So, I’ve convinced you that blogging works and you’ve decided to give it a go, you’ve thought about keywords and decided on a topic. So far so good! The next thing to think about is what sort of post you want to write. I recommend including a mix of all the different styles, since they each serve a slightly different purpose and variety will keep your blog interesting as well as meeting different needs. Of course the exact balance will depend on your business and your ideal client.
Top tips and checklists
These posts are usually quick and easy to read, presenting information is easily digested chunks. They give a great overview of a topic and you can link from each point to a longer post if readers want more depth. They tend to have appealing titles that get a lot of clicks and busy readers like the simple format.
Informative
A longer, more informative post can really go into depth on a topic. These are fantastic for SEO since they include a lot of the things the algorithms currently favour, they take a while to read and have loads of LSI keywords and expert status. They are your chance to really show off your knowledge, but they can be more depth than your average reader wants so balance them with shorter and easier to read posts.
Emotional
An emotional post is fantastic for building a relationship with your audience, creating a connection and building trust. They are also highly sharable and often do very well on social media. Show that you understand and empathise with a problem that your ideal client is experiencing, perhaps share a story about being in the same position or just offer judgement free support. Your aim is to spark an emotional response, hopefully a positive one that leaves the reader feeling they could like and trust you.
Question and Answer
These posts are almost agony aunt style, with a question from a reader or client and your answer. They can be brilliant for giving a taste of what it might be like to work with you, and you can invite engagement by posting the question on social media then following up with your full post a few hours later. Of course you can also ask your followers to submit questions and encourage engagement that way too. If you don’t have any submissions then it’s fine to create a question from things clients frequently ask.
Recommendations and reviews
Are there books, websites, organisations or products that your ideal client might be interested in? Sharing your favourite 3 or 4 with a review of why you recommend them can be a great way to include lots of good quality links in a post (which is good for SEO) and could be very helpful to your clients. If you tag those authors or companies in your social media they may even share your post to their audience as well. All fantastic for attracting new readers, who can then discover your own content in your other posts.
How you work
If someone has never worked with you before, will they know what to expect? It can be a bit daunting to hire a coach or consultant if you’ve never done so before but these posts can give your reader the information they need to feel more confident. You could write a “day in the life” to give a glimpse into how you operate, or a “myth busting” post could clear away some misconceptions.
Why work with you
Give your readers a reason to work with you by sharing tangible evidence of the benefits. You might share a client case study (with your client’s permission of course and changing names if needed) or share research into the benefits of work in your field.
Topical
Occasionally you might want to include a post that couldn’t be planned in advance. Perhaps something might be inspired by a news item, or an event in your own life. You might like to give an analysis and your thoughts on a new piece of research. Infact if you can do that quickly enough it might even be picked up by journalists and you could find yourself being promoted far and wide! These sorts of posts can’t really be planned but if something relevant happens and you want to write about it you can always include an extra post or move your planned topics about to include it.
Business Updates
Once upon a time this was what most business blogs were. Details of new staff and award nominations but not much else. They aren’t the most interesting posts for your readers and you don’t have to include them, but it’s fine to write one very occasionally. If you provide plenty of great value content then your audience will be happy to celebrate your latest achievements with you now and again.
Have I sparked some inspiration for you, maybe given you a few ideas for blog posts? I hope so! If not, or if you need a little bit more then why not consider one of my blog plans? 26 topics, complete with keyword suggestions, should be enough to keep you blogging for quite a while!