Why the future for journalists is...content marketing.

Maureen Rice, editorial director at Cedar Communications spoke at a Guild of Health Writers event last night.

The event called 'Broaden your Horizons' was designed to help health journalists diversify and find new income streams in the digital age.

Maureen, an esteemed and experienced former editor of high profile national women's magazines, spoke about content marketing. She told how she had embraced the digital age and was working harder than ever before - and enjoying it more.

'Content is where it's at, where the budgets are, where the work is and where there is a massive influx of high-level talent,' she said.

The content revolution has seen brands become media owners. Storytelling is the best way to build communities and a huge chunk of brand's budgets, on average a third, is now directed to content marketing.

'As far as journalists are concerned the only way you can get paid for your content is if it's really good. It's about quality, quality, quality,' she said.

And a tip: if you are looking for work in this industry never refer to companies like Cedar as 'contract publishers' - they are now in the business of content marketing.

'Don't pitch me a feature, think about lots of audiences and multi platforms: print, online, blogs, live tweets, vine' she said. 'In content marketing customers don't pay for content, brands do'.

Finally, she said that journalists now need to think strategically and look at the bigger picture. When pitching they need to be aware of social trends and two major ones are obesity and diabetes - trends which most big brands are addressing.

'Content marketing is a leveller. It's not about you, it's not about egos,' she said. 'The future is an exciting one and the industry is attracting the best talent and the biggest budgets.'

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How to come up with ideas for blog posts

I am a content consultant for many companies who need to find fresh content for weekly, or even twice-weekly, blog posts. They find it a challenge to create new, compelling content week in, week out. So I'm working on some techniques to help.

• Quantity not quality at the ideas stage. Rather than trying to agonise over what would make a great blog post, force yourself to come up with 20 ideas every day. These can be anything you can think of. Write the numbers one to 20 in a book and aim to put an idea next to each. Do this every day. Don't filter the ideas yet, just fill up the list. This starts a habit of looking around constantly for inspiration as you know you have to complete this list every day. If 20 is too challenging make the list just 10.
• When you need a blog post trawl through your lists and you are bound to find at least one that will work - you'll have 140 ideas in just one week with this method.
• Create a list post: these are popular because they are quick and easy to read. Top 50 tips for great content; top 10 best websites for content; etc.
• Brainstorm for all the questions that a visitor to your website might have lingering in their mind as they are browsing. The blog posts can answer these. For example, if you run a coaching website - they might be coming to your site thinking 'how do I organise my life' 'how can I get a better work life balance' - all those questions can lead to blog posts. If there are several answers to the question, then each of these can make a blog post in their own right.
• Keep an eye on news stories linked to your industry. Can you comment, enlighten further or simply let your web visitors know about it.
• Think time of the year - add a seasonal blog post that's related to your business: back to school; autumn; January resolutions; nights getting darker, etc.
• Listen to what your customers, staff and colleagues are grumbling about. If you have any kind of answer or just want to discuss the grumble then it would make a great blog post. Keep a notebook full of customer comments, grumbles and frequently asked questions - and use the blog to address these in a positive way.
• Spin a hot topic into multiple posts. If there's an important topic that you know your readers are interested in write about it from different standpoints. If your readers are interested in painting their kitchen, for example, blog posts could be: a beginner's guide to painting your kitchen; how to prepare your kitchen for painting; the top 10 best painted kitchens ever, a video on how to paint your kitchen; the best tools for painting your kitchen. Spin one topic into many blog posts. As a tip here's some angles: beginner's guide; top 10; worst ever and mistakes; instructional video; how the experts do it; new technology and gadgets for the job; celebrity versions, reviewing products needed, problem solving, best way to, etc.
• Breaking news in your industry. This is a great way to create compelling content. You are well placed to know what's the latest, hottest topic in your news. So scan the trade press in your industry for ideas.This also positions you as an authority figure in the eyes of your readers.
• Revisit previous blog posts and go into more detail. Looking at the subject matter covered in this blog post, for example, I could definitely go through and pick out a topic that could be looked at in more detail in its own post. Perhaps 'How to blog about news stories in your industry' or 'How touse customer comments as inspiration for great blog post.
  
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