Website Content Ideas: 7 Templates Every Blog Owner Oughta' Try For Effortless Content Creation

Stuck for ideas for what to write for your next article or blog post?  Here are a few time-tested, proven templates for content ideas that will work for any market.

 

 

 

 

1. Tips - A post/article covering a list of tips, strategies, etc. for a particular topic.  Tips for getting more traffic from YouTube, tips for raising happier, healthier kids, etc.
2. How-To / Steps - Similar to the above, but in the specific order you'd need to follow to complete a certain task, and likely more detail than just a set of tips
3. Lessons Learned - At some point, we've all zigged when we should have zagged.  These can be great fodder for an article or blog post.  Not only would it highlight the mis-step that was taken, but would also include what was done to get back on track (and how your readers can avoid doing something similar).
4. List of Resources - This could be a general list of resources on a given topic (cool sites you've found, etc.) or resources that help someone accomplish a specific task
   (5 resources to learn more about ____).  Just be sure not to limit yourself to only online resources.
5. Back to Basics - Nearly any topic can stand to have a "back to basics" or
   "_______, 101" series of articles or blog posts.  Hopefully you're in a market where there's a constant influx of new people…so they'll really need that sort of info.  But even the "old timers" could stand a refresher every once in awhile.  There's a difference between "knowing" and "doing" and often times a back to basics article reminds us of where we've been slacking off.
6. Pros and Cons - If you're in a market where there are several competing options, products, services, or methods of doing something, a pros & cons article can be a great framework for an article or post.  Pros and Cons of hosting your own blog versus using a free service.  Pros and cons of organic dog food for your puppy.  Etc.
7. FAQs - Again, with the idea of providing great content to your readers, a frequently asked questions article or post is an excellent choice for just about any market.  You can either survey your visitors and use that as the basis for your FAQs or simply find places where your market hangs out (online or offline) and find out what the most common questions or concerns are.

 

Popularity: 7% [?]

Stop Taking Care of Your Customers and Maybe They'll Leave You Alone

(Want to keep your buyers from looking like this guy? Read on…)

There seem to have been quite a few blog posts recently on the topic of customer service…like Terry Dean's post here & Ed Rivis' post here.  I figured I'd chime in on this topic too. 

Most of us would probably agree that it's pretty crazy to think you can totally ignore customer service or completely leave it up to automated systems.  For some issues, you'll need a person in the loop (but no, it doesn't HAVE to be YOU).

It seems like too many people online try so hard to be completely inaccessible…no contact info, email, phone number…NOTHING!  With the Internet being a pretty impersonal media to start with, that strategy seems like shooting yourself in the foot.  So much for know, like and trust.

Not that you should allow your support system to go completely out of control and turn into a free coaching program.  But it just makes good sense to offer some basic level of support to help people if needed.  This is especially true if you're offering software, but still applies across the board for all of us online if you have any sort of product or service.  People expect a bare minimum of support in case issues come up, especially if they're shelling out their cash for your products…and it's not that difficult to offer. 

Just taking the extra effort to have an easily accessible, OBVIOUS frequently asked questions page or knowledgebase that people can search at their convenience is a good start…maybe good enough.  The point is, you got them to your site and have them as a customer now.  You either paid for the traffic with cash or with time.  So you may as well do what you can (within reason) to KEEP them as a customer.

On a side note, one other thing people seem to overlook with this whole "inaccessibility" thing is how on Earth are non-customers, but potentially good business contacts supposed to contact you? 

What if someone wants to partner with you on a project, give you an outlet for some good PR, or other opportunities that would help further your business?  Then again, maybe some people don't want that sort of exposure.

I had an idea for an interview I wanted to do with a handful of people awhile back.  But I tabled the idea when I discovered not ONE of them had an obvious way to contact them on their site.  Sure, I could have done a WHOIS lookup and gone all stalker-style, but do you really think MOST people are going to know to do that?  Or take the time to do that?

I've always had a means of contact on this site (since I started actively posting that is).  Just click the contact link here or at the top of the page. 

