Yolander Prinzel, ACS

Anyone who’s been responsible for creating their own content can tell you that after a while—once the initial project enthusiasm runs dry—it’s difficult to come up with new topic ideas for posts and articles. But without consistent new content and articles, your agency or firm’s marketing footprint can get lost in the noise of everyone else’s, and your website might start ranking lower in Google search results (see Google Freshness for more information).

One of the services I provide to my clients is the creation of a monthly editorial calendar for their site. This is a document that I generally present in Excel that has article titles for every due date we have for the month, although some clients prefer them as lists of topics that they can then choose from and assign back to me. I send these calendars in advance so my clients have time to review the topics I propose and substitute any of their own that they want covered during the following month.

If you think that it’s difficult to come up with roughly 30 topics per month, per client for those I write for multiple times per week, you’d be almost correct. It would be difficult if I didn’t have some tricks up my sleeve—tricks that I’m about to share with you so break out your pen, pencil or quill:

1. Keep an idea notebook. I have a notebook that is with me at all times. Inside I write down every idea or fragment of an idea that I have. Sometimes, I just write down a word or phrase. These fragments can often turn into the inspiration for a long article and a series of spin-off blog posts.
2. Read. A lot. I have several newspaper, magazine and online newsletter subscriptions. I spend hours every Sunday morning reading through these items and thinking about how I can spin off the topics discussed and create article ideas for clients. Even those articles that I read that are not finance or insurance related can inspire ideas for my clients.
3. Become your target reader. When you think about topics, think as your target reader does. An article idea that may seem like common sense to you may be a totally foreign concept to your ideal reader.
4. Put your spin on it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being directly inspired by another article you’ve read, and writing your own article that uses the original article as a reference—but plagiarism is bad. It’s bad for you, bad for your business and could get your website shut down at least temporarily—not to mention the moral implications. When using other articles as inspiration, credit them and put your own spin on the content.
5. Have a loose theme. I try to create loosely themed weeks for clients. Not only does that make it easier to come up with ideas but it also gives readers more bang for the buck as they get a well-rounded, well-designed pseudo course in finance, investing, taxes or insurance.
6. Choose topics that help you send your message. Every client has his or her own message. Some have a product or service they want to sell, others want simply to communicate their value through education, and some want to inspire readers to think, question and make a change. As I develop topics for my editorial calendars, I keep my client’s message in mind and create topics that will best deliver that message.
7. Mix evergreen content with current events. This should be handled differently for every situation—but generally speaking, websites should have evergreen content—content that stays relevant through the years—and content that mixes evergreen lessons with current event references.

These may not be all my secrets (hey—I gotta keep something proprietary, right?) but this should be enough to help you out for a long while.

If you need help developing an editorial calendar for your site, I’d be happy to work with you. Contact me for details.

Blogs are meant to open the doors to communication among you, your clients and your potential clients. They help your website remain relevant, attract new visitors and make you more accessible. And nothing creates accessibility and communication like blog comments.

But many agents and advisors are hesitant to allow comments on their posts because they run the risk of having unsubstantiated negative feedback posted—which could definitely turn into a PR nightmare. The negative comment might not even be about your agency but about an insurer that you work with or an investment you recommend.

There are two ways that you can deal with this possibility. You can disallow comments altogether or you can moderate your comments.

The Value of Moderated Comments

Before you stop reading and run to shut off your blog comments, let’s explore some of the benefits of allowing commenters on a moderated basis.

1. A blog with conversation creates an entirely new level of value as it allows a space for someone to feel comfortable asking questions and giving feedback.
2. Comments help you measure whether you are on the right or wrong track with the topics you’ve chosen to discuss.
3. Allowing comments creates a transparency that potential and existing clients will appreciate.
4. When a potential or existing client leaves a negative comment, it can make you aware of a solvable problem you previously didn’t know existed.

Handling Comments Effectively

Now, before you run and turn your blog comment options back on, let’s talk about the best ways to allow and moderate your comments without making yourself look like Big Brother:

1. Have a posted comment policy. On a professional blog, there is no room for explicit language, personal attacks, gross generalizations and other forms of inappropriate communication. Create a page on your site that clearly outlines what is and is not acceptable and let commenters know what the consequences are if they violate this policy.
2. Moderate all comments. Instead of allowing comments to be posted if the commenter has a previously approved comment, restrict your site so that all comments must be approved before posting. This may create a lag time in the conversation, but it will also prevent any comments in violation of policy from posting.
3. Balance being forthright with being careful. If someone leaves a comment with a complaint that does not violate your comment policy, deleting it and pretending it never happened is not a good idea. That person may have access to Twitter, Facebook and forums and may easily spread the word of the deleted comment. Instead, consider allowing the comment and responding to it immediately. Your response is going to vary based on the situation and potential compliance concerns. Some general complaints may be easily answered in a reply underneath the original comment. For specific issues, you may be better off leaving a reply that you would like to talk to the individual via a more secure method to help them resolve the problem. In other instances, you might want to get your compliance department on the phone to find out the correct way to handle it. In an issue that you think involves compliance, you might also want to leave the comment unpublished until you get your broker/dealer or insurance company’s input.

If you need help managing your blog and social networks, I may have a service plan that can help. Contact me for rates and details.

I’m equal parts excited about 2012 and in disbelief that it’s actually here. This year marks my third as a full-time financial writer and if it’s anything like the past two, it’s going to be filled with amazing clients, fun projects and lots of personal and professional growth.

My professional focus this year is on finding ways that I can become even more valuable to my clients. I’m considering adding some new service options to my roster and thinking about how to accommodate clients with small budgets and big content needs. One of the ways I hope to do this is to begin offering editorial input so that clients with tighter budgets can create and submit their own content to me for editing and proofreading.

As I integrate each of these new offerings into my business, I’ll blog about them so you know what’s available to you and what you’ll be looking at in terms of cost.

I’m excited to work with all of you this year and I can’t wait to see how I can make your life easier, your business more efficient, and your career hotter.