Author: maddie

Hi (name here),

 

We noticed that you registered for our Info Session but weren’t able to make it. No problem! We’d be happy to accommodate you for the next one. We are so looking forward to providing you with the confidence and security to move to the next level in your career.

 

Feeling unsure, or have questions about next steps with (company)? Just reach out to us by responding to this email and we can get everything answered for you. We’re here to help! Once you’ve completed our Info Session you can move forward by selecting which of our courses fits best with your schedule, and then you’ll be well on your way to the career of your dreams.

 

Our world-class coaches can’t wait to work alongside you to simplify the process of overhauling your LinkedIn and resume, as well as unlimited mock interviews and 1:1 sessions. We know these tasks can be daunting without a professional support system and that’s what we guarantee, as well as an offer that you’ll accept, without fail!

 

Thank you for your interest in (company), we look forward to hearing from you.

Imagine this: you’re sitting at your desk, searching your brain for the next great blog topic idea. Your mind is blank, and you feel like all the good ideas have already been used. Maybe you’re coming up on a deadline, or maybe you’re just trying to fill up your editorial calendar.

Sound familiar? Not to worry, this is one of the most common problems with blog writing.

 

 

 

Some days, an amazing blog topic seems to come to us out of nowhere, and the post practically writes itself. But other times, whether it be that you’re up against a time crunch, or a particularly strong case of writer’s block, you could use a little push.

 

 

This is why blog topic idea generators are such useful tools.

With just a bit of help from you, these sites can provide you with a long, thorough list of topics that will keep your blog going and even spark your imagination to get back to that creative place and writing like typewriter Kermit.

 

 

Chances are, you already have a few keywords in mind that pertain to your business. If this is the case, topic generators can be very effective in working alongside you to round out some more content ideas that will bolster those keywords into a full-blown blog post.

1. HUBSPOT’S BLOG TOPIC GENERATOR

HubSpot’s blog topic generator is a great choice for when you have a primary and secondary keyword, and you want an array of topics that focus on those two options.

For this list, I chose the words “mutts” and “treats.” Obviously.

 

(via HubSpot)

2. PORTENT’S CONTENT IDEA GENERATOR

Portent’s content idea generator is similar, but rather than taking multiple keyword ideas and generating multiple topics, it will instead create a title for you using the keyword that you enter, AND identify the importance of each section of that title.

 

(via Portent)

 

When you’ve had success with these topic generators, bookmark them for later use. Next time you’re pressed for time, you’ll have those resources at your fingertips.

3. QUORA OR REDDIT FORUMS

If you’re less sure about what you’d like the content of your blog post to be, forums such as Quora and Reddit can be great resources to tap blog ideas ripe for the picking.

 

(via Reddit)

 

Reddit’s format is similar to searches on Google in that it shows a headline of sorts that you can click on to reveal the content of the users’ discussion of the topic of your choice.

 

(via Quora)

 

Quora’s format, on the other hand, is a bit different from Reddit, showing you the top result with a list of related questions, and different ways to filter your results.

These sites contain spaces for people to ask questions about everything under the sun, so check out what people are asking about, and write up a post that answers their questions.

Then, go back and post your full response to the forum in response to the question. This easy win will give you some free content promotion, leading people to your site to take a look at what you have to say.

4. GOOGLE

Google will always be an incredibly helpful tool in brainstorming blog topic ideas. With even the simplest of searches, you can find pages and pages of examples to work from.

Even though the results you’ll get will largely be other blogs and articles, if you find one that you can improve or expand upon, take the initiative and go for it.

(via Google)

 

With the right tools at your disposal, coming up with a blog topic idea is just a few clicks away. (Less, if they’re bookmarked.)

There is an astonishing number of topic generation sites out there, and while these four (five, really) are our favorites, they represent just the tip of the iceberg.

Happy brainstorming!

Podcasts, much like blogs, serve as both a personal outlet for creativity and a content-based attention grab for businesses and entertainment personalities alike.

WHAT KINDS OF PODCASTS ARE OUT THERE?

There are interview-based podcasts such as shows like WTF with Marc Maron or You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, news programs such as NPR Politics or BBC World Service Global News, and even news-entertainment hybrids like NPR’s Serial.

There are tech podcasts, the list of which is seemingly endless, geared to do everything, all the way from introducing you to the latest gadgets to providing you with a step-by-step process for how every bit of tech is thought up and built.

There are comedy podcasts with every possible sub-genre, interviews, improv, standup clips, you name it—it’s out there. And if you want to hear something really meta, yes, there are even podcasts about podcasts.

The business world of podcasts is equally fascinating, with shows like Planet Money (a textbook NPR example of the correlation between hard-hitting economic facts and detail-oriented tales of financial gain, loss, adventure, and everything in between), Girlboss Radio, and my personal favorite, Salt of the Earth, a show about business owners with a strong sense of humor and an even stronger work ethic.

WHAT ROLE CAN PODCASTING PLAY IN MARKETING?

In true internet-age form, if you can think of it, someone is podcasting it. And just like online, if it doesn’t exist, you should be the one to create it. Blogging has followed this same law to the letter: there are blogs on every conceivable topic, every niche. It’s no wonder people are utilizing these tools more and more, their benefits to business are immeasurable. (Just check out a podcast at the intersection of podcasting, business, and blogging: HubSpot’s The Growth Show.)

