Tying In to Other People’s News in Your Own Business Blog – A

Using blog posts to share company news and announcements makes a lot of sense. But, even if, in any given week, you can’t find anything especially newsworthy about your own business or practice, you or your favorite blog content writer can draw attention to your doings by tying in to OPN (other people’s news), right out of the daily newspaper.

In fact, professional ghost bloggers like me are always on the alert for news items in each of our clients’ fields that we can use to spark ideas for blog posts. This week, just to challenge myself, I scanned a saved Indianapolis Star. I’m going to use all three of this week’s Say It For You posts to take my readers through the exercise of playing off current news and feature items from the paper to spark business blog content ideas.

A feature story in the “Retro Indy” section pointed out that the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra debuted at Shortridge High School n 1930, later moving to Clowes Hall, and then to the downtown Circle Theatre in 1984.

This one history “nugget” alone might be used for blog content by any one of the 20 different eateries within walking distance of the (now Hilbert) Circle Theatre, not to mention the jewelers, candy shops, telephone stores, and gift shops in the neighborhood.

And just how, you as a blog content writer might ask, would I advise using that material for blog marketing purposes?

• Review the history of your own business. How did the founders of your business or professional practice (or you yourself) come to locate in the heart of downtown?
• How has being located so close to the Circle Theatre helped you?
• What changes have taken place in the downtown since you’ve been in business or in practice here?
• What are you most proud of about downtown Indianapolis?

Reading the daily newspaper is just one of many strategies for blog content development, but it is a way of preparing blog posts that capture online searchers’ interest by blending “ingredients” that don’t seem to match (in this case the history of the ISO and the history of your own business), and by demonstrating that you’re more than just a business person or practitioner – you’re part of your readers’ community!

Tying in to OPN can be a good idea for developing variety in business blog posts!