How to Create Endless Blog Post Ideas for Your Small Business Blog
Tim Fitzpatrick
MSP & B2B Professional Service Firm Marketing Consultant/Advisor | Fractional CMO | Build and manage your marketing engine to get where you want to go faster. | Remove Your Revenue Roadblocks
Have you ever struggled to come up with ideas for your next blog post? I'm assuming the answer is yes if you are reading this.
Worry no more! The list below will give you a plethora of ways to come up with great blog post ideas for your small business's blog. I like to keep things simple and know by using the list below you will never struggle to find topics to write about. However, if you would like more ideas I've linked to some additional resources at the end of the article.
1. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a great, free tool to help you monitor the web for content ideas. You'll receive email alerts for keywords and phrases you specify. It's an easy way to get content ideas emailed right to you.
2. Google Search Box Suggestions
You've seen that list drop down when you start typing in a search term on Google right? Well, that list can give you some really goods hints about popular topics related to the term you are searching. These have the potential to be great blog topics for you to use.
3. Google Related Search Suggestions
When you search for something on Google, at the bottom of the screen are suggestions for searches related to your search term. These are other popular terms searched by users related to your topic and they can give you great insight into blog article ideas you might want to focus on.
4. Ask Your Customers
I know this is a super easy suggestion, but it is often overlooked. You are writing blog posts to educate and add value to your customers and potential customers. Why not ask your customers what they are struggling with and write blog articles that will help them?
5. Ask Your Employees
Your sales and customer service people can be an amazing resource to gather blog post ideas from. They are talking to customers and potential customers every day. They hear about the struggles and questions your clients have and will have awesome ideas about blog post topics that will educate and help your clients.
6. Curate Content & Content Roundups
You don't have to write every blog article you post. Feeling tired and need a break?
Let's say "underwater basket weaving" is important to your audience. Do a search on the web and find the best articles related to the topic. You can share these articles in a blog post with your opinion and comments on each article.l
This can also be a great way to connect with other people in your industry who may be able to help promote your blog.
If you'd like to learn more about promoting your blog, check out THIS ARTICLE for some great free ways to promote your blog.
7. Share Facts & Statistics For Your Industry
Statistics can be a great help in identifying industry trends and help guide people in making strong business decisions. Why not share facts and statistics with your customers that are relevant and important to their business?
Here are some great places to find statistics to share:
Check out our FREE cheat sheet to help you catapult your marketing to the next level. Click the image below to check it out.
8. Reddit
Reddit is "the front page of the internet". There are discussions and questions around a plethora of topics to be found here.
Check out the "subreddits" appropriate for your industry to see what people are writing about and the types of questions people are asking. You'll find all kinds of topics to write about on your blog.
9. Forums
Do a google search for "your industry or your topic" + forums like the one below.
When you perform a search like this it will give you a list of all the different forums related to the topic. Find the best forums for your business and spend some time checking them out.
Similar to Reddit, forums are a great place to see what types of questions people are asking and popular topics of discussion. Using this information you can identify topics that will be relevant and sought after by your target market.
10. Conferences
What industry conferences does your target market attend? Create a list of them and then review the following:
- The conference agenda
- Breakout session topics
- Roundtable discussion topics
- Panel discussion topics
- Anything else that tells you the topics they will be covering
All this information will give you ideas for topics that are important to your target marketing and could be great blog topic ideas for you to cover.
11. Industry Publications
Industry publications will also offer you insight into topics important to your audience. Review the list of what you consider to be the best publications on a regular basis to compile a list of blog post ideas you'd like to cover.
12. Online Groups (Facebook, Linkedin, etc.)
This is another one similar to forums and Reddit. There are a ton of online groups in Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, etc related to every industry.
These can be another awesome resource to find common questions and problems people are running into that will be great blog post ideas.
13. BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is an amazing tool to help you find the most shared content for any topic and competitor. Thinking about writing an article about "how to fix a golf slice". Checking out BuzzSumo will give you something like the list below.
You can see the most shared articles related to the topic, who wrote them, who shared them and who is linking to them. Why not take the best-performing articles and make them even better? This can be an easy way to come up with strong blog post ideas for your small business's blog.
14. Follow Gurus & Influencers in Your Industry
By simply following influencers in your industry that are reaching people just like your clients, you can get all kinds of blog post ideas. What are they writing about? What content are people commenting on and sharing most?
Take some of their topics that are doing well and create a new spin on it or improve it in some way.
I would be shocked if you ever struggle to find blog post ideas with the list of 14 tips above, but if you are one of those people that like to dig deeper you might find the following articles helpful as well.
Did you find this helpful? Feel free to comment below and share.
About The Author
Tim Fitzpatrick is the President & Founder of Rialto Mobile Marketing. At Rialto Mobile Marketing, we help small businesses grow & thrive with our comprehensive marketing packages. If you'd like to learn more about what we do CLICK HERE.
Header Image Courtesy of Pixabay
MSP & B2B Professional Service Firm Marketing Consultant/Advisor | Fractional CMO | Build and manage your marketing engine to get where you want to go faster. | Remove Your Revenue Roadblocks
7 年You bet Michael. Glad you found it helpful.
President at P3 Cost Analysts
7 年Great ideas, thanks.