I am involved in a new project and I've been asked to produce articles, blog posts, tweets, etc. related to a few topics in the tech industry. I am well versed in the topic and I'm a prolific writer but this kind of writing is new to me.
I am hoping to setup a system where I can quickly look at other blogs, feeds, articles, news items, etc. each day and get ideas about things to write about or comment on, etc. In the old days, this was done by setting up a bunch of RSS feeds for blogs and other sites that are related to the topic. Maybe that's still the way to go, but probably there are some aggregators that can help me with this.
Can anyone recommend an approach or tools that will help me get a steady flow of content related to a topic? I would love to have a bunch of feeds to check each morning and get ideas. Thank you!!
A few approaches I'm currently using:
1) StumbleUpon
Once you create an account, add in some interests. These can be general (e.g. "Technology") or more specific (e.g. "User Interface").
Then, at the top of the page is a big dropdown that by default says "All Interests." Pop that open then poke on the interest you're looking to get ideas for.
Start stumbling and see what comes up.
2) Facebook
Create a new Facebook page for yourself. It doesn't need to be public.
Then, when on that page, open the "Edit Page" menu at top and choose the last item, "Use Facebook as PAGENAME."
Then, use search or whatever means to find pages that post like-minded content to what you're looking for and "Like" these pages. {NOTE: Because you are "acting as" your page, YOU are NOT liking these pages, your page is liking them.}
Okay, so now you should have a page that you're acting as, and you've liked some other pages.
Now if you go to the FB homepage, you'll see a custom newsfeed of posts from JUST those pages that you liked (plus ads).
Over on the left (in today's interface at least) there's a little arrow next to Newsfeed. Click that and switch to most recent.
Voila, the freshests posts from the pages you like.
You can switch back to "Use Facebook as YOURNAME" using the arrow at the very top right of the desktop interface.
3) Sharegrab.com
This is from the EdgeRank Checker people. Basically, you log in and create Pods (read: groups or lists) of FB pages.
Then, you can choose a pod, and a date range, and it'll show you the most "shareworthy" posts from those pages.
Hope this is helpful. Please feel free to reach out to me if you need any assistance implementing these ideas, or creating a custom blended RSS feed (which is still a fantastic way to achieve your goal).
https://clarity.fm/toddlevy
Todd listed some good sources. Then there are the not-so-obvious... various magazines. I subscribe to several unrelated to my industry, and I do get a good many ideas, because I'm always thinking how I can turn xxx into something useful for yyy.
It's also good to have a single place you store screencaps, links, article headlines, etc - things that can help inspire you or spark ideas when nothing "new" is tickling that writing itch. I use OneNote for things like this. I simply drag/drop feed headlines, with links intact.
I know that isn't exactly what you were asking, but if you're like me, information overload will sometimes leave you hungry for something different.
I'd look at other top content aggregation sites/discussion forums to get ideas on what people are talking about and what topics are most current: news.ycombinator.com, growthhackers.com, inbound.org, etc. I find that even just scrolling through the headlines will usually spark an idea for a new blog post topic.
I have lately been using the new Klout app in combination with hootsuite for this. Klout's revision lets you pull articles by topic, pulls the photo of the content ( better open rate) and let's you easily read and tweet/facebook similiar to hootsuite. They are adding sm integrations, we can't post to our company facebook for example yet, but they are working on that. It is a simple way to post a shortened link with gives you extra space to write your own take on the article which is value add! I am happy to talk with you on a call for other ideas and suggestions!
Here you go...
