Express Writers
#ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics

#ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics

by | Jun 10, 2016 | ContentWritingChat

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry! We have you covered with a recap of Tuesday’s chat, which was filled with great tips to help you come up with your next blog topic.

Let’s dive into the tweets!

#ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics


This week, Monika Jansen joined us as our guest host. Monika is the founder of Jansen Communications, as well as an experienced online copywriter. She shared key tips on creating “fresh” content for your blog.

Q1: What are ways to come up with new topics for your blog?

The truth is, sometimes it’s hard to come up with interesting topics to write about on your blog. Instead of stressing as you try to come up with ideas, check out these tips:

Monika suggested starting with your FAQ. Odds are, you’re getting a lot of questions from clients or readers of your blog. Address those questions in a blog post. It’s so simple, but it’s effective because you’re giving your audience exactly what they want.

If you’re still stuck, just ask your audience what they’d like to see from you. They’re the best people to tell you what they’d like to read.

Kyle knows it’s important to keep your content relevant to your product or service. His tip is to choose topics that haven’t been covered yet or haven’t yet been covered in depth. Ask yourself what could use more coverage in your field and start writing.

Jenn likes to use Google Alerts and also tracks hashtags to see what other people are talking about. This is a great way to alert you to trending topics or questions people in your field may have. Asking your colleagues for ideas is another great tip!

For Hannah, coming up with blog topics starts with a brainstorming session with the team at her job. If you have multiple people on your team, get everyone together to talk about ideas. They just might have some amazing tips you can use.

Our CEO, Julia, agrees that teamwork is powerful. She also likes to use BuzzSumo to research competitors for inspiration.

Don’t forget to read! You want to stay updated with everything that’s going on in your industry. Reading will help you come up with ideas, plus give you amazing content to share with your audience.

Erika said social listening is a great way to come up with content ideas. If you join a few Twitter chats, you’re sure to find people asking questions. Use those ideas to spark new content for your blog.

One thing to keep in mind via Michael: give your audience what they need, not just what they want.

Q2: What are your favorite tools/methods to help you come up with blog topics?

There are plenty of tools you can use to find blog post topics, plus a method or two you can implement. Here’s what our chat participants like to do:

Monika’s advice is pretty clear: read more often! Find books, articles, etc. in your industry and start diving in.

Brittany likes to use Google Keyword Planner and she also likes to check trends and hashtags. While they’re all helpful, she also knows sometimes you just need to brainstorm with a pen and notebook.

We’re also fans of BuzzSumo here at Express Writers, so we highly recommend it. Check out Feedly to see what other websites are posting about and it might spark some ideas of your own.

Erika is also a fan of BuzzSumo, which is awesome! Some other tools she uses includes: Google Adwords Planner, Meltwater, and Feedly.

Sarah from ThinkSEM knows Twitter is a great place to find ideas. She also turns to articles from industry experts and uses Google Analytics. Don’t forget to check out your analytics to see what people are searching to get to your site and what they’re searing while on your site. It’s the perfect way to discover new ideas!

Google Docs is a great place to brainstorm your ideas. TimeTap suggested taking a look at what other bloggers in your field are doing. You don’t want to copy them, but you can still draw inspiration from their content and put your own spin on things.

Q3: How can you ensure you consistently provide great content for your audience?

You want to make sure all of your content is amazing, right? These tips will ensure you’re always publishing your best content:

Monika’s advice is to write like you talk. Conversational writing will keep your audience engaged and help them to develop a connection with you. It’s much more personable.

Debi knows it’s important to address the pain points of your customers. What problems are they struggling with and how can you help? Address their biggest issues and answer their questions. It’s the best way to provide value to them.

Make sure you’re paying attention to your analytics. As Erika and Maggie said, you need to know what your audience is actually reading and engaging with. Provide them with the content that resonates with them to keep them coming back for more.

Varun suggested looking at your content through the eyes of your audience. Ask yourself if what you’ve written adds value. You can also ask for feedback, but make sure you actually implement what you’ve learned.

Similarly, you want to ask yourself if you’d find your content to be interesting. If the answer is no, it’s better to come up with a new idea.

Great advice from Hannah: test, learn, optimize. You need to make sure your audience is actually responding to your content, which means testing is very important.

Just give them what they love! It really is as simple as that. Get to know your audience and figure out what kind of content they enjoy so you can create more of that.

Q4: What makes a blog topic “fresh”?

