How to Generate Newsletter Ideas

If you are editing a newsletter or blog, you need a constant flow of newsletter ideas to keep it relevant and interesting. One of the most powerful brainstorming techniques is the List of Ten. Make a list of ten ideas every day, and you will always have newsletter ideas.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• pen or pencil
• Or you can do it on computer

1. Set aside time just for idea generation. Forbid yourself from doing other things, including writing, during this time. (If you have an idea that's on fire, take some notes so you can get back to it.) Forbid yourself from judging the ideas -- do not let stupid ideas discourage you. (Besides, there's a use for them, as you will see in step 6.) Fifteen minutes is good to start. If you don't make it to ten ideas in that time, then you can do a second session later.

2. Pick a topic to focus on. The narrower your focus, the more creative you will be. (It's like a hose -- a narrow opening creates higher pressure.) Your first topic could be to come up with ten topics that are relevant to your newsletter. Then use these in later brainstorming sessions.

3. Don't deviate from the focus. While it's okay to narrow your focus, if you try to escape the pressure, you will undercut your own creativity. If a good idea comes to you on another subject, make a quick note and get back to the subject at hand.

4. Use your Lists of Ten to get leverage on the competition. Read other blogs, newsletters and news stories about your main subject, and make lists of mistakes they make and things they didn't cover properly. Some of your best newsletter ideas will be the ones that others didn't do quite right.

5. Use your Lists of Ten to learn more about your subject. Make lists of things you don't know enough about. Words and subjects to look up on Wikipedia. Skills you wish you had, tasks you are reluctant to do because you aren't good at them.

6. Use your lists to stretch your imagination. Pick one of your stupidest ideas and think about why it's stupid. Find ten ways you could make it smart. This is where your most creative newsletter ideas could come from - things that others have overlooked because they don't look promising on the surface.

Tips & Warnings

• If you start finding it too easy to come up with ten ideas, or you want to push yourself deeper into a topic, make it fifteen, or twenty ideas -- make it hard, and your brain will respond.

• If you find it too hard, start with five ideas, and work upward as you get used to it.

• If your brain says "this is too hard!" make it just come up with ONE more idea.