If you’ve followed the last two posts on machine shops using inbound marketing, you might be convinced blogging is a good idea. The main roadblock people run into is execution. How to blog when you can’t think of anything to say?
Getting help from a professional writer is one solution, but machine shop owners are often do-it-yourself types. They like working with their hands. If that weren’t the case, they’d have picked a different career, like accounting. If they’re going to do a blog, they want to do it themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that. What can happen–all too easily as I can attest–is you get a push of productivity early on, and it tapers off to nothing in time.
Part of the problem with frequent blogging is coming up with fresh topics on a regular basis.Early on, all topics are fresh. After a few weeks, you can end up coming back around to the same subjects. If you can put a new angle on it. then it’s fresh again. If not, you risk repeating content.
Don’t make topic selection a solo task. Talk to the employees and get their suggestions. If you find somebody can write, you might even get their help creating the content. Still, sometimes the real problem is how to get started. Toward that end, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Machine Tools – Tell us about that lathe. What can it do? What are its benefits and drawbacks?
Process – Talk about programming a CNC tool. Why do you need to use that weird blue water while machining?
People – Who runs your tools? they don’t spend all their time on the milling machine. What else do they do? where are they from?
Materials – What kinds of material do you machine? Which are easy, which are challenging and why? What do you build out of different materials?
As it turns out, I originally planned a list of three, and a fourth popped into my head before I finished. Sometimes, all you need to do is sit with a pencil and paper and brainstorm away. Write down everything, even if it seems dumb. You can often see a different and smarter way of talking about that dumb topic later on.
Don’t let lack of a topic hold you back. There’s plenty to talk about on a machine shop blog. Better still, not many other shops are doing it, so you’ll pull ahead in the online game if you put some regular content out there.