Are you struggling to come up with a topic idea for this week’s blog post or newsletter article? If so, it’s time to start a swipe file for writing ideas. This is simply a place you can store ideas when they come to you.
That’s exactly how I’ve come up with the topic for this blog post. I made myself the following note I don’t know how long ago:
Where to get content ideas
There are so many times I’m surfing the internet or reading an email and I think “that’s a great topic idea I could write about”. Instead of relying on the likelihood I’ll actually remember this when I need it (might as well forget it now!), I copy the page url and topic into a notepad file labeled ‘writing ideas’.
I just keep a running list I can easily scan through until the right one grabs me the next time I’m struggling to come up with an idea.
When it comes to writing for my nutrition business I not only keep this virtual list of ideas, I also have resources I can depend on for almost always giving me an idea.
My favorites are a subscription to Tufts Health & Nutrition Newsletter, ADA Daily News Digest, Dr. Stephan Sinatra’s print newsletter, and the ADA journal.
Do you have a list of resources readily available when you need an idea?
If not, I encourage you to start now. Regularly producing good quality, relevant content can be a daunting task. As long as you have places to refer there’s no reason you can’t whip up a good article at a moments notice when you need one!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson
Good advice, Lisa. I have noted in my own life….that when I start writing on a regular basis, the ideas keep flowing. Since I am a morning person, I think about a subject that I might want to write about before I go to bed…next morning the ideas flow.
Great ideas, Lisa. I was just thinking about this very issue. I agree that Kathy, the more I write, the ideas do flow…
Thank you for your article. I have to agree that you that you must write down and keep you ideas ready to write about.
I keep a journal and write in it everyday. This is very helpful for keeping my ideas fresh.
Hi Lisa,
I agree with you. Keeping a running list, especially on your smart phone, is a terrific way to jog your thoughts when you sit down to write.
I also agree with the rest of your commenters that the more I write, the better and more easily conjured my ideas are.
This is probably what many of us do, but I listen to what people around me say about nutrition. I hear a mom at a party mention that sugar is “toxic,” and that becomes my blog post for a site that targets parents. I get a series of e-mails about a high protein diet or some sort of miracle diet and I investigate it and write about it over the next few days.
I love this sort of exchange. Great piece and thanks for jogging my memory today!
Chris Cooper, MS, RD