My goal is to write something people need to or want to read, aka “quality and value,” and do it quickly so I can get on with the day.
If that works for you, consider using one of these 3 sources of ideas:
(1) Respond to questions (from readers, subscribers, clients, etc.)
Don’t underestimate the value of simply answering questions about your area of expertise. You have plenty of information and relevant examples from your practice to write about, and if one person is asking about a subject, you know others want to know the same thing.
Check your email, questions and comments posted on social, and you might have enough ideas to last for months.
(2) Write what other lawyers (bloggers, experts, etc.) are writing about.
I get a lot of ideas this way. It’s easy to adapt a business consultant’s article about marketing or customer relations or productivity, for example, to something appropriate for my market (that means you).
When you’re fresh out of ideas, these articles are a good place to refill your tank.
I might use some of their ideas and add my own, or none of their ideas except the basic concept that caught my attention. I’ll change the headline, add my own irreverent style, and have an article or post that is completely different from the original.
(3) Write about something you saw, or that happened in your work or personal life.
Yes, you should write about your latest case or one you heard about from a colleague. But don’t ignore your personal experiences, which can be a fertile source of material.
For example, you might take your kid to a doctor’s appointment and be asked to supply information you know they don’t need and shouldn’t ask. You could write about HIPAA, or use that experience as the lead to an article about how you go out of the way in your practice to protect your clients’ privacy and rights.
Or, you might be out shopping and hear someone accuse someone of hate speech. In the US, you might use that to explain the meaning of free speech and the US Constitution.
Do you live in a city with potholes gone wild? You might write about what to do if your reader sustains property damage or bodily injury by driving over one.
Ideas are everywhere. If you pay attention, you will never run out.
