Top 22 Tips to Create Blog Post Ideas for your Small Business

Many small business owners struggle to come up with blog post ideas. The goal should be to create a list of blog post titles that can be elaborated into relevant content for your business and target customers. As a bonus, you won’t be drawing a blank when you sit down to write a post. The best way to create a great blog post title list is to build it over time. “You need to give your mind time to work on ideas while you’re doing something else” said John Cleese in his Content Marketing World keynote. As you see relevant information, you can add notes, quotes or images to the corresponding titles on a Google document or Evernote. Google documents and Evernote are both great tools for sharing content with colleagues, employees or marketing agencies who may be handling your blog. On that note, setting up a meeting with your colleagues/employees to brainstorm topics together can be a great way to create a blog post title list.

How to generate blog post ideas

Develop your concept

1. Identify what your blog should be known for – what type of information should it communicate to your core audience?

Analyze current posts

2. Log into your blog analytics or a Google keyword tool to determine which topics and keywords have generated/will generate the most content.
3. Scan through your existing blog posts to see if there are topics that could be expanded upon with more specific details or gaps in the content that could be filled with additional topics.

Provide useful information

4. Take product manuals and other information relevant to your customer base and create a blog post that will be easily understood by simplifying the information. Explain industry terms if necessary and add images or other media to make the topic more approachable.
5. Look for topics where you can provide a list of tips or recommendations. Don’t forget to source your tips to add credibility!
6. Create product vs. product posts that weigh the pros and cons of different options.
7. Create posts that explain how to use/maintain the products you sell.
8. Post about the products that you most recommend – you could even receive compensation from manufacturers.

Be topical

9. If possible, use upcoming or recent events or sales/marketing efforts as a source of blog post ideas. Sit-in on marketing planning meetings for ideas and take pictures at events to use in blog posts.
10. Create a post with video or Podcast of a recent company event.
11. Create a survey relevant to your business that will generate traffic and links.
12. Find research on products or services relevant to your industry and break down the analysis in a simple way. Be sure to link to the study and include the charts in your post!
13. Create blog posts by incorporating your products or services into the seasons or holidays. For example, a leaf blowing company could post seasonal fall blog posts relevant to their busy season; a bakery could post about National Donut Day; and a bookstore could post about Mother’s Day.
14. Monitor trending topics on Twitter and front page articles in print or online publications. If there is interest in news or a topic relevant to your target audience; take advantage of it by writing a blog post about the topic from your perspective. Understand that for maximum impact the content needs to be posted while the topic is still hot. Be careful not to alienate customers by talking about controversial topics.
15. Create posts by gathering all the latest industry news on a monthly or weekly basis.

Use clients, industry experts and employees as resources

16. Post a profile of some of your best customers.
17. Make a list of questions that your core audience would like to have answered and write posts answering those questions. Tip: collect questions that people ask you and your employees in person, by e-mail, phone or on your blog’s comment section. You can also create a form on your website requesting questions from your customers. Sort questions on a Google document and go back to the list as a starting point for blog post ideas.
18. Ask prospective clients about their current challenges. Create blog posts that answer their challenges or show how your business is uniquely qualified to solve them.
19. Gather stories/product experiences from your customers and write posts about them. Include pictures or video of the customers using the product. Tip: your sales team may be able to help with this.
20. Encourage employees to submit “expert” blogs posts from their area of expertise. Be prepared to edit.
21. Post customer reviews of your products in a post.
22. Gather other influential industry opinions and predictions through interviews. Link to their blog to show that you value their input and let them know the post is published. Send them the link so they can share it and link back to it from their blog.

Your blog will be successful if you post regular blog posts that are interesting and relevant to your target audience. As your target customer searches for keywords in your posts, your blog posts will appear in their search results and lead them to your website. Be sure to include an offer for more information or call to action to increase your chance of converting a reader into a customer.