Learn New Public Relations with Laurie Dunlop

If you read blogs, you know that any blogger worth her salt (his too!) includes an occasional Top 10 list. There are Web sites like Toptenz dedicated to Top 10 lists and even solicit for your ideas on what lists they can compile. David Letterman capitalizes on the public’s fascination with all things Top 10. You can watch those segments dating back to August 1993 on the CBS Late Night Web site.

Here are 10 ways you can come up with a Top 10 list to write your next blog!

1. Use your social media network to solicit answers to your topic. Post a Tweet asking, “What feature do you like best about our Web site?” (Remember to include your URL.) Or post questions through LinkedIn or Facebook. Compile your responses by popularity, and wham, you have a list!
2. If your business solicits customer comments, review that feedback and look for trends. Customers love to be heard. Turning their feedback into a blog entry is a great way to deepen their relationship with your organization.
3. Read someone else’s article for ideas, then add your own research and spin. It is important to give credit to the originator of that idea in your blog.
4. Read a great book lately? Chronicle the Top 10 things you learned from it. The author will appreciate the love and your readers can read the book for a more complete picture of the topic.
5. Ask your co-workers for input. You are surrounded by experts in your industry. Tap into them as a resource.
6. Google it. Search engines open the world to researching a topic at your fingertips. Simply type your question into a search engine and follow the results.
7. Explore your industry Wiki for trends and answers.
8. Register for online research. I use Forrester to substantiate writing on Internet marketing topics for our company, NetStrategies. Forrester allows limited access to registered non-paying customers and greater access for paying ones.
9. Phew, coming up with 10 is harder than I thought… This is not a way to generate ideas, but important blog content nonetheless. Remember to incorporate your keywords into your Top 10 list. For instance, writing, Web content, NetStrategies, and Laurie Dunlop are some of my keywords. I want to make sure some or all of them are included (in a clever and meaningful way) near the top of my list.
10. Ask your blog readers! If they already read your content, invite them to comment on your proposed topic. Once again, this helps develop that two-way conversation with your stakeholders. So, what do you think? How do you come up with a Top 10 list for your blog? Please share your tips with us all!

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