Loading...The rules for business blogging are adapting and evolving as businesses are just beginning to scratch the surface of the potential of this powerful platform. While a lot of businesses are, quite frankly, missing the mark with their blogs, others are able to engage, entertain, and gain customers through theirs. What is the key to developing a successful business blog? The answer is simple- awesomeness.
Before we present suggestions for great blog post subjects, check out these deadly mistakes that your competitors are probably making with their blogs, and you should avoid.
- Overly personal information- posting pictures of your child’s artwork will not increase sales.
- Technical jargon that not all customers understand- it just proves to prospects that they won’t be able to understand you, and therefore will not bother trying.
- Hard selling- the blog is a great place for playing show and tell with your audience, but without getting in their faces about it. When posting about products or features keep it fun to read and light. Let them decide that they are interested in what you have to offer and sell them on it on the main website or through personal interaction.
Great blogs punch their readers in the face with awesomeness, here is a list of 10 proven blogging ideas that almost any business can apply.
- Take a unique stand on an issue related to your niche- As a result you will be able to differentiate your brand, engage customers on a personal level, and show that your business is an alpha in the industry.
- Support a charity- Get brownie points with customers, and do something good for the world too.
- Explain a complicated thing in a simple way- Take an aspect of your industry that most people don’t understand and explain it in an easy to understand and enjoyable way. Prospects will love you for it, and they will probably pass the post along for their friends to see too.
- Inform readers what to look for and what to avoid when choosing a particular product or service provider- This is valuable content and it inspires a lot of trust for your brand.
- Explain how your industry has changed over time
- Explain how you predict your industry to change in the future
- Case study how you helped a former costumer (with their permission)- Along with being relevant and interesting to potential customers it shows that you have experience and success. Don’t hesitate to identify mistakes that you made and learned from. A tangent benefit of the case study, is it keeps former customers engaged too.
- Present a list of resources online, or otherwise, that can help assist the types of people you are most interested in working with.
- Explain what goes in to producing your product or service, and the expenses involved- People like know what they are actually paying you to do, which makes this relevant and interesting.
- Explain an ethical dilemma associated with your industry and how you deal with it.
Thinking of new blogging ideas can be a lot more work than the writing itself. Thankfully, the above ideas have been tried, tested, and approved by internet savvy businesses, and all you need to do now is apply them to your own industry.