It's the last day of a three-day event I've been running for business owners. The room's buzzing. And I can already picture what happens next week. Everyone goes home, opens a blank page and freezes.
So before they leave, I give them a challenge. Fourteen days, fourteen different kinds of post. Here they are, so you can borrow them too.
Things only you can say
Go on a rant. What annoys you about your industry? What do you wish would change? Say what you think. People can't trust you as an expert if they don't know what you stand for.
Tell the story of a first time. The first time you did something, mistakes included. It shows you're human. (Mine was jumping out of a plane, which is a good story to have in your back pocket.)
Take a quote that means something to you and tell the story behind it. Or document your day, and give people a backstage pass to what you actually get up to.
Answer the questions
What do customers ask you all the time? Pick one and answer it properly. That's your FAQ post.
Then the opposite. What should people be asking you that they never do? Answer it as if they had. A question I wish more people asked themselves is what success actually means to them.
Recommend something you couldn't live without, like a book, a podcast or a tool. And ask for recommendations back, a review or a few words from a happy client.
Borrow a headline
Some headlines are templates waiting for you to fill in the blank. Why I do this (and maybe you should too). Here's a quick way to do that. Don't do this until you've read this first.
There's the list post, too. Ten things people don't know about your trade. End it by asking readers what they'd add, and watch the replies come in.
And newsjacking. Find something people are already talking about and add your own view to the conversation.
Go live
The last one is live video. Share a recent win, or open it up for questions. It's the closest thing online to being in the room.
Still on the wall
The apps have changed since 2017. The ideas haven't. People still want a straight answer and a good story, and they still want to know what you think.
If you want to get more out of each one, Record, remix, release shows how to turn one idea into several.
Pick two of the fourteen and write them into your diary for this week, one on each day. When you sit down, the blank page is already dealt with.
First published October 2017.
