Are you sick of
business blogging
? Do you feel like your brain is empty and out of ideas for blog posts? This is a common feeling. (I know I, personally, have often felt this way.) The reality is that the web is full of too many great ideas and
different types of content
, that you should never run out of things to blog about, regardless of your industry. When it comes to blogging well and often, it usually comes down to how you see ideas and how well you explain them in a way that matters to your audience. It doesn't matter if you are blogging about manufacturing or swimming pools or any other industry for that matter, the basic process for coming up with great
blog content
can be applied to any business.
10 Ways to Keep Your Blog Full of Content
1. Answer Customer Questions -- After spending years in an industry, it is easy to use jargon and lose sight of how customers see the industry. A good way to solve this problem to create valuable blog content is by looking through your email or checking with your sales and support teams to generate a list of common customer questions. Take each question and write blog posts that clearly answer them without using industry jargon.
2. Aggregate Industry Information -- Everyone has good ideas. As a blogger, a great way to put together a powerful blog post is to compile popular industry statistics, images, videos, etc. into one article that makes it easily accessible for your readers. This saves them time spent researching and eliminates the need to visit dozens of sights. When aggregating content, be sure to give credit and link to the original source of information.
3. Think Beyond Text -- Text is great, but it doesn't have to be the only type of blog content you offer. Think about other types of content . For example, you could publish video or audio interviews of industry experts. You could create a blog post with pictures taken at an industry trade show. For a day, remove text as a possible form of blog post content and think about other content types that can be valuable to your readers.
4. Seek Out Guest Authors -- Let other people think of ideas for you. Think about other experts and leaders in your industry and approach them about contributing a guest article to your blog. You'll find that many people are willing to this for free in order to gain exposure to a new audience and generate a link or two back to their own blogs or websites. By securing a few good guest authors, you can outsource blog ideas and save some time in your schedule for other types of content.
5. Make Lists -- Coming up with new blog posts is often a function of framing ideas in the correct way. Think of common industry issues and situations in the form of lists. Lists can be how-to, best-of, etc., but often serve as a catalyst for coming up with a fresh angle for an common topic.
6. Make Charts -- People love data. Most businesses have data about their industry and use it to make important business decisions. While some data may need to be kept confidential, other data can be made into charts that can become a blog post, providing readers with valuable industry insight.
Example:
7. Think Like an OpEd Writer
-- Take a stance. OpEd writers argue one side of an issue. No industry is without controversial topics. Pick a couple of hot-button topics and write an opinion article about the issue.
Polarizing blog posts
like this often attract more traffic and comments than traditional posts.
8. Look at
Analytics
-- Take a look at your
website analytics
. Website analytics provide a lot of information about your readers. For example, you can see where they are geographically, what type of computer or smartphone they use, as well as other valuable data. If you notice that you have a large portion of visitors from an unexpected location, it might make sense to write a few blog posts related to industry issues in that geographic area.
9. Review Industry Books
-- Provide your own twist on what others have to say about your industry. Read some recent industry books and then write or produce video reviews that point out the good and bad in each of those books as well as indicate which segments of your audience may enjoy reading them.
10. Break News
-- Think like a reporter. Has an announcement recently happened that has an impact on your industry? Take a few minutes to summarize the news announcement and then explain what it means for your industry. Beyond helping your readers, breaking news regularly will help to improve organic search traffic, because search engines place value on the first sites to discuss a particular subject.
What tips do you have for keeping blog post ideas flowing? Which of these strategies do you use?
Photo Credit: qisur
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Diane Corriette 11:17 AM on June 01, 2010
Know my keywords and what people are searching for - that influences my content time and time again. A quick search using the Google keyword tool and I can come up with content on topics being searched for - I also use industry news and YouTube videos!
Kelly Marsh 12:03 PM on June 01, 2010
A great resource to use is Yahoo answers and LinkedIn questions.
www.kellybmarsh.com
Alexandra 12:11 PM on June 01, 2010
I really liked your sum-up, there are things here I tend to forget about, and also ones that didn't cross my mind, like number 1 and 8. Will bookmark this for further reference! :)
David Robertson 1:09 PM on June 01, 2010
You have me opening your email newsletter every time I read what your blog posts are about. That's what I want for my readers. Exciting, informing and irresistible posts. I believe this article has taken me a step closer to it. If you want to you can check out our blog at http://loveahondapa.com !
Ken 4:06 PM on June 01, 2010
Nice post and great info Kipp!
