Like many business owners, you’ve heard the talk about how much blogging can help your business website attract traffic and potentially generate new sale leads. But when it comes to generating an endless supply of topics, you may find yourself a little stuck. Don’t worry; even experienced writers experience block from time to time. But you’ve got plenty of material at your fingertips.
Here a few good sources of material you can draw on:
Client success stories: These are one of my favorites. You probably have a reviews or testimonials page. Try taking it a step further and ask a client to fill out a form or do an interview with you, so you can write about their great experience with your business. People respond favorably to stories that come with a “face” – a tangible example of your company’s quality. Journalists have been practicing this technique to get readers interested in reports on budgets, traffic reports and more for ages. The best part? Even though it is great promotion for your company, when your client is the one doing the bragging it will not come across as a sales pitch.
Product information/tutorials: While you don’t want to necessarily pitch your products for sale on your blog except on occasion, you can use the blog as an opportunity to write informational pieces about services or products you provide. Write about risks vs. benefits of a particular service, or provide instructions for projects that might incorporate your product. For example, if you are a software company, write about the ways your software can be used, the benefits such software can provide, even tutorials on how to install the software or use its tools. If you sell hardware, include articles about do-it-yourself projects and how different materials you supply could be useful. Don’t concern yourself too much with giving away information your competitors could steal. This is a great customer service, and your followers will appreciate it and be more loyal to you for it.
News/announcements: Your blog is a great way to show your clients any advances you are making in the industry. Announce new product or service launches, industry advancements, leadership changes, new hires or additional training certifications earned by your staff.
Answer questions/comments from clients: Even if you’re not getting that much feedback on your blog yet, you most likely get questions or comments from customers in the process of running your business. Draw on those questions to write informative articles that will address common misconceptions about your business, frequent concerns customers have about a product or service and so on. This will also help you stand out as an expert in the industry.
Special offers: A little direct marketing is OK, especially if it comes in the form of a special offer or promotional event. You could hold a contest or offer an exclusive event, and write about that in your blogs. Customers will enjoy interacting with you, especially if there’s a prize in it for them. Don’t be too promotional on a daily basis because you’ll lose the excitement factor.
In general, keep in mind that you’ll get the most interest in your blog if readers feel they are getting valuable information, not just sales pitches of one kind or another. Try to expand your topics beyond an effort to get sales – look for news articles or other blogs that might provide additional information that you can share with your audience. If you follow the suggestions above, you should come up with plenty of good topics that will be clients coming back for more.
