Many of my clients often ask me what they should be blogging about. Most small business owners are very creative in business practices but not all understand blogging, or don’t think that what they’ll be blogging about will actually be read. In an earlier article we talked about Using WordPress to Build Your Small Business. This list is meant to teach you 10 time tested topics that I continually use for small business blogging. They translate well into just about every industry, and trust me – people are searching for these topics.

What to Blog About

1. Answer Customer Questions: Some of your best content is going to come from customer and client questions. If you are being asked something by your customers chances are there are other people on the Internet looking for an answer to the same question. If you can be the person to give them an answer – you’re going to be their expert on that subject. Creating this type of environment can lead to a long lasting consumer relation between you and that person.
2. History of (Insert Topic Here): There are a lot of relevant topics in almost any industry that you’re going to have people interested in. Let’s take the family business for example – they sell American Flags better than anyone in the industry. Many of our clients are extremely interested in the history of American Flags and even American Flag Manufacturing. There – I just gave you Flag people two topics to blog about . Think about the types of “History of” articles that your clients might enjoy.
3. Tutorials – How To (Insert Topic): What are some of the things involved with your industry or product that people might be interested in. Say you sell costumes – “How To Choose the Perfect Halloween Costume”. Or even get more literal with it – “How to tell if you’re buying a real or fake Gucci Bag”. The possibilities for How To articles are endless.
4. In Depth Product Reviews: These have to be sincere. Take a product off of your shelf and explain the intricacies of the product. You can even link to the review directly on the product page. Be honest, if there is a shortcoming to a product – let people know what some issues are that they might have with the product, hopefully you have an alternative. Taking the time to do these types of reviews will help you sell product and also gain exposure for that product over the Internet. Also, if you do a good job at reviewing the product honestly, it will boost your trust with the consumer base.
5. Link Bait Articles: Build lists of things that are relevant to your target audience. They can be specifically regarding your product and brand or they can go a bit off key and be related to what your consumer base is interested in. People LOVE to read lists of things just for the heck of it. They also love to share lists and link to lists. These things are important for building links to your site and gaining exposure across the Internet. One of the link bait articles that did really well for CustomizedGirl.com was Top 20 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces. This article spread ALL OVER the Internet and we got a lot of links to our blog as a result – but it had nothing to do with our product. It did however interest the type of consumer we were going after and therefore it was a huge success.
6. Today in (Topic) History: Working for the family business we had a lot to work with here but I think that it translates well into other industries. We were able to run a few Today in American History stories that did very well for us. They were extremely interesting to our consumer base and they were also extremely informative. People love to hear their daily facts, so think about some “Today in History” articles that you can write that might be of interest to your consumers and start a series.
7. Contests and Giveaways: Okay so I’m a big fan of giving things away for free to your customers. It goes very far to spread brand awareness, gain fans on social media, and just get people talking about your company in general. There are tons of great places to post your contest – and let’s be honest – who doesn’t like getting stuff for free? Make sure your company is running some good contests and giveaways from time to time and share the heck out of them. Blog about em, tweet about em, and put them ALL over the Interner. Oh yeah, and don’t be a cheapskate on the prize either. No one is interested in your $5 prize so just don’t waste your time, or theirs. Make sure you’re giving away something juicy to get your message and name spread as far and as fast as possible.
8. Technology Updates for Your Industry: People LOVE to read about technology and about advances in it. Even if you think that a new technology in your industry may be small news – it shows that you care about your industry and that you’re deeply involved in it. Make sure that you show people this by blogging about some of the technological advances in your industry.
9. Company Related News: These updates aren’t going to be the most popular across the Internet but they will go a long way in building a long lasting relationship with your customers. Building transparency and giving people a look into the daily lives of those who work for the company and also sharing some company news is always a good way to build trust.
10. Industry Related News: Again these aren’t going to spread like wildfire, but writing about your industry shows that you care and that you’re an expert in your field. This is what you want to create. You want to become the expert in your field on the Internet. Make sure to pop some good old industry news on the blog from time to time.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

There are a multitude of subjects to blog about that are going to be interesting to others and are going to build brand awareness. Make sure you’re keeping your eyes and ears open for a good topic to write about. Keep a pen and paper around to make sure that you can jot down some ideas when you’re on the go – for me I just plug them into my blackberry – but some people are old school and stil like the traditional pen and paper and that’s okay too . Get started though – blogging is one of the greatest tools you can do to build your business. If you need help getting started check out our Small Business Blog Development Page or contact us through our contact page.

Have Any Questions?

Please feel free to Email Me | Tweet Me | or Connect with me on LinkedIn – I would absolutely love to discuss this article with you or any other general questions you have. Thanks for reading – keep reading, and keep learning – it’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition. Also, if you liked the article please feel free to share it with your friends and family below. Cheers!