Personally, I like to make lists and track analytics. I have noticed that posts that incorporate lists tend to have higher traffic (research also points to this as well). Looking at keywords is great too. Knowing what keywords we are ranking on/getting traffic from helps out tremendously when preparing blog topics weeks in advance. I have only been blogging for a couple months, but I have recently begun to research different areas and sources that incorporate videos into their blogs and how that would best translate into mine. Additionally, a recent CBS news report on our industry lead to an opportunity (albeit kind of unfortunate) to write about security options and brand standards for potential and new customers. Perhaps "damage control" can be #11 on your list!:)
David Siteman Garland 5:26 PM on June 01, 2010
Another strategy that is key: Interview Marketing.
Reach out to thought leaders, authors, bloggers, etc. in your niche.
Interview them either by text, audio or video.
And you can create the ultimate win-win-win:
1. Your community gets great content.
2. You create great content and strike up a relationship with leaders.
3. The leader gets in front of your community.
Win-win-win.
Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion 10:34 PM on June 01, 2010
Good stuff Kitt, funny thing is I just wrote about this same subject on my content marketing blog. Like you said, we all go through spells where content is tough to come up with. I think the biggest key is going back to thinking like a consumer, not a blogger or professional in your field. Heck, interview a consumer if you have to and have them tell you their top questions regarding your product. Such questions make killer blog articles.
Dianna Huff 7:20 AM on June 02, 2010
Love tip #3.
I also tell people to pretend they're a reporter and to develop a beat -- meaning, you focus on a topic or industry.
You then cover this topic in newspapers, magazines, blogs, books, conferences, etc. and in the process, you become known as the expert.
Jer@ScrapGoldGuru.com 12:10 PM on June 02, 2010
Don't forget to use Google alerts for inspiration. Track long tail keywords and receive ideas for blogging, video and audio daily via email. You can use Twitter search reports as well.
LynnetteR 2:14 PM on June 02, 2010
Great Post. There are things here I tend to forget about. I love point #3. I am downloading your free webinar now!
Kyle Lacy 12:19 PM on June 03, 2010
One thing I try to do is ask questions...when you've run out of answers. I always write down ideas that I have throughout the day so I can blog about it later.
I also love tip #3 :)
Mark Farmer 1:52 PM on June 03, 2010
ROTFLMAO Really...!? Is that the goal? Keeping the blog "full of content"!? = losing strategy. How about "provide value"? Start with provocative and aim for profound. But for God's sake... let go of trying to "keep your blog full". Just focus on quality, not quantity.
Akshay Arabolu 2:31 AM on June 04, 2010
As a new blogger, this was very helpful info. Your article, is bookmarked. Thanks!
Crystal Bedell 11:56 PM on June 04, 2010
Top 5 or Top 10 blog posts is a great way to recycle content and increase traffic. You can make it an official Top X by looking at your page views and choosing the posts that have received the most traffic. Alternatively, you can make it a list of your favorites and tell readers they don't want to miss them!
Brandon Cox 1:48 PM on June 07, 2010
One of the best lists I've seen! My own biggest tip is to read a ton of news, or at least skim it. Reporting stories to your readers is quite powerful.
Andee Sellman, One Sherpa 6:25 PM on June 09, 2010
Great list of ideas.
My marketing mentor has told me that if I run out of ideas I should think of all the pain points that my customers might be experiencing and then write about how to solve these. At last count we were up to about 100 pain points that we could write about
Geoffrey Gordon 1:30 AM on June 10, 2010
Great article I wrote something similar on my blog, but this post didn't cover some things I covered in my post so thanks for the extra insights. 9 Blog Post Ideas For Business
Marc 7:34 AM on June 11, 2010
Try to write unique content
Make your content readable with a good design
Double check your sources (most bloggers fail at this point)
Use keywords, alt- and titletext and give your images relevant filenames
Interact not only on your own blog
Writing a blogpost is actually less than 50% of your time.
Eugenia Kaneshige 4:28 PM on June 11, 2010
Good summary article. What about an article on the opposite problem? I have so many ideas that I can't get them down fast enough, and the mechanics of getting my blog out there are so cumbersome and time-consuming that I stopped blogging after we moved our offices and can't get going again. I have pads all over the house with ideas to write about "when I find the time."
Online para 1:00 PM on June 14, 2010
A great resource to use is Yahoo answers and LinkedIn questions.
www.affiliateakademi.com
Todd Bobal 10:12 AM on June 22, 2010
I have been getting writers block lately and this article was great for me! I do company reviews which has gotten me by...thanks
Todd