I will wager that you are in one of these two groups if you are reading this article.
- You may have been blogging and are just not seeing the needle moving.
- You might be just starting inbound marketing, and you want to ensure your first steps are in a positive direction.
It doesn’t matter what the situation is, and it can be frustrating trying to figure out which topics to cover. You don’t want to write about it. Some topics are more beneficial to your audience and help you grow your business. Some topics will be more helpful than others.
For the past four years, inbound marketing has been a key part of my career. I have helped many companies launch their strategies. Successful inbound marketing involves choosing topics that connect with your audience and converting them into paying customers.
Publishing blog content that isn’t relevant to their audience’s buyer journey is a mistake I have seen too many businesses make. It does not help customers make informed buying decisions. This content has little or no impact on the customer, if at all.
To help you make the right decision, I have compiled a list of topics for business blogs that will take all of the guesswork out.
- This is how I created this list.
- How to write a blog about each topic.
- You can find inspiration from these examples.
Are you ready to determine which topics for business blogs drive more traffic and revenue?
How did I create this list?
My career began as a content manager at The Alaska Sleep Clinic (ASC). They diagnose and treat sleep-disordered such as sleep apnea.
They sell a service (sleep study) and products (CPAP masks, machines).
However, I was astonished to discover that most of their blog articles didn’t pertain to their services or the products they sell.
They chose to go for light-hearted, entertaining and fun articles such as:
- “What Does a Dream Mean?”
- “Celebrities with Sleep Disorders: Celebrities”
- “5 Beauty Tips for Bedtime”
These may be funny to read on sites like BuzzFeed, but they aren’t always helpful in making buying decisions.
Do any of these topics relate to selling diagnostic equipment or tests? The titles aren’t clear enough to make it obvious that there is valuable information. They are entertaining but not educational.
Because these were articles that I read and thought were interesting, I would have made similar mistakes when I joined ASC.
Fortunately, my mentor was Marcus Sheridan, who I would work with for many years at The Sales Lion and IMPACT.
ASC hired Marcus to teach me inbound marketing strategies as outlined in his book They ask, You answer.
The strategy of answering patients’ most frequent questions from ASC staff allowed me to increase the website traffic from just 2,500 visits per month to more than 400,000.
Since then, I have worked with many businesses to help them answer their prospects’ questions.
By analyzing the best-performing content on each website (by views, engagement, lead generation, and sales), I have identified the most beneficial topics to companies.
These articles are mine, and I will share them with you. These are real articles. Each article is linked to examples of companies I have worked with at IMPACT and The Sales Lion.
Blog articles from the Big 5
These first few are straight from Marcus’ The Big Five. These are the most common questions your customers have, but few businesses answer them well.
- Articles that address price and cost
Have You ever tried to find out how much it would cost you to buy a piece of furniture?
You have internet access if you are like everyone else. But how often do your frustrations get you frustrated by not being able to find the answers you need?
Buyers are very concerned about cost questions, yet few companies take the time to answer them. They’re afraid of asking.
Your company can answer these questions. Because they address a topic that most businesses avoid, cost articles can be a great way to increase traffic and convert customers.
Not only is it important to write about, but also to get correct, I wrote a detailed article on the topic How to Write a Cost Article.
Here are some examples of cost articles
- What Does a Copier Cost?
- Cost of a Spray Polyurethane Foam Roof System
- Does Insurance Cover Sleep Studies?
Comparisons
We often like to take the top entries and have them compete in a head-to-head match-up.
You have two options: you can structure your Comparison article by comparing the competitors in different categories, or you can give each one a detailed discussion detailing its pros/cons of it with a wrap-up at the end.
Here are some examples of comparison articles
- Insulated Vinyl Siding vs Fiber Cement
- Construction Manager vs Project Manager
- Single Girder vs Double Girder Overhead Cranes
The ‘Best of’ Articles
Here’s a quick exercise:
Let’s suppose you are thinking of taking up mountain biking.
You have moved to a new area with many amazing bike trails. You are ready to discover your new surroundings and have fun doing so. You don’t own a mountain bike and don’t know much about mountain biking.
What is the first search that you would type if you were to ask to use Google to find the perfect mountain bike?
“Mediocre mountain bikes,“ right?
No. That is probably why nobody has ever done that.
You probably searched instead for “Best mountain bikes”.
You could also search for “Best mountain bike for women”, “Best beginner mountain bikes”, or “Best mountain bike for muddy trails”. It all depends on where you live.
Two important reasons “Best of” lists are so popular:
- They are easy to digest and skim.
- We love to rank things and see how they compare against other people.
Common keywords to be used: Any superlative adjective (best, top, fastest and strongest, longest-lasting, popular, etc. ).
