Once you have established there are no fundamental barriers within your organization or among your staff to prevent the content curation process from proceeding, there are quite a few tried and true solutions, work-arounds, and tools to create regular blog and newsletter content.
Tip #1: Create a marketing content calendar- This doesn’t have to be fancy, nor do you need to go out and buy software or a tool. It can be as simple as an ongoing Word document or a list on your tablet. It’s important to try to be consistent with publishing articles on your blog or sending out an enewsletter.
Tip #2: You can never have too many article ideas. Generate as many ideas as possible, using brainstorming methods. Many people benefit from keeping post-its or a tablet with them everywhere they go, including the car. When generating ideas, try to focus on Evergreen Content whenever possible. Valuable sources for topics include setting up Google Alerts for keywords and competitors to see what content is being consumed, use your Google Analytics to hone in on topics and give readers more of what they want, and use our 56 ideas list and revisit it often.
Tip #3: Use a formula for generating articles, especially if you are working with a team at your organization to generate and collect content. Feel free to use the template we’ve created that has helped Vivid Image staff and clients create blog posts. Two things to keep in mind is 1) for best results, use content marketing to tell stories that educate, inform, or entertain, and 2) Remember to include a strong call to action. What do you want people to do?
Tip #4: Establish guidelines for guest or user generated content. This is not only helpful to you and to them, but important for your safety and well-being. We’ve outlined a number of things to consider here and here.
If these tools aren’t working for you, and you are getting stuck (especially with getting others on board), please review the most common Content Curation Obstacles. If you’re still having trouble, give us a call and we’ll write them for you! 320-587-8974
