OK, they said, you need a blog, and you need to post things a lot – like more than once a week, if you can. So, that was all good for a few weeks, but now…. now you sit down to write, and stare at the blank space on the screen and have no ideas at all. Believe it or not, it is possible to find something to write about, week after week, without tearing your hair out.
Here are 5 things to remember about writing good blog posts, and 5 good places to find ideas to write about.
Writing good blog posts:-
- They don’t have to be long – people have limited time, and a limited attention span, so short is good.
- They do need to invoke emotion – either by being descriptive (think travel articles that make you want to be there) or by solving a problem (imagine what you would feel like, if you no longer had to suffer from XXXXX).
- Each post only needs to deal with one, simple, small thing – too much jammed into one post just confuses people.
- They don’t have to be just words – images and short videos (30 seconds can be enough) can be used too, to fill up the space and grab the reader’s attention
- What you think is obvious, because you know it well, is not obvious to someone who doesn’t know what you know. So you can write about what you think of as the most basic things, and others will love it!
Good places to find ideas for your posts:-
- Your customers problems – for a week, keep a notebook to hand, (or use an app on your phone) and jot down every question that a client asks you, every day. You will be shocked at how many questions you get asked in a week. Every one of those questions is a single blog post idea – just answer the question in a few hundred words, exactly as you do when speaking to someone.
- Your best selling products. Again, for a week, keep that note taker handy, and, when people buy one of your more popular products or services, ask them what they like about it, what attracted them to it. If they are a repeat buyer, ask them what made them like it so much that they came back for more. Every one of those answers is a blog post idea – you can talk about why those products are great, and even quote your customers talking about why they like them.
- Your new products – any time that you introduce a new product or service into your business, write a blog post about it – what it is, why it’s good, how it helps customers.
- Your happy customers. Any time that you do work for someone, or sell them something, and they tell you about how happy they are with your product or service, ask them if you can quote them, if you can use them as a case study. Most people are delighted to do this if they liked your work. It becomes a publicity opportunity for them too. Write a blog post which is just telling the world about a ‘Case Study’. Its PR for you, it informs your potential customers of what you do, and that you have happy customers, and it provides entertainment by giving the reader a vicarious view of what others do.
- Your daily life. Readers like to connect with you personally. So don’t be afraid to occasionally post something about what is going on for you. Whether you personally use the products that you sell, and tell the people how it works for you, or whether you just tell them about the fact that your kid’s team won the junior soccer, it makes you a ‘real person’ to them, who they can relate to, and who they are more likely to buy from as a result.
Between all of those, it should not be too hard to find 52 things to write about – and that’s a year’s worth of posts, ready to go!
