By Sharon A.M. MacLean

Business people often dread creating the constant stream of copy that’s needed to tell their company story online. It’s like facing the dragon with an insatiable appetite.

A reported 54% of companies find that composing sufficient content is their biggest challenge. This finding was revealed in The B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. You can bet that number rises in 2014.

I don’t think much has changed in publishing. Capturing the attention of readers with compelling copy was a hurdle for many writers who regularly pitched my print magazine. We found a high percentage of would-be authors were self-promoters who ran out of ideas after their second or third attempt at supplying a regular column;  readers don’t like to be duped.  Well-prepared content is how you will capture attention for your company online, as well.

Here’s 10 ideas for you to become that CoolKat with ideas for copy.

1) Answer the 10 questions that people ask you all the time about your business;

2) Answer the 10 questions that your customers should be asking about your product or service;

3) Think like a reporter. Answer the W5 when it comes to exploring a new topic: who, what, where, when, why. Then add how;

4)Find the thought leaders in your industry and interview them about why they got into the business and how they were able to solve a pressing problem for their clients;

5)Find your industry researchers and follow their progress;

6)Form an editorial board inside your company. Invite individuals from all levels to brainstorm ideas; the best stories bubble to the top.

7)Identify the individuals within your company who are key to your everyday success. Maybe it’s that young man with a disability who loves his job as a grounds keeper.

8)Curate content. Find 10 leading websites in your industry and then look for their blogs. Analyze their best features and write a post about what impressed you.

9)Join relevant groups using Linked In. A lot of discussions that take place can be a great source of inspiration for your next article.

10) Case studies. People love to hear stories from the war room on how others overcame adversity—or about a hard-earned lesson.

Gotta love those CoolKats.