“Copy” is an ironic term in the writing world. While the verb “copy” means to create a duplicate of something that already exists, in real life, doing so will get you arrested (or at least a takedown notice). College students who are caught copying another's work can get expelled. Duplicate content on your website will get you dinged in your SEO rankings. So the only option is to constantly create fresh, new “copy.”
Now, this article isn't about the history of copywriting or the origin of why we use that term. It's about a handful of ways you can write quick, timely “copy,” with your keywords and terms and keep it coming out on a regular basis to satisfy your throngs of adoring online readers (or, you know, at least your mom).
Keep a List
This is the most basic aspect of writing a lot of content. If you have an editorial schedule (see some of my other posts), then you should know what topics you will be writing about pretty far in advance of when they are “due.” However, if you are running a daily news blog, then you rely on topical stories (more about that below). If you get stuck, having a backup list of story ideas could just save you a lot of aggravation.
Keeping a running list of “evergreen” topics (ones that are NOT topical, and that you can run at any time) is your secret weapon to getting content out on time. Remember (as I constantly say): the key to getting your readers to keep coming back is to put out content on the same days every week. This trains them to keep coming back. Store your list online using Dropbox or Google Docs and add new ideas to it anytime they occur to you (you can even use your phone for this in some cases). Don't say “oh, I'll write it down later...” because you won't. Stay on top of your list. You'll thank yourself later.
Do Your Research
If you have a daily/weekly news blog, then you're going to be constantly trawling major and niche news outlets to find new content to write about. Setting up Google News alerts and RSS feeds (I have mine sent directly to my phone) will keep you abreast of the latest trends and give you the “shape” of the markets that you are most directly involved in.
Let the research drive your content marketing output. If you are in the ecommerce sphere (like yours truly), then you'll have a wealth of articles to write about daily deals, social commerce, and tech IPOs, just by taking a quick look at a few industry blogs (TechCrunch, Mashable, etc.) and Google News. The trick is to find something new and interesting to say about these stories, that will appeal to your audience.
Pro Tip: Consider doing a bulk amount of research for a few (four or five) stories all at once. Get two to four sources for each story (if they exist), put the links into new documents, and don't start writing until you've done all the research. With this stockpile of information, you can start writing the stories that appeal most to you at first, moving on to others if you get stuck or realize that you don't have the angle you thought that you did.
Split Up Topics
Another trick that can help when writing articles (daily news or longer-term, evergreen content) is to split up topics. Let's say that you have an idea for an article about getting users to interact with your writing and give you responses. You want them to submit more comments, write in “viewer mail”-style emails that you can feature later, and also to review your products on your site. All of these could be included under the heading of “reader interaction,” or you could break them apart into three different articles (or, alternatively, do a series of articles, series are very popular!).
Breaking ideas into separate articles gives you more breathing room to “unpack” ideas and talk about them in greater depth. Keep your audience's attention span in mind when coming up with ideas for longer articles. Don't overburden them with facts and figures and long-winded explanations that they are only going to tune out. Give them what they can handle and no more.
Combine Topics
Conversely, you may find that while there are a bunch of good ideas out there that you can write about, there's not enough information on any one topic for you to make a whole blog post about. The answer: combine topics. If you see that a company is launching a new product and, in an unrelated news story (that doesn't even have to reference the first story in any way) that those types of products are performing really well (let's say that an ecommerce solution rolls out a daily deals model and daily deals are hot right now).
You combine the first idea (very specific) with the second idea (pretty broad) and now you actually have something to talk about. Also, having a timely topic (the recent product release) gives you a keyword trend that you can ride, in addition to being able to post your normal keywords within the article.
Rally the Troops
You don't have to do it all on your own. If you have a staff, a partner (or just your life partner), or just a close friend/confidant/telephone operator who you can call upon for advice, insight, or just to kick ideas around – then do it! I share my story ideas list with everyone on my team so that they can throw in their own ideas anytime they want to. This helps them feel like part of a team working towards a common goal, while taking some of the pressure off of me.
If there are no backup ideas, or you need story ideas that are really timely, consider having everyone drop everything for about ten minutes and help you brainstorm. Keep the conversation lively and light, avoid the J. Jonah Jameson / Perry White (comic book reference!) blustery editor-in-chief antics. Tossing a ball around (whoever has the ball gets to talk, etc.) or other physical activities can help spur cooperation, creativity, and communication.
Conclusion
Putting out content on a regular basis is important to making sure that your readers come back again and again. Check out my series on how to keep your editorial schedule and team working smoothly for more ways to stay on top of your content needs. These tips can, however, help you pull out some content in a pinch. Remember: writing should be fun! Keeping ahead of your content marketing needs is one way to ensure that the writing process remains pleasurable and productive.
