Coming up with ideas to write about isn’t generally my challenge. I love to brainstorm and most of the time I can come up with more ideas than I can use. Knowing which ideas are best to go with and finding time to write complete posts to share, those are challenges for me.
So it might surprise you to know that 5 or 6 weeks ago I signed up for Chris Brogan’s Blog Topics at $9.97/month (not an affiliate link). And I don’t plan to unsubscribe any time soon.
Why would I pay for blog ideas? Because it really helps to get out of my own head and get ideas that come from totally out of the box. And when I pay for something I actually pay attention to it. I read the email every time it lands in my inbox. (Let’s not discuss how many freebies I’ve downloaded and haven’t read… I might be a PDF hoarder.)
My ideas don’t tend to wander too far since I’m very close to my own business. Getting ideas that aren’t based on my business, my clients, my family, or my own social network opens up a whole new world from a different perspective. It’s helping me approach things more creatively.
And, because he just can’t hide his brilliance, every week I get more than a summary of great blog post ideas (or article ideas, ezine ideas, video ideas, anything I need content for). I get actionable advice to help me improve my writing.
Why am I sharing this with you? First, so you can sign up if you’d like. And second, as a reminder to invest in yourself and your business! This is a tiny investment. It’s saving me time and helping me become a better blogger. Totally worth it.
What have you invested in lately that’s worked out well for you? Any great memberships, books, or other products you’d like to share?
Photo Credit: raja4u at sxc.hu
Excellent, Michelle. I’ll have to check it out. Anything Chris Brogan produces is well work the price. He even makes it super easy to pay if you have an Amazon account. Thank you for sharing this and all the valuable resources you share.
~Sherrie~
Definitely. It would be worth it at a much higher price. Just seeing the way his brain works is helpful.
That’s another reason I signed up initially — I wanted to see how Letter.ly and Amazon payments worked together. It’s a very easy to use system.
Wonderful thought. I too have issues with this. I have about three notebooks worth of stuff I could write about, but often find myself thinking inside the box. I often wondered if there was a way to other ideas that weren’t the ‘same old thing.’
I’ll look at this. Thanks for sharing it.
TAM
It’s been helpful for me, Tammy. I get stuck in that box and even when I feel like I’m outside of it, I’m not far enough out of it. I love the weekly “kick in the pants” to venture a little further from my comfort zone.
Great point of view, Michelle! Far too often we get stuck in our own ideas and lose perspective of our readers. Getting an outside point of view is a great way to keep things fresh and get a large variation of posts. Asking for topics on a Facebook Fan Page or Twitter is also a great way to encourage interaction while getting new ideas that your readers are genuinely interested in.
-Dillon
Good idea, Dillon! Readers do know best what they want more of. :)
Chris is definitely the type of person you want to link up with. The dude provides immense levels of value – much of it for free, for years – so whenever he charges for something you know it’s darn good.
I have a steady flow of ideas each day but can certainly understand the service and the idea….and the source rocks.
Thanks for sharing Michelle!
RB
Seriously! When I read some of the comments and people were asking why they should pay for it, I had to wonder if they’d been following him. Anyone who reads his blog or has even just read Trust Agents would know it’s gotta be packed with value. It’s one blog I think every blogger can learn from, just by watching what he does.
Interesting! I didn’t know such a thing existed. All I keep thinking about is how smart this dude is and how much dough he’s making. Ha
I will look into!
He’s a smart dude. :)
This is a good idea, Michelle. Would save time on researching hot blog topics; I’m sure Chris would have ensured that those topics are in-demand at any point in time, so that you have a high probability of getting high search engine traffic, right?
Hey Stella, thanks for stopping by – I’ve enjoyed your blog posts this week. I don’t know how much he does with SEO research for the ideas but they could easily be adapted to whatever phrases we’re working on ranking for. :)
Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good product! Also, thanks for the reminder about investing in ourselves. I have people who ask me why I still buy products and why I still have a coach. Like learning is a deadend street? The more knowledge we have, the better we can run our businesses. Yes, there’s areas of internet marketing that I excel in and can and do write and teach about. BUT, there’s also many areas where I need to learn. I think of it as continuing education!
Isn’t that interesting, Martha? People are sometimes surprised I have a coach, too, and continue paying to learn. But I know where I need help! And the continuing investments of time, energy and money into our own knowledge and self-growth is what helps us keep moving forward. :)
After reading this I decide to put out a request on fiverr for blog topic ideas that are specific to my blog. I thought I might get an outsider’s view on what they would like to read about. Instead of another blogger, you know? I’ve had one response so hopefully it will generate some interesting ideas!
That’s an awesome idea, Danielle! I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Thanks for this post and the recommendation! I will need to look into that!
I laughed out load when you said PDF hoarder, 2 funny!
I found a site not to long ago that I tried to increase my FB fans for FREE.
I used it for my newest page and its pretty awesome! – http://Twiends.com.
Isn’t that funny? Lisbeth Tanz from http://yourwordsyourvoice.com came up with that in her post the other day and I couldn’t resist linking to it.
If I read one unread download a day, I bet I have at least one year’s worth on my hard drive. Guilty!
Personally, though, I have so many ideas that I have a fat research folder for a book on how to generate ideas. But if I were going to subscribe to such a service, I think Chris Brogan has some of the best ideas around. I save and file a higher percentage of his posts than even Seth Godin’s.
–Shel Horowitz, primary author, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green
Yep, it’s easy to download those PDFs but harder to find time to read through them all.
I’m not surprised you’ve got no shortage of ideas. :) I’ll be watching for that book…
I belong to the ProBlogger forum, Clickin’ Moms, Shuttermom University, Flickr, SmugMug (which I don’t plan to renew because of the lack of benefit), and The Blog Frog – which has a membership that includes advertising on the site.
Definitely works – I’ve gained benefits all over the place.
I also plan to attend two blogging conferences this year. One next weekend and Bloggy Boot Camp this summer. I’m so excited!!!
Fun!! I haven’t been to a blogging conference yet, but it’s on my list so I’ll get to one eventually. I’d love to hear what you think of the ones you attend.