What will fill your marketing editorial calendar in the months ahead? It can be daunting to lay out writing assignments for your marketing efforts, but it does not have to be. With a bit of forethought and planning, you can tap into writing inspiration on a regular basis.

Who are you writing for?

Your first step should always be to consider your audience. To really craft meaningful lead-generating content, you need to develop buyer personas. Lay out focused profiles of your target market audiences, and keep these personas in mind while crafting content.

The goal is to keep your readers’ needs in mind while also keeping your firm’s growth goals in mind when you’re writing marketing content.

What are your goals?

Map out a hierarchy of what is most important to your firm when it comes to lead generation.

  • Looking to generate more leads and grow your firm?
  • Seeking to improve client retention and nurture relationships?
  • Attempting to create more repeat business with existing clients? 
  • Want to stand out in a competitive marketplace?
  • Growing a base of brand evangelists?

Why are you writing in the first place?

Lead generation is the main purpose of your marketing content. It is important to consider your goals so you may begin building lead-generating content that has a pain/gain approach. Your articles should shine a light on your readers’ needs and provide a path toward solving pain points.

Think about how your services or products could tie into an article and offer an obvious connection back to your firm for help. Focus on providing just enough relevant advice to give your prospects the confidence that your firm is the expert source who can address their issues. The next natural step for your readers should be to connect with your firm to solve their needs.

When you have key articles focused on lead generation integrated into your strategies, be sure you’re setting lead alerts and following up on those warm prospects.

What should you write?

Inspiration can originate partly from preparation and partly from borrowing existing ideas. It’s always good to have a stockpile of starting-point themes to fall back on when writer’s block inevitably strikes.

“Inspired” Ideas for Your Next Article

  • Interviews
  • Case Studies
  • Client Features
  • Q&A – Or “Dear Abby” Approach
  • This vs. That Strategy Comparison

All of the ideas here could come from a single interview with a client. If you sat down and interviewed a client for just 30 minutes, you could get all the information you needed to create five articles with each of the above approaches. If you did this with just several clients, you could stagger that content out and have a full calendar of meaningful content for a year.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, simply borrow from current events and staff input.

More Ideas to Inspire Creative Content:

  • Trending Topics Following Current Events
  • Overview of Changing Laws, Rules and Regulations
  • Common Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
  • Spotlight Team Members
  • Feature Events and Philanthropic Involvement

Don’t forget to invite a bit of the human element into your content marketing to help readers develop brand loyalty and keep your audience engaged. It may seem silly, but a human touch adds a ton of warmth to your marketing and engages your audience. People stories for fun, and features focused on your staff members’ pets, babies and activities can be a delightful addition for your readers.

Fun Topics to Consider:

  • A dog day at the office
  • Match the staff member with the baby photo
  • Birth announcements – tiny tee shirts with your firm’s logo on new babies
  • Take Your Child to Work Day
  • Firm family picnic highlights
  • “Where’s Waldo” theme following staff members on vacation snapping a photo at a noteworthy spot with your firm mascot

When does timing impact my writing?

Follow holidays and changing seasons to inject timely themes into your writing. You should also be following deadlines related to sunsetting laws and seasonal legal trends to develop an annual content calendar for your firm.

Incorporate these strategies to inspire future articles and keep your content marketing fresh and engaging.