So, what exactly is a “fresh” blog topic? Here’s what our #ContentWritingChat friends had to say:

Monika said it’s all about providing your perspective, your experience, your approach, and your tips. It’s your knowledge and personality that keep content fresh.

Kyle said a fresh blog topic could cover a current event or a new piece of technology. It could even mean providing a new point of view on a topic that’s already been covered.

Eliza said fresh blog content is relevant. If it’s relevant to your audience and the time, then you’re golden.

A fresh blog topic could be something new or it could be a new spin on something old. Add your perspective for a unique take on a topic.

As Brittany said, you can also freshen up old blog posts if they’re still relevant. We also like her use of “freshify.”

Well said, Julia! This is exactly right.

Q5: Should you incorporate trending topics into your blog content?

Should you write about trending topics on your blog? Check out these tips and see for yourself:

As Monika said, you can write about trending topics, but only if it’s relevant to your audience and your brand. Keep that in mind when choosing which ones you write about on your website.

It seems Ray agrees. If there’s a trending topic you want to write about, ask yourself if it’s the right fit for you. Is it appropriate for your industry or your company? Does it fit with your products or services?

Tim and Zachary said you should go for it, but only if it’s relevant to your niche. You don’t want to just jump on the bandwagon to be trendy.

When it comes to writing about trending topics, Kyle said to make sure you contribute to it in a meaningful way. You should be able to add value to your audience.

Consider your target audience and whether or not it serves your long-term goals to write about a certain topic.

Michael suggested seeing if you can spin trending topics into evergreen content ideas. Evergreen content is always great for your blog and can help bring regular traffic to your site.

Q6: What are some tips for being consistent when it comes to blogging?

How important is consistency as a blogger? It’s pretty important! Here are some tips to help you stay on top of your game:

Having an editorial calendar is key! Make sure you’re planning posts on the topics your audience is most interested in.

Fantastic advice from Christoph: never stop blogging. You need to make the time to commit to blogging on a regular basis. Scheduling your posts in advance is definitely helpful for this.

Sarah recommended having an editorial calendar. It’s a great way to keep you organized and you’ll never have to wonder what you should post. She also said to have a few posts ready to go for those slow weeks and months.

Like Sarah, Brittany also recommended having evergreen content ready to go for those times when writer’s block strikes.

Having a schedule is so important. Make sure your writers are aware of the schedule and stick to it as well.

Julia said to set aside time every week to plan out your content. You never have to stress about what you’re going to post if you plan in advance.

Jenn suggested checking your analytics to see if there are better days to post. If you notice one day is more popular than another, take advantage of it.

Great advice from Molly: set realistic expectations for yourself. You’re going to have to work your way up. You won’t see results right away.

Q7: How can you repurpose your blog content?

Don’t just leave your best content on your blog. Find ways to repurpose it!

Monika said to create graphics out of your best tips and share them on social media.

Here are some ideas from Julia: create quote visuals for posting on social media, make a SlideShare with great tidbits, or turn your written content into video content.

You can even turn your blog posts into podcast episodes. To drive traffic back to blog posts, include a round-up in your email newsletter.

You can even turn your post into an infographic or a complete eBook.

For Jenn, she reuses blog content by sharing it on social media, in emails, and in a magazine.

Molly said to keep an eye on your top performing posts. Make sure you update them with a new call to action, relevant links, etc.

Kelli knows link building within your site is important. Make sure you’re adding links to your newer posts in those old posts to keep people on your site.

Zachary was still sharing ideas even after the chat! He recommended choosing a favorite blog post and saving it as your pinned tweet on Twitter to drive more traffic to it.

Q8: What metrics can you measure to see how effective your blogging is?

How can you determine if your blogging efforts have been successful? Keep an eye on these metrics:

As Monika said, you should always consider what your goals are. Those are the metrics you should be measuring.

Are people sharing your content? Are they interacting with it in any way? Are they converting?

Are people reading your post, sharing it, and talking about it? What does your bounce rate look like? You want to get people to stay on your site once they land there.

Molly also knows checking your bounce rate and the amount of time spend on the page are important to measure. This will give you an idea of whether or not your audience found value in your content.

Don’t forget to include a call to action (CTA) within your post. Then, track your results to see if people are responding.

Are you getting return visits to your site? You want to make sure people keep coming back for more. You should also track that important length of time on page, social media shares, CTA results, and email newsletter sign-ups.

Great tip, Jenn! Remember that not everyone will tag you when sharing your content on social media, which means you’ll miss some shares. Search your URL on Twitter to see all the shares from your site.

