Blogging can be tough.
If you already have a blog, you know it. If you don’t, you are missing out a lot, so you definitely should start one.
As I explained on another post, the fact is in the book. Blogging helps grow your business and is a difference maker.
According to BlogHer, 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs and 61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
Here is another stat that can convince you more.
Companies that blogged 5 times or more in a month saw 160% increase in their leads.
With that said, if it’s that effective, why isn’t everyone doing it as much as they should?
Because we all know blogging is time-consuming and constantly coming up with topics is a big challenge.
In the beginning perhaps you were excited and managed to crank out a few blog posts. Finding topics was easy but as the months went on, you quickly ran out of steam and got stuck in a writer’s block.
But if it has that much of an impact like they say it would, you can’t let that happen. You should do whatever it takes to make sure you publish as consistently as possible whether by planning it in advance, having someone in house write for you or outsourcing it.
Ok, so, here is the list of blogging topic ideas that hopefully make your writing easier and help get creative juice flowing.
14 Popular Blogging Topics For Small Business Owners
1. History of Your Brand/Company (Success, Struggle)
You may have a page on your website dedicated to this, but if you talk about every little details, it gets too long and people will not read everything.
I think you know people’s attention span is getting shorter on the web, don’t you?
Perhaps there is a funny story or obstacle you faced that you want to share, but it may be more suitable to write it on your blog rather than your company’s homepage.
That can be a good reason to direct the visitors to your blog. Or it is perfect for a quote type post on social media. It’s like bonus material you can’t get on the homepage.
For example, on a DVD of a movie, you often see behind the scene bonus material of how the movie was made. Perhaps there was a scene that was hard to shoot because weather wasn’t cooperating. In the bonus clip the director talks about how frustrating it was to have had to change the date.
Maybe actor/actress kept making mistakes and had to shoot the scene again and again. Then you see a candid interview of this actor/actress, which can be turned into a special bonus clip.
So, if the history of your company was the whole movie, you could pick some event or experience, dig deeper and talk about something. They can be behind the scene goodies!
2. Your Employees/Team’s Profiles
You know your website and blog are all about business, but sometimes you want to show a little bit of personality as well.
So, highlighting your employee/team member’s profile on the blog might be a good way to do that. You may have photos of your team members on your site, but still people don’t know who they are.
Interviewing and asking how they got started working for your company might be a good idea as well.
Of course, it can be done in a number of different ways.
- Ask your employees to take turns and write what they want to write.
- Ask each team member the same questions and have them answer to these questions.
- Explain what some of your members’ typical day looks like.
Now you have a few different posts out of only one idea. Unless you are one man band…
3. Trend/Forecast in Your Business, Niche
It could be anything from color trend in fashion, design trend in products, the latest updates in digital marketing or consumer behaviour.
Everyone wants to catch up with the latest news and upcoming release of gadgets, software, etc. If you are one of the first ones to break the news, you will get a lot of attention.
Perhaps your blog post could even make the first page of Google if you pick a low-hanging fruit. You never know.
4. Event Report (Expo, trade show)
Photos of events you attended can grab attention on social media. If you have a product launch, people want to see those products before they go on sale.
Even before you write a post, you can tweet images on Twitter and let people know you were there.
5. How to Use the Products/Services You Are Selling
For example, things like an office chair and desk require assembling, but from my experience I often see manuals doing a poor job of explaining thoroughly how to build it.
So, your blog is a good place to show all the processes in a friendly and easy to understand way with photos.
6. Show Your Expertise and Authority
Do you consider yourself an expert in your niche? Do you have extensive knowledge in certain product lines and you can answer questions from people having technical problems?
Then blog is a perfect space to showcase your expertise. Again, the key is doing it in non-salesy way. You should highlight the problem and not so much about your products. You can mention your products in a subtle way and direct readers to the product or service page.
The goal is to help people and make people aware you are someone who can offer valuable tips. People will remember you even if they are not interested in your products.
7. Explain What Else They Need to Buy to Use Something
Someone who wants to set up a dual screen for their desktop computer for the first time may have no idea what kind of chord they need to buy.
What do you people they will do next?
Yup. Guessed it right.
They go online and learn how to set it up and try to find out what they need to buy. That’s exactly what I did a few years ago when I wanted to set up a dual screen for online work.
Now I can easily look at multiple browsers at the same time to compare information or write something on a document while looking at the browser.
Tech-savvy people may think this is a piece of cake, but it’s definitely complicated enough for non-techie persons, so this is a topic worth blogging about.
Along the same lines, recently I was looking for a way to turn a tablet into the second screen of my laptop. There were a lot of people writing a blog about it, but surprisingly I found few people explaining thoroughly.
I am sure there are many topics in your industry where people are looking for solutions to their problems. So, that’s where you could come in and fill the gap.
8. Personal Productivity Tips
People love multitasking. Nowadays with smartphones and tablets within your reach 24/7, it’s so easy to get distracted by emails, social media and all different kinds of apps.
The Internet is flooded with information. Are these productivity apps really making you productive or are you being productive for the sake of being productive?
9. Case Study
Case study is an in-depth report explaining how your product has helped your customer/client solve their problems.
You need a skillful writer who can write analytically with storytelling ability and support your argument with detailed stats.
10. Tie Seasonal Events into Your Topics
Do you have any special products or sales going on during Mothers’/Fathers’ Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday or other holidays? Let people know in advance so shoppers can plan ahead of time, compare prices, etc.
Or non-salesy approach might be, for example, the story on how your father or mother helped you do something while growing up. With other holidays you could do similar things focusing on what that holiday means to your country or people rather than focusing on products.
Major holidays/events like Halloween, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Cinco De Mayo or St. Patricks Day are well-known around the world, but even with not so well-know ones, as long as it’s relevant, you could tie it into your story and it becomes a good topic.
11. Show Photos of Products Customers Are Using
You had your product photos taken by professional photographers and they look nice and beautiful.
But maybe they look just stunningly beautiful, unreal and too perfect. Adding informal candid shots of your customers using the products can add more personal touch.
You can easily do that on Instagram, so definitely that’s one of the must-dos.
12. Talk About the Mistakes You Made
Nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes whether in personal or professional life.
We all grow because of failures we’ve had in the past. You talk about it honestly and people will love you for it.
13. FAQ
If you already know common questions you get from your customers, I bet many others are wondering about the same thing.
Publish a blog post that addresses these questions and you can refer them to this post when questions come up. No need to answer it every time when a visitor to your site asks you about it.
14. Book, Movie Reviews
Have read any interesting books lately? Is there any movie you want to recommend? If it is related to your industry, even better. Even if not, it’s a good way to engage with your audience.
In Conclusion
Of course, there should be tons of other ideas out there, so you can use one of your own to create your unique, original content.
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