“What am I going to write about today?” Back in my content creation days, this was a question I asked myself every morning. And it was a question I answered (partially, anyway) by scanning the latest headlines for relevant new stories.
With that in mind, I’m happy to announce a new beta feature in the nDash platform: Content Sources. In addition to unique pitches from the world’s top freelance writers, the nDash platform now displays relevant news stories based on the keywords you’ve selected in your group profile.
The goal here:
- To help you keep your thumb on the pulse of your industry
- To help you find stories to curate and comment on
- To help spark new ideas for original content (i.e. the hardest part of content creation)
That’s pretty much it. Hmmm…it feels weird to end a blog post after 140 words. What if I offered a few tips on how to quickly generate new topics for content based on existing content? Yeah? Okay, here goes:
Counterpoint
We don’t suggest picking fights here, but in scanning recent content from around the web, you’re bound to come across ideas and points of view that you (i.e. your brand) disagree with. This is where the counterpoint post comes into play. Basically, this involves writing a post that dissects the argument or idea and explains why it’s faulty. Time to dust off those debate skills!
Augment an Argument
Conversely, you’re also likely to come across opinions and stances that you agree with wholeheartedly. Oftentimes, when this happens, there are points you can add to strengthen the argument even further. For example, John Rampton of Entrepreneur just wrote a great piece on why your content marketing is failing and how to fix it. There are 2-3 additional points I’ll make next week in a follow-up post. Stay tuned on that one!
Research Reports
Did you know that content backed by real data is 500X more likely to convert? I made that up, but it seems true, doesn’t it? Stats—real stats anyway—are a great content conversation starter. I used to frequently write about the implications or deeper meanings of survey results and reports that I would see in the news. If you’re short on content angles, I’d suggest doing the same.
Curate a Top 5 List
It’s the lazy man’s post, but once in a while, a good old-fashioned curated list of top articles can be highly effective.
*****
For current nDash users: Be sure to sign in and check out the new module on the dashboard. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated!
For nDash Writers: Use these news stories to help create unique pitches for prospective clients.
For prospective nDash users: What are you waiting for? Sign up for free and get unique content ideas from the world’s top freelance writers.
Questions? Drop us a line. Talk soon!