Continuously producing engagement content is one of the biggest challenges of running a successful business blog. Without compelling content to share, it’s a struggle to keep your audience coming back for more. But it’s an important challenge to get to grips with because when blog posts get shared, they can create a healthy number of backlinks to your website, generate leads, and help boost your search rankings. Here are ten simple tips to help you come up with new blog post ideas time after time.
Newsjacking
Writing content related to recent news stories is a great way to keep your posts topical and interesting. Think about how you can add extra value with an original perspective to stand out from the crowd. Trending Topics on Twitter is a useful tool for finding up-to-date news, and Google Trends will highlight industry hot topics.
Use Google AdWords Keyword Planner
When you have a rough idea about a blog post, type some keywords into Google’s Keyword Planner to get some inspiration. A phrase that has low competition but a decent amount of monthly searches will help optimize your post for search engines. Alternative phrases will help you generate related blog titles.
Tackle an Issue
Some of the most powerful blog posts are the ones that take on a popular or controversial topic. To make your posts more memorable, share your honest opinions. Even if some readers disagree, it helps to stir debate and start a conversation around your brand.
Use the Five Questions
Ask who, what, why, where, and when? For example, let’s say you run a food blog and you want to do a series on cheese. Who invented macaroni and cheese? What are the healthiest cheeses? Why eat cheese? Where is the best place to store cheese? When is the best time to eat cheese? In no time at all, you’ve come up with five posts.
Cover the Basics and FAQs
Answer the questions people are asking and your posts are instantly more engaging. Even though you’re familiar with the subject matter, others may not be. Come up with a series of posts for beginners. Cover all the frequently asked questions. Do another series for the more advanced reader.
Check Analytics
What are your most shared pieces of content? Whatever analytics tools you’re using, look for signs of popular content and expand on these in future posts. Through analytics, you can find out which keywords people are using to find your content. Make a note of keyphrases and themes that you may not have fully explored in your blog.
As well as using social networks to spread your content, use them for brainstorming ideas. Questions that crop up on your social media channels can be answered in a blog post. Social media monitoring tools like HootSuite and Social Mention are ideal for tracking industry news and conversations. Question and answer sites like Yahoo Answers are also useful for inspiring new content.
Ask Your Followers
Your social connections are also a valuable source of content ideas. Ask your LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers what kind of content they’re looking for. Use survey tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms for gathering audience data so you can then target your readers more effectively.
Use Blog Search Engines
Blog search engines like Google Blog Search or Technorati are useful places to start developing content ideas. Search for blogs relevant to your industry to discover different angles on similar stories and original points of view. Don’t forget to read through comments to find out what people are really interested in.
Reviews
Most of your readers will be interested in new tools, products, and services related to your industry. Writing a review of a service can be a great way to engage your readers. Once in a while, it’s a good idea to review something that’s arrived on the market to reveal more of your brand’s personality and show your expertise.
Publishing original quality content on a regular basis is not easy. But with preparation, a little creativity, and by addressing the needs of your audience, you can develop an entertaining and engaging blog that is relevant to your readers and keeps them coming back for more.