If you’re like most bloggers and content marketers, you spend a great deal of time sitting at your keyboard or at your desk, dedicatedly reading about new strategies or discovering competitors’ blogs. Your goals may include coming up with new ideas, refining your old tactics, or simply growing as a content marketer, but all of them relate to strategic improvement.
While it may seem like your desk is the best place to improve your strategy, you can realistically improve your blogging strategy from anywhere. It’s a good thing, too—according to Dialpad, 81.2 percent of people work at their desks fewer than 40 hours a week, and full-time remote work is becoming more and more popular.
So how can you keep improving your strategy no matter where you are?
Integrating LinkedIn Long-Form Posts in Your Blogging Strategy
Tactics for Anywhere Blog Improvement
Try these strategies, no matter where you are:
- Think up new titles. You don’t have to be in front of a screen to think up new potential blog topics. If you find yourself stuck in traffic or in a slow moving line, think about your readership and how they’ve responded to some of your recent work. Have you noticed any new trends emerging in their comments, likes, and share patterns? Have there been any recent news stories that warrant your perspective and development? Think about some of the areas you haven’t yet explored, or how you could twist some of your older ideas into new presentations. Brainstorming takes time, so use yours wisely.
- Self-audit your previous work. You won’t have your articles directly in front of you, but you can think about your approach to writing and how it relates to your most recent work. For example, let’s say you recently wrote a piece in favor of a new technology that’s about to disrupt your industry. Did you spend enough time exploring the other side of the argument? Did you do enough research? How could you have approached the article differently to better connect with your audiences? You don’t need all the words in front of you to audit yourself in these areas.
- Listen to an eBook. New knowledge is always a good thing, and you can always get new knowledge on the go by turning to eBooks. It’s helpful, but not necessary, to choose eBooks that apply specifically to your industry or ones that relate to the writing process; in fact, almost any eBook can help you generate new ideas and hone your skills. You’ll listen to how the writer uses language, and absorb those techniques, and you’ll learn about a new subject or engage yourself creatively, which can help you come up with better ideas the next time you brainstorm.
- Talk to a stranger. It may seem like a strange move, but consider walking up to a stranger and just talking to them. Chances are, they’ll know something better than you, and if you have the time to explore that subject, you’ll walk away with more information and a different perspective. Do this enough times, and you’ll become a much better-rounded individual who can easily differentiate between different demographics—plus, every conversation you have will expand your vocabulary and hone your fluency in your language.
- Generate new topics based on your surroundings. If you’re up for a challenge, try mentally writing something based on your surroundings. For example, you could identify a stranger as your potential audience; what type of article would you write for him/her? Or you could point out some interesting event unfolding before you—how would you report on that event to your key demographics? These fast-paced, people-watching inspired tactics force you to engage your creative thinking and give you experience coming up with topics under pressure.
The Role of Diversity
One of the best ways to keep improving as a content marketer is to keep diversifying your experiences. Confining yourself to a single routine and a narrow vision of life prevents you from achieving your true potential, while seeking new experiences, new people, and new ideas can help make you smarter and more creative. Get away from your desk whenever you can, and invest in new tactics that break you out of the mold. The more diverse your experiences are, the better writer you’re going to be—no matter who you’re writing for, or why.
