By Monika Jansen
Not knowing what to blog about is one of the biggest and best excuses for ignoring your blog and letting it whither on the vine. I know, I know: keeping the fresh, exciting ideas coming can be a huge challenge. I struggle with it myself. But if you ignore your blog, where does that get you? Yup, you got it: nowhere fast.
In no specific order, here is a non-exhaustive list of ideas that I turn to when I am stuck:
Book reviews
You don’t need to write about brand new books—enough people do that already. Instead, write about older books that you rely on for great advice and have learned a lot from. Share the most relevant points the author makes that will be useful to your readers.
FAQs
Even if your company doesn’t have a list of frequently asked questions, don’t worry. You probably are asked similar questions by clients all the time. Answer them at length, one blog post at a time. (And then you can write up an FAQ list to post on your website!)
Case studies
The only thing your clients and potential clients care about is how you can help them. Show how with case studies that clearly explain the problem your client had and how you solved it for them. If you can get some quotes from the client, all the better.
Industry news
Chances are, your clients do not follow the news in your industry closely if at all. So share the news that is most likely going to impact them.
Industry best practices
Educate your clients on how things are done in your industry. I hate the term “best practices”, so forgive me for using it, but it can quite useful for you share with your clients the most effective and efficient processes and methods that are common to your industry. Think of it as a way to help them be better customers.
New products or services
Though blogging about new products or services you are offering is an obvious subject, make sure you do it right: emphasize the benefits to your clients, not the features!
Lessons learned
We all make mistakes, learn from them, and emerge smarter (hopefully). Share lessons you have learned that don’t make you look like an incompetent moron, but rather a wiser person whose product or service is a now a lot better due to your mistake.
Webinars, workshops, and conferences
Take prolific notes when you attend a webinar, workshop, or conference. Blog about the most important things you learned that your audience would care about. If you learn enough, milk your newfound knowledge and create a series of blog posts.
How to’s
This is one of my favorites. Share your knowledge with your readers, especially on subjects that may seem totally commonsense and obvious to you. You will be quickly regarded as a go-to source of information on the topics you write about.
Numbered lists
In general, blog readers love numbered lists. The idea of learning about something quickly is very appealing, and an organized list of points seems to make it that much easier.
Contrarian point of view
Write about a subject using the opposite point of view of everyone else, either to get attention or because you really believe it to be so (I could write a whole series on why I hate social media). Just be sure you back up your assertions.
Use negatives
Spin a topic 180˚ and blog about it using only negatives or mistakes as your premise. For example, write a blog post titled “10 Ways to Really Screw Up Your Blog” rather than the expected “10 Ways to Make Your Blog Awesome.”
Image by Flickr user Chuck Coker (Creative Commons)
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Tags: blogging, Marketing
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