Content Ideas for Consultants - Getting Started (Part 1)


Just this week I heard it again: “If I start a newsletter, what would I put in it?” While I can think of lots of content ideas for just about any business owner I meet, it’s not so easy for everyone. In fact, it wasn’t always easy for me either. It gets easier, and you get better, with practice.

For consultants, there’s an added bonus to spending time creating marketing content and that's learning. Benjamin Franklin said, “There is no better way to learn than to teach.” Sharing valuable content is teaching and, when you’re creating content for your blog or newsletter, you’ll also be doing research, checking assumptions, and developing opinions.

If you’re a new business owner, or new to developing content, finding a place to start might feel like picking a needle out of a haystack. In this series of posts, I'll explain how to get started and accomplish other goals, too.

Build Your Confidence

Since confidence comes from writing about what you know, start with creating a list of the benefits of something related to your business.
  1. brainstorm a list of ‘somethings’ (a handful is great to start)
  2. start with the one you’re most comfortable with and list the benefits, just point form at first
  3. now your simple point form list can become different types of content (do at least 3 items from this list):
    • brief point-form - short blog, newsletter or social media post
    • lengthier written article - blog or newsletter
    • sentences - each benefit could be shaped into a Tweet or other social media post, or turned into a graphic for sharing on social media
    • visual display - simple infographic
    • video, audio - you speaking about or demonstrating the benefits
    • taglines and headlines - for promotion
    • consider adding to your website if it makes sense
  4. go back to 2 and pick another ‘something’
If you have trouble with benefits, don’t let that stop you. Try ‘what not to do’ or ‘what you need to know’, instead. (Click here to get simple content templates to help with these types of articles.)

Already you have enough content work to keep you busy for a couple of months. Once you get bored with this, move onto Part 2 which will be about creating marketing content that saves you time.

photo by AnyaLogic / Flickr

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