You'll see that I recently changed from a plain ol' contact form to a support ticket system, and there are several very important reasons for this:

1. To handle all support issues / contacts at once & easily track the back-and-forth
2. To offer support across all my products/sites, including some new projects in the works
3. To add info to an easy-to-use KnowledgBase so people can self-help before needing to submit a ticket (yes, I know it's empty now, but I'm getting there)
4. So I can easily outsource some of these tasks to contractors, etc.

The software I chose isn't free, though there are free alternatives available.  Oh, and there are a few things I wish it did, like automatically adding email replies to the correct ticket, sort of like what some of the more expensive solutions do.

But hey, that's a pretty minor downside and a whole lot of upside.  And I can say from an admin perspective, it's pretty easy to setup and use.  I've also used this software to get support for products on other sites and can say that from a user's perspective, it also works like a champ.

So if your online business use a streamlined, user-friendly support system, then this software gets my "green light" and you should check it out.

But DON'T buy this if you don't have any products or don't need to provide customer support yet.  Focus on other stuff first…it'll still be around when you actually need it.

Oh, you can see a working demo of the admin area and get more info here:

Customer Support Software demo and more info

Popularity: 8% [?]

The Fine Art of Focus - Just Because You CAN Doesn't Mean You SHOULD

It still amazes me how much opportunity there is out there.  With a handful of low-cost tools, a little know-how and the right attitude, people can jump on all sorts of great opportunities.

But there's the problem…soooo many opportunities!

I'm pretty good at filtering these things out now, based on some rules I've come up with for what sort of projects I'm willing to take on.  But every once in awhile, something sneaks in under the radar.  Then it's a day spent ooohing and ahhhhing over how awesome that such-and-such idea would be…how we could do this, how we could do that…you get the point.

That's why it's best to come up with some rules for what you will and (more importantly) WILL NOT do.  Like the title says, just because you can doesn't mean you should.  There are a million and one ways to make a buck, online or offline.  But that doesn't mean you should jump ship off your current project just because something comes along that looks better and that also matches your skills, interests, etc.

For example, just because you know how to create ebook, DVD, or CD graphics doesn't mean you should setup shop and start doing that for a living.  Maybe you should, but maybe it doesn't fit in with what you're looking for.  It may take too much time, or you may not want something that's strictly based on the amount of time you put in, etc.  Then again, it may be so enjoyable for you (or so profitable) that it makes sense, at least in the short term.  It could be a short-term strategy in lieu of working a job - a way to bridge the gap from employee to business OWNER (emphasis on owner, rather than self-employed DO-er).

Another example…maybe the idea has an unpredictable income stream, like Google AdSense.  You might decide that letting Google (even potentially) impact your ability to keep the lights on makes for bad strategy.  Hmmmm…don't want to end up like this guy.

So what's on your list of "I won't do that for money" things that helps you keep focused when new ideas come along?

Don't have a list?  You should probably make one.

Have a list? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Popularity: 4% [?]

One of the Best Content Sources for Infoproduct Creators and Affiliates

Content creation for your online business is one of the biggest stumbling blocks many of us face.  I have to admit, sometimes I still find it challenging to come up with good content ideas.  If you feel the same way, maybe this little tip will help.  This is especially useful if you create and sell your own infoproducts or promote affiliate products.  Sorry, can't say there's any rocket science here.  No "ninja tricks" or secret sources for push-button article writers.  But since I just had this "DUH" moment, I thought someone else might find it useful too.

Take a look at the product you're promoting.  If you're an affiliate, hopefully you have a copy of the product or have used it in the past.  If it's your own product, then you're already in good shape.  Read through it, watch it, listen to it or whatever.  As you do that, take note of any times when you mention lists of items, resources, tips, etc.  I mean literally take notes as you go through the thing.  Also, take a look at the sales letter.  Pick out any bullet points that lend themselves to lists of "stuff" you could talk about without giving away the entire course.

