Finding inspiration for your blog calendar can be tricky, especially with deadlines, SEO requirements, and variety in mind. However, topics are often right under your nose and need little more than a fresh approach and Occam’s Razor type thinking. Here are some useful ways to dream up blog topics that inform, entertain, and engage your target audience.
Put Yourself in Your Visitor’s Shoes
First and foremost, take a step back and take a look at your product or service from your client’s perspective. What are your clients looking for? What questions have you had to answer frequently when customers email or call? Is there any information that isn’t on a landing page that can be explained in a blog?
These are just a few of the questions to ask yourself. Better yet why not canvas your clients? Find out their pain points and create content to directly address their issues.
Show Off Your Expertise
This one is something that people with technical skills often overlook but laymen don’t always know how your products or services work. If you’re in construction for example; you can write about building regulations, the benefits of different building materials, and maintenance costs of different additions. Showing off your expertise is a great way to build trust, capture some keywords, and highlight your experience in the industry.
Take a Peek at What Your Competitors Are Doing
Another useful way to see what people are reading about is to see what your competitors are doing. This can be used in two ways. First of all, you can see what they are focusing on and try to create content that challenges them to try to steal some keywords and traffic.
Alternatively, you can look at your competitors and study what they’re missing. These gaps can be the perfect place to find potential quick wins with a blog on a topic that nobody has answered yet.
Use SEO Tools
SEO tools like SEMrush are a useful tool in studying what your competitors are doing while also keeping a finger on the pulse of your customers. Don’t be afraid to spend some time delving into websites like Quora, Answer the Public, or invest in paid tools like SEMrush to find out what users are searching for. If you need a hand with SEO or content, our team is on hand to help you isolate opportunities and create content that fills these gaps.
Make Use of Time-Specific Events
Last, but not least primacy and timing are important to winning rankings and views. Research important events in your industry or global events like Black Friday, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Earth Day, William Shakespeare Day, the list is endless. Once you have a specific date in mind then get to work planning a piece that ties in your services and the special date. For maximum effect, try to release the blog several weeks before the event and use your social media to share and spread the word.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you plan and carry out a dedicated content plan please contact us today and we’ll get your site supercharged for consumer engagement and conversion.