Do You Suffer From Blank Blog Page Syndrome?
Coming up with creative ideas to keep your marketing content fresh can be tough. As a small business owner your head is already spinning with a million pressing things that need to be taken care of to keep your business running smoothly. It can be exasperating to sit down and draw a blank about what you would like to say in your next blog post. Not to worry. This post will help you banish your fear of Blank Page Syndrome!
When thinking about what you would like to write, try thinking like a customer. Think about feedback and questions you’ve gotten from current customers. What are your customers passionate about? What problems can you solve for them? What burning question can you answer for them?
Still drawing a blank? I’ve put together a list of 25 blog post ideas to help you cross that creative barrier once and for all.
Top 10 Lists. Everyone loves a list. Easy to read and informative. Don’t feel that you have to limit your list to 10 things either. Top 5, 25 or even top 2 can work.
Tip of the Day. This can be used in a variety of communications; Facebook, Twitter, email newsletter, blog. If you make this a regular feature, it can become an ongoing and reliable source of information for your audience.
Infographs. A great way to take boring data and give it a visual twist. Audiences love them for their simplicity and visually pleasing punch.
Benefits of…. This is a great way to share some lesser known benefits of a service. For instance, a yoga studio may post the benefits of regular yoga classes: better health, increase in personal productivity, building friendships, looking great in all that athletic wear!
List of Things to Avoid. A little bit of fear can have a powerful effect on an audience. No one wants to be the one making “the classic mistake”. Use the fear tactic judiciously though, too much fear can turn off your readers.
Question and Answer. This classic format can be used is a blog format or can even be useful on social media posts. Think of the questions you get asked by your customers most often as a starting point.
Think Seasonally. Does your business have a seasonality to it? Play that up with seasonal posts. Pumpkin spice latte recipe, perhaps?
Go to the Source. Does your business use local raw materials? Food and drink purveyors, furniture makers and crafters who use local goods can snap some pictures or video of their sourcing trips to give their audience a behind the scenes peek at what makes your business special. This also helps to strengthen the partnerships with your vendors and may lead to new partnerships and opportunities for both.
Interview. It can be a customer, industry expert, or associate. A good interview can be a powerful testimonial for your product or business.
Write a Product Review. That compliments your business. Run a gym? Do a review on the smoothie shop down the street. Flower shop owner? Review a local chocolatier. Hair salon owner? Rate your favorite styling products.
Did You Know? A great way to introduce your audience to information about your business or industry.
Current Events. Sometimes current events impact your business or industry directly, other times there is a lesser known connection. Use related current events to make predictions or explain what is happening with your business or industry.
Response to Another Blog Post. Occasionally, a blog post will be published that directly relates to our business or industry that stirs strong emotion. Use that as a jumping off point to write a blog post of your own countering or backing up the post. It’s okay to post a controversial opinion, just make sure you remain courteous to the poster and your audience.
Opinion on Recent Legislation. Has recent legislation affected your business or industry? Write about it. Often, those not close to the situation don’t understand the impacts it may have on them.
Contests. Have a little fun with your audience with contests. Photo contests (best photo, product in unusual place photos, customer using product photo), video contests (best demonstration video, best customer video, “where in the world” video) and even caption contests. All can be used to increase engagement and the fun factor.
It’s Greek to Me. Every industry has a certain level of technical language. Help define it for your reader.
#Throwback Thursday. Do you have a business that has been around awhile? Dig up some old photos to share. Or write about how things were different in your industry, way back when.
Product Comparison. Do you have multiple product lines? Help your customers narrow their choice faster with a side by side comparison. Infographs can be a great visual aid here too.
Company History. Does your company have a long history, an unusual start or has your business taken some interesting twists and turns? Write a post about some of the more interesting bits of your company history.
Industry Best Practices. Can you offer your readers some best practice advice? Providing real value for your readers can help to establish you as industry expert.
Ask the Experts. This is another great way to engage your readers more and find out their burning questions. Offer an online time and place to guide a discussion with your clients (think Twitter chat), take the results and post them to you blog for readers to reference later.
Buyers Guide. These can be useful for complex products and services and help guide the decision-making process for customers. Make sure that the information is helpful and objective.
Book Review. Is there a book that you find helpful? Review it for your readers.
Checklists. Everyone loves a good checklist. (Packing list, back to school must-have list, grocery list) Bonus points if you can make it downloadable and printable.
Beginners Guide. We all have to start somewhere. Share your knowledge with those just starting their business adventure.
By now, you should be teeming with ideas for future blog posts. Before you get too deep into your next post, take a minute to write down all the possible ideas and save them. Add them to your social media calendar to save yourself a little frustration later down the line.
Congratulations, you now can officially say you have conquered Blank Blog Page Syndrome!