How To Find Great Writing Topics for Your Business

Practice thinkig laterally to find several angles in one writing idea …

Your business has enough stories at least to get blogging or writing articles – and you should.  Did you know that if you’re not regularly blogging or writing articles, you’re missing out on reaching 60% of your market?  

            Writing well is trickier than it looks.  If you’ve ever tried to write a book before, you’ve probably already found that to be true – and if you haven’t, you might not realise how your book could be improved.  There are so many possible areas to focus on, but one of the most common is finding ideas to write about. 

The ‘Story’ in Your Business

The business world is never a dull place.  It is made up of people – working together, competing with each other, negotiating huge deals, going bankrupt, having affairs … wherever there are people, there is drama. 

            The trick is to venture beyond what you think is important about your business - how long it’s been running, how many awards it’s won, your ample free parking and so on.  It’s not what you want to say that matters:  rather, it’s about what your reader wants to know. 

Who Are You Helping?

Who do you service or supply, and why do those people need what your business offers?  What is going on in their lives?  What thrills them, frightens them, tempts them, angers them?  If you know the basic need of your target market, then you can begin to work out what the one, key emotion is that drives your ideal customer. 

            People buy things because they have a need for them:  that need, until it is satisfied, manifests a painful emotion.  That’s where the drama lies.  How do you meet that need, and how does that make your ideal customer feel?

            When you can start to understand your customers’ emotional reasons for why your business exists, then you will start to sense a storyline, characters and perhaps a theme or two. 

One Selling Point, Several Different Angles

Look at the ways you meet your customer’s needs – what you offer – and jot down a few different angles on each point.  Each of them is worth expanding, talking about, creating a scene about … somewhere out there, someone will relate to the exact story you’re addressing.

For instance, recently, I met an artist on our daily dog walk with two gorgeous Collies (naturally). 

She’d had a dream, two days before her bitch gave birth, that she would have nine pups; six bicolour, three tricolour.  She leapt out of bed and created a stunning, symbolic work of art.  Every pup was represented - gender, colour and birth time. 

I identi fied several, sellable stories:

Firstly, to a regional magazine – an article on a local artist’s life and how to commission.

Secondly, to a New Age blog – can you psychically predict your dog’s whelping, like the Archangel Gabriel? 

Thirdly, to a trade newsletter for vets – how to keep an eye on a bitch in season so you don’t end up with nine, squirmy surprises …

The rest of the world can benefit from what you can share.  You could affect and even change lives for the better.  You have so many selling points to write about and it’s up to you to come up with a compelling storyline to get your reader hooked.

Reach Out for Writing Guidance

This is why business owners often look for an experienced writer’s help.

“I realised early in the process that I didn’t have time to write it – it would take me about two years and I wanted to be published much sooner than that,” says Lindsey, the owner of a boutique hotel in Shropshire.

Others get caught in writing stage.  “I thought I had a good idea for a series of articles, but when I started I just didn’t think my writing was interesting enough,” admits Danny, a sales manager in media.  “I mean, if it bored me, it would definitely bore someone reading it!”

That’s the part that needs practice:  finding the drama in the seemingly mundane facts of the operations of a business.  Remember – there are no new ideas … but there’s an original spin that only you can put on a subject that has already been written about.

            Always look for the ‘people’ element in a business’s story.  That’s where you’ll find the drama; that’s something to work with.  Your customers will love reading what you have to say about that. Make it about them.  They are why you’re in business, after all.

Join in the chat with the Authorship Mentor Programme & Publishing Facebook Group here - it would be great to see you in there!

            Happy scribbling!

Jo C