Look As Far As The Bottom Drawer For Blog Ideas

If ever there was an example of drawing ideas from everywhere and everything (what I’ve been calling “learning around” for your blog), it would be L. Frank Baum and his book The Wizard of Oz.

As a child, a Mental Floss Magazine article explains, Baum had loved reading fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, but “loathed the dark, grisly endings”. He wanted to create a world where wonderment and joy are retained.  So what would Baum call his utopia?  Scanning his office for ideas, family legend holds, Baum stared at his filing cabinets, drawing inspiration from the label “O-Z” on the bottom drawer.

The oh-so-important lesson here for business bloggers relates to the fact that blogging is no sprint.  A long-term, drawn-out effort is required in order to “build equity” in keyword phrases, gather a following, and gain – and sustain – online rankings.

From both my work as a professional ghost blogger these last three years and my work as a business blogging trainer, I know just how challenging it can be to sustain the discipline and “the faith” needed for long term business blogging success.

Ideas, on the other hand? That’s the easy part.  Just stand there, listen, look around – and learn!