These questions can help you to break through writer’s block to the well of inspiration

B2B writing is a tightrope of creativity and focus. Successful business communications are highly disciplined but never formulaic. A great writer can imbue any subject with energy and engagement while leading the reader on a journey to the desired outcome – whether it be clicking for more information, signing up for a webinar, making a phone call or downloading a report.

But often writers need inspiration when they’re sitting down to tackle a subject. Here are some questions that are tailored to writing case studies, but which can provide outstanding brain-food for any writing on any subject.

Answer a handful of them, and you’re well on your way to some great copy.

– What were the issues driving the decision?

– Why/how did they make the choices they did?

– What were the implementation milestones?

– What did the client/business gain? (Supply metrics if possible, they’re usually not given.)

– What did the client/business learn?

– What would the client/business do differently now?

– What advice would the client/business pass on?

– What were the key considerations ahead of the decision?

– Had they done something like this before? If not, what was the learning curve like? If so, what new things did this particular activity teach them?

– Who were the key advisers? How did they choose them? Then get the best out of them?

– How did they ensure they understood what they were doing well enough to remain in control?

– What were the main challenges for them? Did other people look to them to provide any specific guidance or information?

– Any war stories? Funny anecdotes? Strange comments or reactions from colleagues, staff or customers?

– At what point did they feel they’d ‘done it’? What constituted success?

– What were the biggest pitfalls – and how did they get over them?

– What are the shortcuts that other clients should know about?

– What was the process like for them personally? How much sleep did they lose? (Seriously – this is always a good question.)

There are more, but this is more than enough to get going. Start questioning yourself and great B2B copy will flow.