Then, create articles, blog posts or other content based on those lists.  Talk about what the product does, what's in it for the customer if they buy it, the problem that it solves or give an overview of the tips included in the product.  You may or may not want to include everything that's mentioned in a particular list.  What if you create a series of articles about this product?  All of them together may give away so much info that no one needs to buy the product.  However, your article should still cover enough to be of value…the person should be better off after reading your article than they were beforehand.

Two quick examples:

1. Say you have a course about online video.  You have a section that covers 10 ways you can use online video on your website to boost conversion.  You could easily create an article that outlines some (or all) of those recommendations…places people should test video within their sales process.  But in your course, you may also include "what to say in the video" or some other bit of info that would make the job easier - and that people will likely also want to know (rather than figuring out through trial and error).
2. Or maybe you offer a dog training course.  You could easily create content covering the most common training problems for new dog owners, with one problem covered in each article/podcast/blog post.  But of course, you have 101 training techniques included in your product, including recommended training tools, resources and so on…which you can recommend at the end of your article.

The end result is content that, on it's own, contains valuable information that someone can actually do something with (not just a bunch of fluff).  The idea is NOT to just create a mini sales letter.  So that's the obvious benefit to the reader, but here's how it benefits you:

• It gives you a natural way to include a good call-to-action at the end of your content to mention your product as a way to find out more about that topic
• It helps educate your target market about why they should consider buying your product (e.g., in example #1 above, maybe the reader doesn't realize how much online video can help).  So you also get an educated customer, which is a better customer.

Like I said, simple enough and probably nothing new.  But I was shocked at how many content ideas I came up with just by going through my own stuff again.  Hopefully that will help you promote your products (or affiliate products) too.

P.S. - This same idea can be used to promote the freebie you're giving away to build your opt-in list too.  Can you think of any other uses?  Leave a comment below.

 

Popularity: 10% [?]

Focusing on Leverage

I would say that at least once a week (if not more) I hear someone talking about some job or money related thing that just points out the fact that most of us don't really focus on building leverage.  The other day, I heard some people talking about how the latest round of promotions in their office were pretty thin since funds for the organization were cut.  Therefore, fewer people got promoted…better luck next year.  Comments like, "Well, that's life" were all that was offered as the passed-over employees went back to the grind.

Instead of worrying so much about being "given" a promotion, most people would be better off if they used their natural skills and talents to go out and "generate" additional income (or, horror of horrors, develop new skills that allows them to do so). 

It doesn't matter if it's done via affiliate marketing, an infoproduct business, making/selling crafts from home or providing some sort of service (though I obviously have my own criteria for choosing among those options).  To some extent, the vehicle used doesn't really matter.  What's important is to have some sort of additional income stream that can help you bridge the gap between how much you make now and how much you'd like to be making. 

Ideally that income stream will grow to the point that it can replace what you make from your current employer but will also be systemized so it requires little to none of your time to keep running (so YOU don't have to be part of the equation).

Why is that?  Is it because of laziness or wanting to take advantage of the work done by others?  Hardly! 

The hard, cold fact is that at some point, you're not going to be able to do whatever the "thing" is that you do now (or you just flat out won't WANT to do).  Why not guard against that by setting up that additional income streams now?  Not "multiple streams of income"…just ONE thing.  The former is just an excuse for lack of focus.

This whole trading time for money thing is a bit ridiculous sometimes.  I heard a guy that's about to "retire" talking about moving to New Mexico.  I guess they pay nearly the same amount there as they do in Washington, DC for his particular job but the cost of living there is much less.  So he commented that maybe he'd work there once he moved, doing the same sort of thing he does now but after he "retired"…presumably because the pay was so great. 

But my question is why would you want to CHOOSE to spend your golden years slogging off to some job, trading even more of your "more-precious-than-ever" time for money, rather than enjoying yourself?  Instead, why not use all that you've learned over the last 30-something years and find a way to make that experience work for you, perhaps in the form of coaching, consulting, creating an informational how-to guide or some other "thing" that gives you freedom of time and freedom of location?

Oh well, to each his own I guess…

Popularity: 39% [?]

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