Planning your blog content
Before you can choose individual topics to write about in your blog, first define the strategy for your blog as a whole. You’ll also work on the design of the Blog page before you publish your first blog posts.
You probably already know it’s a great idea to start a blog
There are a lot of great reasons to blog. Blogging gives you a platform and content you own that speaks to and attracts your ideal clients. It also delivers interesting or helpful information in a longer form than you can do in social media posts. And as I explain in “7 ways a blog improves your SEO,” it’s a great way to be found by search engines. Each blog post adds new words on your website for search engines to find and new pages to display in search results.
As long as you’re interested in the prospect of blogging and like writing, as I proffer in “To blog or not to blog,” it can be fun. I’ve also found that the research and thought that goes into blogging can help you too—in your understanding of yourself, your industry, your approach to business, or your ideal clients.
Choosing a focus for your blog
A blog is a collection of blog posts organized on your website, often shown on a summary page called a Blog page. Some clients know exactly what they want to blog about because they’re clear about the audience for their blog, the reason they want to blog, and the kinds of information they want to convey.
Others don’t know what to write about, but they’ve heard that having a blog is a good idea. For them, I suggest that they know the answer to these questions.
Who is the audience for this blog?
Your blog posts will be found by anyone searching for information that matches some of the keywords found in your blog post. That means that any reader of your blog post is a potential client. Make the material informative and interesting for a person who would be your ideal client. That helps reassure them that you’re an authority on the subject matter.
What does the audience want to know that’s related to what I do?
In the same way you’ve chosen your services or service packages, have a clear understanding of the problems your audience is facing and how your blog can help solve the problems. Think about the problems your clients face that your business helps to solve. Then choose just a few of those problems as a focus for your blog so you aren’t overwhelmed with too many topics to choose from.
If your blog is more of a personal journal, topics you choose help them recognize you as the person they want to hire.
What information do I want to convey?
Establishing what kind of information you want to convey helps you choose topics to write about. Instructional or research-driven blogs could include how-to information, analytical or statistical summaries, industry news, or educational case studies. Topics for those subjects would be very different from a blog that focuses on inspirational stories, examples of your own creative writing or artwork, or reflections on your personal experiences.
Do I have the expertise?
Before finalizing the focus for your blog, it’s important to feel that it’s in your area of expertise. While you may have to do some research or check your facts, you should feel confident that you can develop and write information that’s helpful to your audience.
Your blog is a part of your online presence and however and whatever you choose to share, it will be a valuable asset for attracting your ideal clients. I recommend posting something new once a month, but even if it’s less frequently, post consistently, so you don’t have stale content on your blog. And as your business grows, review the focus of your blog and make adjustments if necessary so it continues to be relevant and useful to our ideal clients.
Now that you’ve planned your blog, you’re ready to read “How to write a blog post.”
