Blog post topics are something I usually have to come up with for many of my clients. It’s not because they don’t know about their industry, but it’s a bit of a fine art when it comes to what to write about!
You have to consider things like:
- SEO/keywords
- The level of competition out there
- Level of interest in your sector
- How relevant it is to the current environment/culture
- The depth of the subject
- If it’s useful/works toward your overall brand strategy
And that’s before you’ve even made the title compelling or marketing them!
So I thought I would share some of my process on finding blog post topics that people actually want to read for your brand or business!
1. Keep Up to Date on SPECIFIC News and Popular Culture
No, I don’t just mean another post on the Kardashians. Popular culture can be specific to niche, sector, or industry too. For example, in the tech and cyber security industries, GDPR is a huge thing right now, which means content written around it is popular.
Some of the ways to do this is:
- Sign up for news outlet updates
- Get to know the movers and shakers in your industry and follow them
- Check out comments/forums for conversations and opinions you can address
2. Know Your Audience (Inside and Out)
You might have done due diligence on the kind of audience that you are writing for, but you might have only covered the basics about them.
Revisit your audience research, and get to know them more than the age, gender, or industry that they’re in. It would help to know the many varied personalities of the kind of audience you have. You can also check on the values, attitudes, and interests of the people you are trying to write for. You can even check on their behaviour toward media and how they use it.
Many up and coming businesses make the mistake of thinking that everyone will like it if they write it. But even the most popular brands can have hit-and-miss blog post topics! What is important is identifying everything you can about your audience so that you can tailor blog post topics to what they want to read.
3. Use Keyword Research and Online Tracking Tools
Keywords form the basis for SEO (search engine optimisation), and it’s finding a balance between popularity and competition so that you can rank well, easily. I know, I know, it’s all very confusing. But that’s why you should look at different keyword and tracking tools to help do some of the work for you!
Things like:
- Google Adwords or Google Trends to help you keep up.
- Type a keyword and look at the search results. You will see the most popular written content and start from there.
- Keyword Tool is another great resource too!
4. Spin a New Angle
You have a unique perspective on what is going on in your industry or sector, so use it. Your fresh take on the issue may be what others are looking for. It’s okay to find a new angle or perspective on an existing one, just don’t flatout rewrite an existing blog post or article. Not only does this hurt your credibility and make you seem unoriginal, but it also damages SEO rankings for you both.
5. Research Current Blog Post Topics (Then Research Some More)
To be honest, much of the work is just putting the research effort in. What I generally look for is:
- How many times a subject has been written on? And how much info can I find on it?
- Has a handy/helpful guide already been written? (If yes, it’s best to leave it because it’s probably already ranking highly and you aren’t going to top it.)
- Can I add anything unique to the subject that hasn’t been said or written?
- Has the competition done something similar?
- How much evidence is there to back up the topic or points I’m going to make?
- What USP (unique selling point) am I going to be contributing?
Then I’ll come up with some blog post topics based on what I’ve found, hopefully finding a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.
6. Draw Conclusions from Studies/Case Studies and Reports
There are plenty of institutions doing research and gathering data, but it’s often hard or long to interpret (reports are not the easiest things to digest!). So make it easy for your audience. If it’s relevant to them, break it down and make it easy to read and understand! Also, you can go the extra mile in your usual blog posts by backing it up using statistics too. Plus it gives what you’re saying more credibility when you give hard evidence to support it!
7. Look at What the Competition Is Doing and Do Things Differently
Whilst your products might be similar to the competition, there’s no point in making your content that way! You can still rank for keywords without writing blog post topics on the same thing. Keep an eye on your competitors and do something different with a fresh perspective, that way you’ll be cutting through the usual noise and standing out.
If you need help coming up with blog post topics that will help you and your business blog, drop us a message via the Contact Us form! Or drop us an email directly and we can help you out.