Struggling to say something new? Here are 6 ways to break out of your rut.

If you want to attract attention with your writing, you have to say something new. If those thoughts running around in your head seem like what everyone else has already written about, that’s a problem.

None of us want to read yet another post about how customer experience is important, you should measure what matters, and you should treat your colleagues with respect. Bleaah! Been there, read that, not interested.

If you’re posting content as content marketing, the first thing you need is a point of view. For example, my point of view is that writing should be clear and direct — most of what you read here comes from that perspective. Your point of view may be that financial advisers are biased, that taxes are misunderstood, or that self-publishing a book is a great option.

If you don’t have a point of view, get one. What’s the unique perspective or experience you bring that very few share? What have you learned that others don’t yet know?

Then, to post something new, apply that point of view in one of these ways.

1 Newsjacking

Newsjacking, as defined by David Meerman Scott, is the art of applying your point of view to the news of the day. The current queen of newsjacking is Heather Cox Richardson, who applies a historian’s perspective to political news. You can do the same. Read the papers and the trades and identify happenings where your perspective reveals something new. Then write about that. And do it quickly — news is perishable!

2 New data

New data, analyzed in context, is great content. Did you do a survey? Analyze keyword searches? Review historical trends? Data is a great source of new insights, and people are eager to hear about it.

3 New depth

We all know that customer experience is important. But did you figure out how IT systems contribute to it? Or how it correlates to internal management styles? Or how to socialize it within an organization? Experts go deep on topics and reveal bits of insight that aren’t obvious on the surface.

4 New formats

Maybe people have heard what you’re about to say. But have they seen it in the form of a music video? A chalkboard animation? A quiz? An infographic? Check out Melanie Deziel’s The Content Fuel Framework for ways to brainstorm new formats for presenting your ideas.

5 New audiences

Drill down. Do you have insights on IT systems for consultants and experts? On data analysis for automakers? On frequent flyer strategies for grandparents? There are many posts on these general topics — but not for these specific audiences. Do this to pop on Web searches by people in those market sectors.

6 New experiences

Experience is a great source of content that’s unique to each individual. Did you learn something from your encounter with customer service? From your interaction with a client? From something a colleague said? From your kids? Write your own story — and be sure to apply your specific point of view to make it relevant for your audience.

Next time you’re stuck, come back to this post. You do have something new to say. You just haven’t realized what it is yet.