“What Should I Blog About?” Tips and Suggestions for Creating Valuable Blog Content

Written by Laurie Zinn@LineByLineLLC9 years ago

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Having a blog is a great way to drive traffic to your website. It also keeps your website fresh with new, relevant content. Through the articles that you post, you are establishing yourself as an expert in your industry, and building trust.

A blog on your website is also important because when it comes time for your customers to make a purchasing decision, they will likely turn to someone they are familiar with. Someone who has already provided valuable information. Someone who has proven they know what they are talking about.

Your blog can do all of this for your business and more, when it’s filled with valuable content. You’ll need to decide what topics to blog about that will bring that value to your customers.

What Should You Blog About?

Here are a few topic suggestions for creating valuable content for your blog:

• How-to articles. Explain in a blog post how to use a particular product in your industry, how to put it together or how to get the most out of it’s use. If you sell a service, blog about how to shop for that service, what to look for, or what questions to ask. Don’t assume that everyone knows how to do something just because you do. You are the expert, so chance are most people don’t know what you know. A how-to blog article gives you a chance to showcase your knowledge.

• Answer a question. Think of the last four or five questions a customer has asked you. Write a separate blog article for each question that answers it. Chances are, if one person asked the question, others have the same question.

• An industry trend. Are there any recent news articles, announcements, surveys or studies done in your industry? If so, write a blog article about it. Explain to your customer what it means to them and how they can benefit. Include your opinion, a local spin, or how it affects your business.

• Tips. You have more knowledge than you realize. Create a blog article with tips about your business, product or service. Give advice away for free that helps your customers solve a problem that they have.

• Top 10 Lists. If you have favorite websites, books, or items that relate to your industry, share that with your customers. People love learning about what others enjoy. Think about how popular Oprah’s Favorite Things lists were.
• A product review. A blog is a great opportunity to review a product you’ve used or a service you’ve experienced. Be open to comments, questions and conversations following your article.

• A customer success story. It’s okay to brag about your company once in awhile. Customer success stories are an expanded testimonial that explains the problem they were having and how your business solved it. You’ve helped a customer achieve a goal, and a success story is a great way to share it.

• Compare and contrast. Similar to a product review, a compare and contrast article talks about the pros and cons of a product, service or experience. Most customers do a lot of research before making a purchasing decision, so this type of article would be helpful in obtaining that important information.

• Q&A. Interview someone in your industry or your business who you think would be interesting to your readers. Share your questions and answers with your audience in the form of a blog post.

Filling your blog with helpful, useful content is not so overwhelming once you open your mind to the many possibilities. Think outside the box, get creative and enlist the help of other people in your organization. You’ll be surprised how much you know, and how much value you can bring to your customers.

Laurie Zinn is a Columbus-based freelance writer and owner of Line-By-Line. She helps businesses communicate with their customers through website content, blog articles, email marketing campaigns and social media. For more information about Line-By-Line, visit http://line-by-line.us or contact Laurie at laurie@line-by-line.us.