Chuck Close is an American artist mostly known for his massive photorealist portraits. He offers this advice for anyone who has to produce something new on a regular basis.
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and go to work.”
If you’re blogging, that’s especially good advice. Set a schedule for posting and then stick with it. That will challenge you to come up with a solid post every time. Here are some places to look for ideas on what to write about if you’re a business blogger.
Keep Up with the News
Read at least one national paper, such as the New York Times or Washington Post. They’ll help you keep up with general news and spark ideas for your own posts.
Read Blogs on Similar Topics
Who are the influential bloggers in your field? They’ll give you ideas about hot topics and key issues. You can write posts that respond to or take off from what another blogger has written.
Review them regularly. An RSS reader like the one Google provides makes that easy.
Read the Business Press
If you write a business blog, you can be sure that your readers are reading the general business press. At a minimum you should be checking the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Economist, and the Sunday NY Times Business Section.
Check out Industry-Specific Sources
If you write a blog that’s industry- or sector-specific, you’re probably already checking the magazines, blogs, and web sites in your industry. Don’t stop there. Ideas and practices you find in other industries can give you great ideas for a post.
Check the Calendar
Look ahead. Are there any holidays or other public events coming up that you should blog about?
Look backward. Check a site like The History Place’s This Month in History.
Trust Your Brain
Your brain is nature’s connection-making engine. It will automatically make connections between what you read and the topic of your blog. Trust it. Follow its lead.