Having a blog or a podcast can provide a form of advertising for your service, while giving you the opportunity to stand out on any given search engine. It can give you the opportunity to be paid by other companies to advertise themselves alongside your product or service, and perhaps most importantly, it can give you the time and space you need to thoroughly and clearly represent your business and ideas on your own terms, to any and every potential customer. Customers want to be informed, and now, you have the means to inform them, through various content channels.

While podcasting in some form or another has existed since the dawn of the internet, we owe the majority of our gratitude for podcasting, as the art form it has grown into, to smartphone technology. iPhones now come installed with the Podcasts app, a core app that cannot be removed, much like Mail or Stocks (seriously, Apple, please let me delete Stocks! My phone is full and I want to download more podcasts. What am I, a Rockefeller?! LET ME DELETE STOCKS). Not only do we have this basic Podcast app, there are also new apps that may better suit your podcast style. Apps such as Overcast can be downloaded from the Apple app store to adhere to the more specific desires of the podcast aficionado.

Now that smartphones exist, we can all enjoy the comforts of the internet on-demand. We can immediately download things like music or podcasts, but we can also visit our favorite websites and blogs with the push (er, touch) of a button.

Interestingly enough, blogs actually began around the same time that podcasts did. Blogging began shortly after people began keeping internet diaries and journals, and quickly developed into the content we know and love today. Creating and publishing content, whether it be a personal passion or a business venture, has clearly become one of the most important parts of modern business.

Here at BlogMutt, we all have our own favorite podcasts. In fact, we all have more than one. Not only are podcasts popular, they’re definitely addictive. A poll of our office has proven to me once again what a ragtag bunch of information-hungry superstars we are. Every one of us seemed to follow a pretty podcast-hip formula: at least one interview show, at least one news program, and at least one (but usually several) entertainment or niche subject podcasts that satisfy a personal passion or interest.

Essentially, people tend to use podcasts for exactly the purpose they’ve grown to fulfill: any need, any want, anytime, anywhere.

When I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 21 it had been a long time coming. Since I was 17, I had been enduring frequent and terrifying hallucinations, dizzy spells, panic attacks, and visual disruptions. I in no way kept these horrific interludes in my otherwise comfortable life to myself. I constantly expressed the level of fear and discomfort I was experiencing to those around me. Just like any woman with a chronic condition, I was met with disbelief, gentle scorn, and a lot of pressure to stop bellyaching and face my new “adult” responsibilities. College applications, jobs, volunteer work, finals, extra-curricular activities; these were what I was meant to focus on. Not the fact that without warning, the visual field around me would slowly melt away into a churning, skipping mass of colors, lights, and startlingly personified objects rushing toward me.

So I did.

I ignored symptoms for four years that a physician later described as “like living in a horror movie.” I went to classes, I went to work, and I exerted herculean efforts to try and think my way out of a physical disorder so that I could be the way everyone seemed to think I already was: un-sick.

Here is my first lesson: Never go against your inner logic.

Every few months I would repeatedly reach the same level of heartbreaking, nauseating depression. Inability to leave my bed, certainty that my death was lurking around every corner, and the consistent inability to fully experience or express the depth of my emotions and fears. I was numbing myself, living the same grief cycle over and over again. This led without fail to a slew of accusations: I was lazy, ungrateful, unmotivated, entitled, and irresponsible. I couldn’t blame anyone for this impression, because for all I knew, it was true.

I had family members sacrificing to keep me in school, they wanted me to have an education so that I could work toward successful independence. To them I was just another lost college girl, taking advantage of a free ride and enjoying the blissful ignorance of financial gifts. As a young person in crisis, with no tools or energy to provide myself with emotional support and safety, I absorbed the opinions that were thrown my way by the people who loved me. I sank deeper into the belief that all misfortunes I encountered were direct results of my shortcomings as a person.

Here is my second lesson: Never underestimate the power of gaslighting.

If I can go into a hospital and repeatedly describe an experience that is very commonly known as a form of seizure, and be satiated by a professional, licensed medical practitioner declaring that I am wrong and I am fine, then believe me, a rape victim can describe a rape, be told they are WRONG, and go on trying to survive with that pain believing that they are mentally ill or that they simply do not know what sex is.

“Gaslighting” is a term for when someone, often a man, tries to convince someone else, often a woman, that the situation happening around her is not actually happening. While doing research after my diagnosis, I learned that it’s very prevalent for doctors to tell specifically young women, and not young men, that they have been drinking too much, and that is likely the reason for their seizure activity. This was exactly what my doctor told me. I was told that if I took a break from drinking altogether I would likely not seize ever again, and that it was “common” for young women to have just one convulsive seizure in their lives without ever having a repeat. This, of course, was not the case, and also is not true in any way.

Here is my third lesson: Self-love, no matter the timeframe, is not a sin

I am still recovering from many of my seizures. Thankfully I am medicated now and physically healthy, but it does take a toll to trust your own mind again. There is no shame in finding your joy and comfort and doing it in your own time. Find those who allow you but don’t enable you, and always remember that reaching out to them is what they want from you as much as what you want from them. You’ll remember it in the future when you’re up and someone else is down.