sometimes, the most effective way to create content is just to not worry about it at all, which is one of the things we love about this infographic! If you’re forcing it, it might not be especially compelling in the end anyway. Step away from the screens, take a walk, or create some memes of your co-workers. We promise you’ll find your muse again.
How do you create content when you’d rather be doing anything else?
