Here I’m going to share with you seven simple ways to find content and ideas for writing on your blog.
TRANSCRIPT
So, first things first, why a blog?
Well, to be honest, Google wants just a few things from a website, and one of the principal things is it wants regularly-updated content around your topic. Now, I’ve covered this elsewhere and why your business should have a blog and also some of the results that people get from blogs, and I will share those links down below.
But, the key thing is is that we always urge our clients to write on a blog, and we almost always get the question, what on earth can I write about? And that’s what I want to cover in this session.
Testimonials
So, first things first. One of the key things to write about on your blog is the stuff that you are doing in your business and related to your industry. And there are some really easy things that you can do, real low-hanging fruit.
The first one is just simply testimonials, what clients have to say about you. You could put those in your blog with a comment about it from you and your company.
Case Studies
Another easy thing that’s related to that is case studies. Can you develop that testimonial into something a little more detailed explaining the problem that the client had and the solution that you came up with and the results the clients experienced that led them to give you that testimonial?
What are you working on?
Another easy one is just to write about the stuff that you’re working on, the ideas that you have, products that you’re developing, if you’ve got a new staff member or you’re working on a different type of thing. Just talk about your business.
Behind the scenes
There are loads of simple ways to find content for your blog content.
And, related to that, one of the things that people absolutely seem to love is behind-the-scenes. Here’s how it works behind-the-scenes. And if you can do some of that, that really, really will resonate with your audience.
We all like behind-the-scenes, what goes on behind the camera. We all love blooper reels, mistakes that are made. We all love how films are made, the behind-the-scenes stuff.
Let’s lift the lid off of some of the magic about what you do, and, believe it or not, you won’t necessarily be giving the game away, but you will endear people to you for being so open.
News
Another easy one is news, not just wider news, but also news within your industry that’s relevant to your business. And, as an example, it could be the latest updates.
If you’re a lawyer, it could be the latest update in some elements of law which is relevant to your target market. If you retail toys, for example, it could be the latest regulations on toy safety and how that impacts you as a business and, more importantly, how it impacts on your clients.
There’s no shortage of news. I did a video just over a year ago to celebrate the release of the Star Wars film and how you can use that to develop a Star Wars theme, if Star Wars is relevant, for some of your blogging and for some of your writing.
So, there’s plenty of news and current affairs that are happening. It could just be—it could be entertainment, celebrity, fashion, business, law, politics, you name it if it’s relevant to your audience. It’s what they call newsjacking.
Take the news, put a spin on it, put your opinion on it, or just re-report it if it’s relevant to your target market.
What’s your take on it?
And, finally, and one of the easiest things to do is to go out there and find other blogs on other stuff and content on the internet and re-write it. Put your spin, your angle on it, and something in it for your target market.
Now, there’s a big caveat with this and when it comes to newsjacking, as well, is that you can’t just copy-and-paste what other people have written. You have to put it into your own words.
So, the key thing is this. If you want to write stuff that’s news, you want to write stuff that’s on other blogs and other websites, make sure that you re-write it into your words. Take out the key points, and just put them into your words. Re-write it because copy-and-paste is just simple copyright infringement, and if you get caught, you’ll end up with a fine.
You could end up in real serious trouble. I’ve known that happen to people, so just don’t do it.
It’s not that difficult to put something that somebody else has written into your own words. You can pinch the ideas, but you can’t copy word-for-word.
Summary
So, to quickly sum it all up, let’s just go through it. So, you’ve got testimonials and case studies, real low-hanging fruit that you’ve already got inside your business. You’ve got company news, and you’ve also got behind-the-scenes looks from what it is that you’re doing within your business.
You’ve also got testimonials and client feedback. You can really bang out that. People love third-party verification. You’ve also got current affairs and news, not just in the wider sense, but also industry news, as well, that could well be relevant to your target market.
And, finally, there’s other ideas that people have written that you could put into your own words and share on your blog.
Now, there’s loads there, and I’m sure that you really don’t think that it—you struggle when you get to grips with this to find content. But, if you are struggling, please let us know.
We have a blog writing service that we can help you with that would just take away that headache of having to worry about it.
Anyway, we’d like to hear about your blogging experiences. Let us know your Simple Ways to Find Content in the comments below.