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

17 Secrets To Creating Awesome Blog Topics

17 Secrets To Creating Awesome Blog Topics

by | Feb 20, 2015 | Copywriting

It’s that time again – you’re stumped for awesome blog topics and you aren’t sure how to come up with any.

I know—I’m a writer over here. It’s as frustrating as the feeling that everything you touch turns into ice, right? Time to “let it go…” Sorry, I think I got carried away there.

In any case, you really CAN create some incredible topics that are sure to please every single one of your readers, and I’ve got some tips to help you. Let’s take a look at 17 different ways you can easily come up with some awesome blog topics for your business and readers!

How to Generate Engaging Blog Topics

 

  1. Use the HubSpot Blog Topic Generator. You already know the area you want to write about, and you likely already have a few nouns and keywords at the ready. However, you might be stumped for creating great headlines and forming topics. HubSpot understands this, and we love them for it! In fact, they created an excellent topic generator where you can put different nouns into a search field and have them generate headlines and topic ideas to help inspire you. You might not use what they come up with, but it can help get those creative juices’ flowing. It is important to remember that this is a computer generating the ideas, so use discretion and decide if it is a decent topic or headline.

 

  1. Pick Evergreen Topics for Your Blogs. You can also come up with awesome blog topics by utilizing evergreen topics. Evergreen means that the topic will last for a long time instead of writing on trendy topics that only last for as long as the trend does. You can come up with some great evergreen topics that pertain to your business by researching your audience, asking what they want to read about, and searching Google for some great ideas.For example, if you write a blog about foot health, then you will want to write on things like how to treat plantar fasciitis or diabetic foot care. This is a great example of a topic that will remain popular long after trends fade away because people will always need to learn new ways to take care of their feet. You will notice that using evergreen topics will not only get more social shares and views, but also give your content more mileage and allow you to reuse parts of it throughout the year.

 

  1. Always Create Excellent Headlines. When creating great blog topics, you have to make sure you also come up with awesome headlines. Headlines are what will make people click on a link or avoid it all together. Craft something that gives the audience a question while also giving a small answer. Consider staying away from click bait sounding headlines and craft something that doesn’t come across too sales-like, but as something that offers the reader real value. You might even notice that by crafting a great, powerful headline, you can come up with a few more topics, too! This has happened to me more than a few times, and it is wonderful.

 

  1. Use “Trigger” Words to Pique Interest. Along with crafting a great headline, you should make sure you use “trigger” words. This is what can convince someone to click on the link, instead of passing it by. A few trigger words are things such as “awesome,” “top secrets,” “top tips,” “great,” “amazing,” “perfect,” and so on. I am going to use foot care as the example yet again. If you are writing about how to treat a common foot condition, you don’t want the headline to sound bland and boring. Instead, you can write a headline that says, “The Top Awesome Ways to Keep Your Feet Wonderfully Healthy” or something similar.

 

  1. Keep a File of Ideas for the Future. This might not seem like a way to come up with new blog topics, but there have been several times where I have thought of several topics, only to forget them. When you begin brainstorming, you will find that it is easy to come up with a plethora of topic ideas. This means you need to write and file each idea away in order to remember it in the future. You can use something like Evernote, Dropbox, or Google Docs to create a file for ideas and resources. This will help significantly in the future when you begin to hit the inevitable topic idea brick wall.

 

  1. Take Inspiration from Other Blogs. While you don’t want to steal their information and exact headlines, gaining inspiration from others is a great way to come up with great blog topic ideas. You can take a look at what your competitors are blogging about, and follow industry leader blogs to get notifications about new posts. This will help you generate some great ideas for your own content and might even help with your social media posts! Again, only gain inspiration from others; never copy or steal what they are doing.

 

  1. Create an Ideas Board When Brainstorming. Sometimes people have trouble brainstorming by staring at a computer. However, if you make an ideas board, you might find brainstorming easier, especially if you are brainstorming with multiple people. In fact, find one or two people to brainstorm with to come up with some great topics. While you might be stumped for ideas, others might be able to come up with some great ideas that you hadn’t thought of. Don’t go brainstorming alone! Take along a pal or two and use an ideas board to keep things organized and in view the whole time.

