You have read about the importance of having a blog on your small business website, and believe that it is a good way to connect with prospects and customers. You started with a rush, pouring out all your best ideas in the first month. Now it’s getting to be more of a challenge than a pleasure. What can you do to keep the creative muses flowing? Here are ten topics you can write about in your small business blog to keep readers interested:
1. Your Community: A blog doesn’t always have to be about your company. Small businesses are the heart of your community. Get involved and write about what is happening in your town.
2. How-To: People always want to know the best or most efficient way of doing something. Use your expertise to show them how to get the most out of your product or service. Offer free tips on things they can do to make their home or business lives better.
3. Your Industry: Comment on what is going on in your industry, and relate that to how it might affect what your business offers.
4. Ask for Input: Is there some question you are trying to answer about what direction to take your business? Ask your readers and let them help you decide.
5. Ask an Expert: Do you know local authorities, authors, or experts in your field who would be willing to participate in a Q&A session for your readers?
6. Resources: What resources do you use all the time? Perhaps your readers would find some benefit in knowing about them, too. Share tips and insights about how to do things better, faster, or cheaper, and then tie it in with your product or service.
7. Be The Resource: Let your readers know that you are there to answer their questions. Let them submit queries on your blog, by email, or other social media, and then provide the answers.
8. Warnings: How are customers being ripped off by others in your industry? If there are products that don’t meet their expectations, you can provide a warning, and tie that into the quality of what you offer.
9. Education: What mistakes do you most often see people making about your product or service. Point them out, and then provide a way to minimize those errors.
10. The Future: Everybody likes to look down the road. Tell them about plans you have for your business, or point out trends you see in your industry that could be changing the way things operate.
Always try to keep your blog fun and informative. A business blog is not the place for your personal, non-business opinions unless that is the type of business you are running. You want to use the blog opportunity to network, create connections, educate and build relationships. These are prospects you want to turn into customers who keep coming back to your business time after time.