One thing that often scares new business owners or potential business owners is that, in the online world, you’re going to have to create content as a way of marketing your business.
When you own a brick and mortar store, you have some instant advertising just by the fact that people drive and/or walk by your storefront every day.
Some will try you out, and they’ll tell their friends about you.
Because there are millions of websites out there, you have virtually no chance of people just “happening by” your online business. And there certainly won’t be enough to earn a living.
Build and they will come does not apply to your online business.
So how do you advertise and gain customers?
If you have a healthy budget you can always use Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn Ads. You can even use good old Google Adwords to help your business be seen by people doing relevant Google searches.
But paid advertising is not only expensive, there’s a huge learning curve to it, and even when you get it right, you’ve got to be constantly testing and tweaking things to keep it right and keep your costs down.
A big budget and a lot of time are two things work from home moms don’t usually have in the beginning. (And let’s face it, we haven’t had a lot of time since our little angels arrived, and won’t until they’re at least 18!)
The best way to advertise your business then is going to be through writing content that brings your prospects to your website, or blog, or Messenger inbox.
While most of us have a thing or two we feel like we can write about, the thought of writing something every day, or even every other day, may leave you thinking you have no idea what to write about a week into your business, and certainly not a year or two in.
Even the most prolific writers among us get stuck or lack inspiration every now and then.
Fortunately, because the internet is so crowded, there are really an unlimited number of places where you can find content.
Instead of throwing you out there and saying, “Just search the internet and content ideas will come pouring in,” today we’ll look at 10 of the best places you can go on the internet when you’re looking for ideas of what to write about, whether it be on your blog or social media posts.
1. Google News
Google News is an easy place to find trending stories that gives you a lot of options for personalization.
You can look at the top headlines from around the world, just your country, or even locally. In addition, you can follow topics and come up with your own searches to target stories that would be relevant to your market, then save the searches to check in on every day.
Don’t just look for things that would teach your audience about your market or be industry-specific stories.
You can take a trending story and use it to grab readers’ attention, then relate it or compare it to something relevant to your business.
For example, one of today’s big stories is about celebrities who have lost their homes in the California wildfire. You can lead with how you were reading about this and it got you thinking about what really matters in life, or about dealing with loss, or rebuilding, or whatever theme you want to pursue, and make your point from there.
2. Google Alerts
As the site says, Google Alerts allows you to monitor the web for interesting and new content.
You set up alerts for specific terms or topics, and Google will send you a daily email summarizing the web pages, newspaper articles, blogs, and other content it finds that matches your search terms.
You can quickly browse through the results once a day, and fill your head with content ideas based on what’s out there.
3. Google/YouTube Autocomplete
You’re probably figuring out that Google is an extremely resourceful place when it comes to finding content. Here’s one more from Google.
When you go to the Google search bar, or the YouTube search bar, and start typing, you’ll find a dropdown menu that offers suggestions for autocompleting what you’re beginning to type.
This is a great resource because it not only gives you ideas, but its ideas are based on what’s being searched for in Google and YouTube, so you know people are looking for content on the topic.
You’ll also want to scroll to the bottom of the Google search results page where you’ll see “Searches related to [whatever term or phrase you’ve searched for]."
This will give you more ideas, and again shows what people are searching for.
This will give you more ideas, and again shows what people are searching for.
4. Social Media Groups and Hashtags
Chances are you’re on social media anyway, so keep a notepad open and write down questions you see being asked in Facebook groups, as well as topics that are being discussed a lot in groups and in your newsfeed.
Search relevant hashtags on Instagram and Twitter and see what’s getting a lot of attention.
Twitter has a “trends for you” section that shows popular hashtags and topics based on who you follow and what your interests are.
Twitter search is also a goldmine where you can enter any hashtag or topic and find what people are saying about it on Twitter.
If you’re thinking, “I’m not on Twitter, that’s old news,” it’s time to rethink that if you’re interested in growing your business.
5. SlideShare
You may not have heard of this one, but SlideShare is another site that’s full of gems.
Owned by LinkedIn, SlideShare is a hosting service that allows you to “share what you know and love through presentations, infographics, documents and more.”
It has a search bar for you to enter your relevant terms, and also shows what’s trending in social media, daily top headlines, and featured and trending slideshows.
The bonus factor with SlideShare is that you’ll see a lot of quality content here that’s put together by users who are influential in their fields. There’s no sifting through questionable or down right bad information.
6. Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo is expensive, but the good news is you may never need to purchase their pro plan.
You can use the search bar at the top of the website for free, and it will give you 10 articles related to your search, which is more than enough to get the ideas flowing in your brain.
The articles are ranked by how much social engagement they’ve gotten on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit, as well as how evergreen the content is, so you can be sure you’re talking about something people are engaging with.
Buzzsumo does a lot more than this, and you may find it worth $79 a month when you hit the big time, but the free version is still incredibly helpful.
7. Popular Quotes
Simply going to sites like GoodReads and BrainyQuotes and browsing popular quotes will give you plenty to write about.
You can either use the quote, and talk about what it means to you, how to put the advice into practice, or why the quote is wrong, or you can not even mention the quote and write about what it brings to mind for you.
8. Amazon Bestseller Lists
Head over to Amazon.com and use the search bar to find the hottest books on a topic that’s relevant for you.
The book titles themselves will often provide what you need for content ideas, but if you really want to go deep, click through on a few of the books and read the reviews people have left to find out what people are saying on the topic and what questions you can answer.
9. Idea Generators
Recognizing that being stuck on what to write is a common problem, some companies have created software with the sole purpose of giving you ideas of what to write on.
There are several out there, but not all of them are great. Here are two you’ll find good results with:
Simply enter your keyword, and these tools will pop out headline ideas for you around that keyword.
10. Your Story
One mistake a lot of people make is thinking they don’t have the expertise it takes to write content for their business.
Truth is, people can find “how to” content all day long. And while it’s helpful, what really engages people is stories they can relate to, be inspired by, or learn from.
Make sure you’re sharing your stories. Stories of struggles and successes, of lessons learned, mistakes made, victories had.
And they don’t have to be all business stories. You won’t have a lot of those to start with. Personal stories go a long ways towards building the know, like, and trust factor that turns prospects into customers.
So yes, it’s possible that sharing your stressful day and plan for recovery could make someone totally relate to you and want to buy whatever you’re selling.
Finding Your Search Terms
As you’ve seen, most of these ideas require you to have keywords or search terms to begin with.
These are simply broad topics that your audience is interested in that are relevant to your business. Some are probably obvious, but you’ll develop a continuously better understanding of your perfect search terms as you gain more experience.
And of course, if you have a mentor in your business, she can help you cut down this learning curve and speed up your path to profit.
If you’re just starting out, or even still in the idea stage of wanting to have your own business, take a look at the great opportunity Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs has put together for stay at home moms, or those wanting to stay home with their kids and still generate an income.
Cheryl is offering memberships in KidsPartyCharacters.com that allow you to have your very own business using all the tools she’s used to take Kids Party Characters to a six-figure business.
You’ll get an exclusive territory in which to book parties, the right to use our 200 plus costumes, access to our acting coach and casting director, as well as step-by-step business training from Cheryl on how to get started the right way.
Schedule a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll answer all your questions about this fun and rewarding work at home opportunity.
Want to know more about Kids Party Characters? Connect with us on Facebook for daily updates about the magic we bring to children’s parties, as well as our best tips and strategies about being a successful work from home mom.
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