 

  1. Ask Your Audience What They Want to Read About. You might not realize it, but your audience is one of the greatest resources you should be using for topic ideas. You can ask your readers what they want to see and even have them ask questions to be featured in a question and answer post. This will give you a resource filled with great topics to use for quite some time. In addition, you will be writing topics that are relevant to your client base, which is perfect!Use social media to ask people what they want to read and have them ask questions or state it in the comments. If you don’t have much interaction on social media right now, you can always send out surveys in emails and have a comment section on your website for people to ask questions or make suggestions.

 

  1. Utilize Google Alerts for Great Resources and Ideas. Google has quite the amount of helpful tools for your blog and website, and one of these is called Google Alerts. You can set up an alert for a certain topic and have Google email you daily or weekly with new information. It will send you articles, which can be used as resources or inspiration, helping you generate on-the-spot topics, as well as relevant topics for your audience.

 

  1. Look Over Your Blog to See What is Missing. Take some time to not only look for new topics and resources, but to look over your blog. You need to look for holes in your topics and see what areas you are overlooking. Take some time to write a list of everything you’ve already covered and how many times you covered them. This will show you which topics don’t need to be talked about as much, and which ones could be written about more. In addition, it will also be easier to see what you’re missing when you create this list. Try it out to see what you’re missing!

 

  1. Do a “Highlight Reel” of Previous Blog Topics. A great way to generate a topic idea is to do a highlight reel of your previous, most popular, blog posts. This gives you the chance to show people your other posts that they might have missed while also giving you the opportunity to have a new topic for that day. You can do as many highlight reels as you’d like, but most people do one to two a year, with one being at the end of the year or beginning of a new one. This is a great chance to celebrate your successes, too!

 

  1. Use Quora to Help Find Topic Ideas and Great Resources. Quora is a great content resource that helps you research your chosen keywords for your website and blog. This gives you the chance to find resources and inspiration for your posts. It is a free service and all you need to do is sign up and begin asking your questions. You can put in a broad topic idea to see what leads you get, but using your desired keywords is the best method to find a wide variety of topic inspiration and resources. Head on over and take a look to see how much Quora can help you with generating amazing blog topics.

 

  1. Write a News Article for a New Topic. You can also come up with great blog topics by writing news content on current events. This content can be on news within your industry, or how various popular news stories can impact your customers. News content doesn’t have to be overwhelming and daunting, however! Just make sure you always state the facts first in your article, always research your topic, and make sure to use citations throughout your blog. This will help ensure people realize you know what you are talking about and that you are a trusted source for information. Again, remember you always need to research. If you find a news topic that is interesting, seek out at least five different, reliable resources that can help ensure you get the facts correct.

 

  1. Repurpose Your Content to Create Fresh Content. Repurposing content is yet another incredible way to come up with more topics for your blog. Content repurposing is something that many content marketers suggest for content and copywriting because it helps to delve into a topic further in-depth. It also gives your client base more information on a specific topic. You can repurpose content by rewriting one blog and posting the new rewrites on different sites like LinkedIn. You can also do things like repurpose your content into a YouTube series, podcasts, infographics, and other formats that will work incredible for your blogs and readers.

 

  1. Share and Read Infographics while Brainstorming. When you begin brainstorming, you might find that searching for infographics from within your field might help get your thoughts going. You can share interesting ones you’ve found with your brainstorming team, and you can have them share ones they’ve found. You can even create your own based off of past blog posts as that might help think of new, amazing topics as well.

 

  1. Write On Something You Want to Know More About. We all have things we’d like to know more about, and writing about it for a blog topic creates a great chance to learn while also teaching your client base. This gives you the chance to delve into the different research out there and learn more about different topics that interest you for your business. If it interests you, it is a great sign that it will interest your clients as well. Think of a question you have about a certain topic and begin your research. You will be able to come up with more questions and answers that allow you to write your post and inform your audience while also receiving answers to your questions.

 

  1. Research More in Your Field to Find Great Topics. The best way to come up with some great topics while also staying at the top of your field is to research things constantly within your field. There are constant changes in the majority of fields, which gives you the chance to stay up-to-date and keep your clients in the know, as well. Head to your favorite industry related websites, your competitors, or simply go to Google to utilize the search engine to research. Isn’t it great that you get to knock out two things at once?

 

Until Next Time

Generating blog topics isn’t as difficult as we always seem to think it will be. You can easily come up with several topics to last throughout the year just by following the above steps. Again, remember to keep a file of all of the topics you come up with to make sure you will remember them and have access to them all year long. Which suggestions are you going to try first? Let me know in the comments!

 

Photo credit: sharpshutter / iStock