Let’s face it. No matter what industry you’re in, the competition is unrelenting. The proliferation of small businesses in the United States means that nobody can monopolize any longer. To be successful, you have to find a way to make your business stand out in a crowd. You have to be magnetic. You have to be memorable.
One of the best strategies to ensure that your website ranks high on Google is to have an active blog. But even that has its obstacles. Brainstorming topics is a challenge. It’s especially tricky for business owners who are juggling sales, marketing, accounting, and human resources responsibilities.
We’re here to assist. We’ve come up with 10 amazing blog ideas – templates that you can use to create content that will:
- Grasp people’s attention
- Bring traffic to your site
- Entertain, inform, and educate your target audience
- Grow and develop your business
You need to tap into people’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. These concepts will help you do that.
You can’t go on the web today without seeing headlines for listicles. BuzzFeed has made an art form out of designing compelling lists with attractive headlines.
People have a natural urge to categorize ideas and topics. That’s one reason why listicles are popular.
You can make a list of almost anything
- Things to do
- Things to avoid doing
- Best options in a category
- Worst options in a category
There are abundant ways to create lists and spin them into blog content. The key is to make the listicles you write valuable to your target audience.
You’re an expert in your industry, and you have valuable knowledge to share. Why not create an ultimate guide for your readers? An ultimate guide is a comprehensive guide to a particular topic or skill.
If you own a clothing store, you might create an ultimate guide to choosing or accessorizing an outfit. The owner of an outdoor supply store might decide to do the ultimate guide to camping in nature. The possibilities are endless. The benefit of doing this kind of article is that you can update it regularly to keep the content current and it can be a traffic magnet.
One of the various cornerstones of marketing is showing customers that you feel and understand their pain. What better way to do that than to help them troubleshoot a common problem?
This is a variation on a how-to guide, but it’s one that can help establish you as an authority in your industry or niche. It’s the type of thing that provides immediate value to your readers. If you do an efficient job of explaining a problem – and solving it – you’ll attract new business and cement your relationship with existing customers.
Gift guides are especially popular around the holiday season, but you can make them for other key gift-giving occasions too. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day are all holidays that include a gift-giving tradition.
People are sometimes stumped about what to give as a gift. You can provide them with an easy guide, and include relevant links to your online store if you have one.
As a local business owner, it’s important to show that you care about your community. One way to do that is to blog about local events and charities in the area.
Charitable giving is a key to marketing to Millennials. This generation wields enormous buying power, and they are far more likely to patronize companies that give to charity than those who don’t. Sponsor a local charity, participate in a fundraiser, or collaborate with a local event. People in your area want to know what’s happening, and they’ll respond when they see that you’re involved.
These days, if you want to learn how to do something, you Google it. That’s as true of your customers as it is of anybody else. And for that specific reason, how-to articles are one of the most relevant kinds of web content.
Consider things that people who are interested in your niche or products want to learn how to do. If you own a kitchen supply store, you might create a how-to article about a particular cooking technique. A home improvement store might post how-tos for a series of DIY projects.
Here again, the key to success is to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask what they want to know how to do.
Every industry and niche has its myths. Given how accessible it is to find information nowadays, it’s remarkable that myths can have the staying power they do.
The chances are good that you know several persistent myths that apply to what you do. Instead of being annoyed about them, develop a series of blog posts explaining why they’re untrue. The content you create will be useful and valuable to your customers. If you pick your keywords wisely, it can attract a steady flow of traffic to your blog.
Funny blog entries won’t work for every industry, but there’s no denying the popularity of hilarious content. Many companies have created videos or written blogs that have gone viral simply because they made people laugh.
If you notice an opportunity to find the funny in what you do, go for it. You may find yourself with a viral hit on your hands.
If you realize that you’re getting the same questions from readers repeatedly in the comments, you can utilize those questions to write a blog entry.
The benefit of answering reader questions is that it gives you an opportunity to engage with your readers. It also allows you show new readers that you care about your customers.
Interviews are a great choice for blog entries because they practically write themselves. If you can connect with an influencer in your industry, ask if they’ll conduct a phone interview with you.
During the interview, ask questions that are relevant to your customers. They’ll be grateful for the information.
