At a recent HubSpot event, Chief Marketing Officer Mike Volpe told the crowd that one of their greatest success stories was the high conversion rate of a company blog all about soldering pastes and powders. With that example in mind, there’s no denying that there’s blog potential in every—yes, EVERY—industry.
Whether you’re new to the game or you’re suffering from “blogger’s block,” here are some good places to find inspiration:
How-To Guides
There are many sites dedicated solely to telling people how to do things. Bring some of that readership to your blog by giving interesting, detailed instructions on how to do something. Chances are there’s something you do that you take for granted that other people might want to know about.
Resource Lists
Lists do two things: they immediately bring the subject into focus, and they give out a conveniently ordered and aesthetically pleasing grouping of that subject. Try best ofs, reasons why someone should or shouldn’t do something, favorite things about something, ways to do a particular task (like the article you’re currently reading does!), or however else you want to quantify your information. Also, don’t feel pressure to stick to 5s and 10s—random assortments of numbers work just fine.
Reviews
This is another easy one that can be done about just about anything, and much the same as lists, people like to read reviews, especially if they are about popular or cutting edge things. Ideally, you should be picking products and services that go with your blog’s theme or do a series of reviews in the same category, but different items.
Industry “Newsjacking”
What better way to learn something fresh than from others in your industry? A peer blog with similar focus is always a welcomed addition to your source of blog ideas since much of the content is similar. Far from copying them, you can get a blog idea by taking a similar subject and addressing it in a different way.
Current Events
Current events are always relevant, and chances are, you can find a way to tie a current event to your blog topic or theme. Consider setting up Google alerts with relevant keywords and have them sent to you as new news comes up. You may not want to write about every topic that comes up, but it only takes one to catch your eye and spark inspiration. Mine local news for interesting topics or scour the international news for something that relates to your business for a more global angle.
Personal Experiences
Opening up your world to blog guest can inspire an unimagined thought flow. This is because the more you share your ideas, the more you get the urge to share further and if your audience is engaging enough they may likewise share something that might spur another blog idea in you. This can trigger a chain of ideas that only serves to increase your blog traffic as well as retaining the motivated blog followers and converting them into your advocates.
Older Blog Posts
If you find yourself stuck on what to write, the answer to might be right on your own blog. Check through older posts for topics you’d like to expand on or provide updated information about Also, don’t forget about the comments: maybe a reader has asked a particularly interesting question or made a comment bringing up a whole new idea.
Listening To Your Audience
While trying to address the interests of your buyer personas can be a challenge, it is possible. Asking readers what they want from you as a thought leader is a great way to get out of the habit of simply posting and hoping for the best. By using the input of your followers and customers, you can get new ideas and show that you value their feedback.
Surveys
A survey allows readers to answer a simple list of questions, and may result in more responses due to ease of use. These should be kept short to encourage participation. Allow readers to select from favorite and least favorite topics to determine what will keep them engaged. This can be done on the blog or on a site dedicated to survey administration.
Social Media
Readers that may be reluctant to comment on a blog post will frequently be more comfortable responding on Twitter or Facebook. The more casual nature of social media allows for a conversation to come up. Bloggers can put up a blog post or survey and ask the same question using social media to ensure that all bases are covered.
Although frequency is an important part of gaining blog traffic, so is fresh and valuable content. Don’t sacrifice the quality of what you want to talk about just so you can get more clicks and rank higher in search engines.
