Some of you are just starting out blogging or are thinking about starting a blog. If you’re still thinking about it, I say get started. It is a very effective way to grow and promote your business on-line. The monetary cost is minimal. The real cost is in time.

I’ve done several posts on managing time in social media. Head back into the archives if you want more information on that topic. They all use the “time management” tag.

But what I haven’t yet written about is how to find the topics. New bloggers (I know; I was one) worry that they won’t be able to come up with enough material to keep a blog going. I had the same fear. Turns out there was no reason to worry.

I get ideas from reading other blogs and following people in social media.

I get ideas from networking events, both good practices and bad.

I get ideas from my clients. Sometimes they ask questions that turn into blog posts. Sometimes things they try work out very well, and I use them in posts.

I get ideas from watching the news.

Sometimes I get pissed off and need a place to rant. My blog is a good one for that.

As I come up with ideas, I jot them down in Evernote. I tag them “blog topic” and whenever I am feeling stuck for a topic, I go back to my list. Currently I have 11 notes, a little over two weeks worth of topics. That’s a lot of “stuck” I can get out of.

If you are just starting out, I suggest you create a list in advance. 10-15 possible topics is a good starting point. Write a few of them, to find your style and voice.

And then go out and post them. When you meet with clients, take a moment to think about the meeting and uncover new posts. Jot down the questions people ask about your business or industry.

But most of all, don’t worry. Topics do come. They are the easy part. The harder part is getting into a rhythm of writing, posting and promoting.

Tags: blogging, time management

This entry was posted on Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 8:37 am and is filed under social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.