Many woman entrepreneurs have been telling me that they are having trouble coming up with ideas or content for their newsletters. I was in the same position when I started out a couple years ago. I would have a burst of energy and power write a couple articles and fit one into my ezine then I would hit a plateau. Sound familiar?
How do you juggle family and keeping up with an ezine? Juggling a family and a business can be trying when you are trying to keep breast on the latest and greatest content for your readers. There were some late nights and some nights I would only write one paragraph at a time but the ezine got done. You make it work for you. Consistency is definitely something to work towards.
Where can I get ideas for fresh content? One of the first places I would tell you to go is your blog. Re-purpose your blog. Change the title and reword a few lines here and there. You might even dig deeper into some of the tips and techniques you share. You may also want to check out what others in the same industry as you are talking about on their blogs or websites. Pay attention to some of the comments posted by readers. The comments may generate a few solutions you could write about. Write a book review or recommendation about one of the books you just read and share the lessons you took away from it with your audience. Make sure you Tweet or Facebook the author – I am sure they would appreciate your feedback. Share some of your challenges or celebrations you have encountered while running your business. What are some of the headlines of the magazines you read? What are your audience’s needs or what questions do they need answers to? Be the solution. If you are really stuck, send out a survey and ask your readers what they want or need to know! Content is everywhere. What you think is simple, someone is still learning.
Is there a system to creating content? Just as a story is prepared, so is your content. You should have an introduction to your topic, 3-5 tips you plan to share and expand on, and a conclusion summarizing your key points. Suggest a challenge, a call to action, or even a question that will facilitate thought so that the reader with continue to think about your message and even share it. Save quotes and articles that interest you. These topics can also stimulate ideas for fresh valuable content.
Decide how frequently you want to send out your ezine – weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Select a theme or topic you want to touch on for the month and then break it down. This exercise will help you stay motivated and keep focused on creating content for your ezine. Creating content can be fun and profitable especially when it grabs your readers’ attention.
Please share how you create content for your ezine.
Hi Deb, great post. As a write I too have found that new and fresh content can be a challenge. Like in your writing, I also love to use life as a basis for content. For example, when I get great customer service, I write a blog or article about that (they also become great stories for my presentations). I find that writing as the ideas surface is important. This helps me be a couple of months ahead in writing, for example, I have blog postings written and loaded into my blog using the preschedule option. I now have blogs every other day for the next six weeks. I also blog about tele classes I attended and the radio shows I hosted. Thanks for reminding people about a great structure that works for writing blogs, articles and tips. Blogs can also form an ebook, we have taken the first two years worth of blogs and articles and have created an ebook for my corporate clients. GREAT reminder about consistency. Thanks for Posting Debra!
Thank you for your insight Charmaine! There is so much opportunity to repurpose our content to create and target new products and services. Keep it up!
Debra thanks for your point in here about what “what you think is simple someone else is still learning” I often have post ideas but then let them slip away on the notion that everyone already knows that.
Slip away no more. I hope this will help me move towards more consistency.
Thanks again!
I have caught myself in the same situation. I think, “Oh people must know that already, then I learn they don’t.” Best to try it out. Some will and some won’t. Someone has to share and teach. Thanks for the feedback!
Debra