**For Content Marketing Ideas:*
Buzzsumo
EpicBeat.Epictions
Feedly
Quora
Trapit
Inbound.org
Paper.li
Alltop
Reddit
Trendspottr
**Distribution Tools**
Buffer
Hootsuite
Slideshare
Yoast
Promoted Posts on Facebook
PRWeb
Followgen
Tweroid
Bundlr
Tomoson
Traackr
Klout
Kred
Organization Tools
MixPanel
Trello
Evernote
Google Calendar
BuzzStream
IFTTT
Wunderlist
Pinterest
Pocket
Remember the Milk
Harvest
MindNode
Bubbl.us
Kissmetrics
**Tools for Content Generation**
Spruce
Canva
Magisto
Easel.ly
Meme Generator
Audacity
Visual.ly
Google Keyword Tool
GIMP
Resize.it
Issu
Embedded Tweets
Thinglink
PowToon
UberFlip
**Tools for Writing:**
Contently
Skyword
Shareist
Lingospot
Everyone Social
Brafton
Atomic Ally
Help A Reporter Out
NewsCred
TextBroker
Hope that helps. END THREAD
I have worked with many companies in India who used to employee bloggers, so this is what I would advise:
Start by writing a list of the top things you wish you had known. Just brain dump all your thoughts into that list. Then use that as the backbone for your blog post. It can be tough to try and visualize where you will be in more than a week, meaning five to ten years into the future can be hard to picture. This can be a great time to imagine and dream. Try to be realistic, though. Setting SMART goals really helps. You do not want to feel overwhelmed when you realize how much is on your plate. Writing reviews is a great way to tell companies that you like their products, but more than that, it is a great way to share awesome products with other people. A few years ago, there was an open letter that many bloggers partook in. You have probably heard of it. It was called, “A Letter to My 16-Year-Old Self”. With this, think about all the things you would tell your younger self to help them through the things you went through. Write up a post using quotes you've gotten from experts in your field. People love posts like these, especially if what the experts are saying is new and can't be found anywhere else online. Go to your Google Analytics and look at your most popular posts from the past few months, for each season, and share them with your followers again in a recap post.
Creating more content like your most popular blog posts just makes sense. Use a tool, like Moz, to understand the keywords that are helping you crush it and get new blog ideas from your best content. Create a fun way to get your readers excited about your top posts. What else can you do to make them special? When you participate in a blog hop, blog roundup, or a carnival, you will have to write a blog post that has to do with a topic. Usually, the blogger who is hosting the blog hop or setting up the carnival will have an overarching theme. You will have to write something about that with a topic that relates. Having guest writers is an awesome way to fill up your blog with content. You just want to make sure you go about it the right way. Treat your blog like a magazine and ask for pitches. What do you want writers to put into their pitches? What things do you need to see from them in order to say "yes" to their pitch? Additionally, I would usually recommend asking for 250–500 words of the article that they are pitching to you. This will help you see if their writing is any good before you accept a pitch. Other things they should send with the pitch include their blog URL, social links, and a few writing samples. Lay out how the guest writing process goes, so the writer will know how to approach you and what to expect about the whole process. Keep in mind what minimum-maximum length you want for your posts.
When it comes to free e-books out there, there are a ton of them. Self-publishing has opened many doors for writers, but it has also opened the publishing doors for a whole lot of not-so-good stuff. That makes it difficult for a person to find good, actionable e-books that are free. Put together a list post of good, free e-books that you have found. Think about writing lyrics, a short story, poetry, or a short script and then share it on your blog. Playing around in different formats of writing will make you a stronger writer.
Make a comprehensive guide on a certain topic. Teach your readers the in-and-out to writing "how-to posts" or whatever topic you decide to choose. Remember to make it actionable. Did someone influential in your life or business pass away? Write up a blog post in memory of them. Share what you learned from them and how they affected your life, blog, and/or business. Write a list post. List posts are some of the more popular blog posts out there. Do you use any online tools? If so, write up a list of the most helpful tools you have found and used. Have you ever seen those posts where bloggers do the A–Z posts on certain topics? There are a few ways that you could go about using this for blog ideas.
First, you could write one post with a list from A–Z, and then list words that start with that letter. You could also write a blog post for each letter. That would be a ton of blog ideas once you got through the whole alphabet.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
