Blogging is important for small businesses. It’s a great opportunity to share your voice, show off your expertise, get traffic to your site, and give a glimpse into your process and what makes you tick. You should definitely be blogging.
Okay. So you read my previous post and you have a firm grasp on why you should be blogging and you’re all excited to get to it, but now you have to figure out what the hell you should be blogging about.
But first, remember this: it should not feel like a chore. When it comes to blogging, if you’re blogging just to blog and you’re not that into it, guess what? We can tell. And if you’re not that into it, you probably won’t want to do it. So you should be writing things you’re excited to get out there, things you know your community needs to hear and you can’t wait to share with them.
With that in mind, here are some key inspiration points to get you going.
What you should be blogging about
YOUR KEY WORDS/SEARCH TERMS
Your ideal customers are out there with problems that need solving. How are they going to find out that you can help them with that? Well, if the Google their questions and they find your super helpful post, that connection is made. What kind of information are your ideal customers searching for online? What will answer their questions and address their concerns directly? Use those key words and the searches they’re making right in the title and build from there.
YOUR SOLUTIONS
On that note, what are the solutions and resources you’re providing? Not just in general, but in the real world day-to-day of what you do, what are five things you always cover with your clients? Right there you have five blog posts (or even ten one you really think about it and start to break things down). What questions do they have or what is they always want to know more about or how to do? Write some posts along these lines and your blog can become a resource for existing and future clients and customers.
THE NEW AND NEWSWORTHY
If there’s something “buzzy” happening right now that connects to your business or expertise or the interests of your community, that’s a great thing to blog about. A public speaking coach might want to write about the most talked-about speeches at the latest political conventions. A photographer might want to write about a particularly meaningful or newsworthy exhibit. Take a look at your Facebook feed with your entrepreneur hat on and you might be surprised what ideas pop out at you.
YOUR UNIQUE TAKE
Expanding on the last tip, if there’s something out there that people are talking about, take it a step further and provide your unique take on the topic. While a lot of people might be caught up in the politics of said speeches, that public speaking coach might want to write about what worked (or didn’t) from a professional angle, offering tips and take-aways her readers can use and apply. Or the photographer might want to speak to how this other artist influenced their work or how techniques have changed over the years. Either way, giving your professional spin on something that’s out there is a great way to get people in (because they’re interested in the topic) and show how you view the world through your professional lens.
YOUR INSPIRATIONS AND INTERESTS
What are you into? How can you paint a fuller picture of who you are and what inspires and drives you and your work? More importantly, how can you take something that really excites you and apply it to your work so you enjoy putting this post together? Maybe it’s art or music or a particular muse. Maybe it’s a travel destination or a book or a favorite local business. Chances are if it’s something that excites you, it’s going to be something you’ll enjoy writing about.
YOUR MOST POPULAR POSTS
What is your community responding to (with likes, comments, or shares) on social media? If they’re engaging with a photograph, commentary, or a third-party article you shared, chances are there’s an opportunity to expand more fully in a post. (And hey, if it’s a photo, that means you already have visuals for your post! You’re halfway there already!)
YOUR PROCESS
Blog posts are a great way to give thoughtful insight into what goes on behind-the-scenes. You might have great news to share (maybe you launched a new service or product or project), but chances are the story of how it came to be or all came together could be really interesting to your community. Consider showing befores-and-afters or the tools you use or where your inspiration came from—it’s a great place to show people parts of your process they don’t normally get to see.
When I work with my clients, we not only cover these points in detail, we also get really specific so they end up with a nice long list of posts to write. They also learn the steps to take to see more blogging opportunities as they come up in everyday life. Over time, blogging becomes less and less of a chore and I see clients actually seeking opportunities in their lives because they want to write about them. And when I see people doing things that excite them that they maybe wouldn’t have before and making connections between cool things that are out there in the world and their business and their customers, that makes me very, very happy!
Before you can blog effectively, it’s key to remember why you should be blogging in the first place. In case you missed it, check out my earlier post, ‘Why You Should Be Blogging‘. And be sure to stay on top of all things helpful, interesting, and timely by following me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram… And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!