The Content Alchemy Blog

Managing dynamic content is all in the planning. Or rather, not having a content plan can be so paralysing that it can kill your creativity. Worrying about this morning’s post is so much more stressful than having to come up with something for six weeks ahead. Having plenty of ideas in the hopper really helps take the pressure off. So, for your blogs, networking events, social media and any anything else, make sure you have the…

Coming up with great ideas for content feels like a passive process, but, in the world of idea generation, it can sometimes be all about action. Have you ever read The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People By Stephen Covey? If you have, you may know that one of those habits is to begin with the end in mind. This is great advice in building a business and it works just as well when thinking…

Nothing is more depressing than coming to write your regular blog or social media post and finding yourself thinking, ‘I have nothing new to say.’ Let me reassure you. It happens to everyone. Let me reassure you even further – what you have to say does not need to be new! Why? Because it only needs to be new to your audience – and your audience is changing all the time. Besides, do you retain 100% of…

Let me tell you a story … Who, on reading that, doesn’t feel themselves start to engage? Everyone loves a story. Right from childhood, hearing about the adventures of someone else excites and interests us. We can identify with the characters, we enjoy their trials and tribulations vicariously, and we learn from their experiences (I still eat parsley if I’m feeling slightly sick – just as Peter Rabbit did after eating too many carrots). Story…

It is surprising how often I am told ‘I just don’t have the creative gene,’ as though some of us are creative and others are not. Let me dispel an important myth, here and now. Being creative is not an exclusive domain of a ‘lucky few’ or an inherited ability. Yes, for some, there seems to be a preference for creating new ideas (though, often, they envy those who can put those ideas into action and…

When you are seeking inspiration for content, simply lifting your eyes from the PC screen and looking at what is going on in the world can often give you some great ideas. So here are a few ways to draw from what you see, hear and experience in your everyday life to create great content. Let’s get topical What is going on in the news today? What news stories are out there that you can…

If you don’t know what to write about, remember the first rule of content – it needs to speak to your audience. That means, of course, that your content ideas are easier to come up with if you have a specific reader in mind. But, rather more obviously, it means you can askyour audience what they would like you to cover. “What would you like to read about?” So, when you are chatting with someone…

In talking to people about content, far more of the challenges they experience relate to their ‘dynamic content.’ Dynamic content is all the content which is regular, and ever changing (blogs, articles, social media posts and networking pitches for example) – as opposed to ‘static content’ which is only changed from time to time (such as your web pages or a brochure). Static content is much easier to deal with because the biggest obstacle is…