DISQUS

Duct Tape Marketing: But What Do I Write On My Business Blog?

  • Christopher Richards · 2 years ago
    John,

    I couldn't agree more. I also carry a small Moleskine notebook around with me and it has proved invaluable. Even writing something that seems obvious at one point in the day/week/year may not be so obvious at another time. I overheard this gem, "People are different." "Hey, I know that," I hear you say. But what does "people are different" mean?

    If we don't recognize that people see the world differently we fall into the trap of thinking they will look at the world in the way we do. So we need to ask questions. So what kind of questions would they be? This is the sort of thing my notebook is good for.

    I have a paper conversation with it (a bigger size Moleskine). I ask my dumb questions and then let that sit: I let my question incubate and come back to it later.
    It is remarkable how I then can come up with a new response, or at least something I can write about. And I write for a living as well as for the pure fun of it.

    I think it was Oscar Wilde who alway took his notebook on journeys with him because he never wanted to be without something outrageous to read.

    I came up with this term "Crepuscular Thinking," It's that time between sleep and wakefulness in the morning is where my creative ideas come from. I have my notebook by my bed.

    The downside of this is that I am so sleepy, I can barely read my own writing. But the upside is, if I can read my scribble, I get some good ideas. I've never been short of ideas, my problem is only to sort our the wacky, hilarious, or useful. But what's a wacky idea today, becomes a useful and even lucrative one tomorrow.

    The notebook is an essential writer's tool. Thanks for you post. I love the blog.

    Christopher
  • David Rachford · 2 years ago
    John,
    I have used song lyrics to launch products...

    There's a Sarah Evans (country) song called "Suds in the bucket" with a great line: "You can't fence time...and you can't stop love"

    That song gave me some blog posts and sales letters to launch a time management seminar.

    Content is there if you're open for it!
    David
  • John Jantsch · 2 years ago
    Christoper,

    I do believe that might be the first appearance of Oscar Wilde on this blog.

    My real fun with the notebooks is to go back and read some of the entries I made years ago - I keep them all after I fill them.
  • Christopher Richards · 2 years ago
    I guess the Oscar Wilde Internet Marketing Guide is still to see the light of day.

    Good idea about reading the old ones.

    I tend to use them as a sort of writers' sandbox. There are no rules. I can even write in sentence fragments. Well, maybe there are rules. I never say things like world-class value-driven solutions that maximize customer satisfaction throughout all touchpoints in an ever evolving process of excellence. If I did, my notebook would catch fire, and rightly so.
  • Dan Schawbel · 2 years ago
    This post connects to personal branding very well. Everything you say and do will be used in your favor or against you.
  • Business Blogs: How to Build A · 2 years ago
    <trackback>Writing on Your Business Blog: Tips for Finding Content
    Apparently John Jantsch over at Duct Tap Marketing Blog also gets asked this question a lot by clients: 1. But What Do I Write On My Business Blog? Next to that question, many business owners ask The Blog Squad: 2.</trackback>
  • Peter Renton · 2 years ago
    John, I think if you read magazines and blogs daily and listen to what your customers are saying you have all the content you will ever need for your blog. But I think your post points to the biggest reason small business owners don't start blogs. The bottom line is it is not that difficult once you start thinking about what you are reading and hearing.
  • Jamdo · 2 years ago
    I find the simplest ideas for content is picking other stories and blog posts that I enjoyed and then specifically adapting the lessons or message of those posts for the niche audience of my blog.

    "What Google's Acquisition of Feedburner Means for Bloggers"

    "Why Tony Blair's Retirement is an Opportunity for SEOs"

    Ok, maybe bad examples, but you get the idea. ;)
  • Matthew Cornell · 2 years ago
    Thanks for the great post - well said!
  • Dan Vickers · 2 years ago
    Hi John,
    You have done a great job with this blog! I know when we first started blogging we were at a loss for content, and as soon as we realized LIFE was content, our blogs have done super!

    Thanks for sharing this post with others around the globe!