You’ve heard the mantra: writing content is one of the most important things you can do to build a strong inbound marketing system to bring in new leads and customers.
You get it. But here you sit, hands poised on the keyboard, and the ideas just aren’t flowing. You’ve got a to-do list piling up beside you, the phone keeps wringing, and you’ve checked email at least 3 times since you started writing. You’re officially stuck and ready to give up.
But before you throw in the towel, read through the examples of share-worthy content below. You could probably whip out one or two blogs on any of these topics in a matter of minutes; and then you can go deal with that nagging to-do list, email inbox, or buzzing phone.
First things first: turn your phone on silent and move it across the room. Let coworkers know you’re unavailable for the next hour. Turn off your email notifications and close your inbox. Hide the to-do list. It’s impossible to focus on the task at hand while you’re worrying about the fires that may need to be put out.
Time to start writing.
- Open a blank Word document and allow that (and the list below) to be the only things on your screen.
- Read this list and allow yourself to start thinking about examples you can use for your own organization.
- Jot down notes for each item when you have some ideas. Don’t worry about titles or grammar, just focus on throwing ideas onto the page for now.
One more thing.
As you read through these examples, you’ll notice that each of them are focused on writing content that helps your audience. In some cases, you’ll feel like you’re giving away too much information, that you can’t possibly write about these topics because then people won’t pay you for your services.
On the contrary, sharing your knowledge with prospective customers will actually help you bring in more business, because people will see that you know your stuff. They’ll begin to trust you, to like you, and to better understand just why they need you.
Be careful not to sell here; simply focus on helping them, and they will find their way to you.
Your target audience is looking for answers to their questions and it might as well be you that they get their answers from. Yes, they may not be ready to work with you just yet, but if you keep delivering highly relevant content, they will keep following you and sharing your information with others. Eventually, they will make their way to you.
Ok, let’s really get started now. We’ve used a travel agency for our examples below.
- Lists: Numbered lists are compelling to readers because they know the information is easy to digest and likely a quick read. Instead of titling your blog ‘Packing Tips’, try ‘10 Packing Tips for Business Travelers’. The reader knows exactly what they are going to get, and you’ve identified a target audience.
- [insert a number] [insert an adjective] Types of ______ for [insert your audience]
- [insert a number] Questions You Should Ask Before _______
- [insert a number] Secrets To ______ From [insert an influential person or company your readers will respond to]
- ‘How To’ Guides: Audiences love to read straightforward tips. Step by step roadmaps are not only popular blog posts but also make great eBooks when expanded upon. An example of a title could be “How to Travel in Europe on Only $40 A Day.” Here are others:
- How to Get More _________
- How to Get out of ________
- How to Build a ________
- Mini Case Study: People love hearing the down and dirty details of how someone got from point A to point B such as “How this Family of Eight made their Dream Vacation a Reality”.Try using a customer or client story, diving into specifics and showing prospective customers the roadmap of how they can achieve their goals.
- FAQ’s: Think about what keeps you on the phone the longest, what questions you answer over and over? Maybe for a Travel Agency it is ‘why should I pay a fee instead of doing it myself?’Write a blog about the answer to this question, and use the actual question as the title of the post (because this is what people are typing in their online search). It can quickly become a huge driver of traffic to your blog, AND save you time in the future because you can point people to this post for answers.
- Series: If you come up with a great topic such as like “Secrets to Saving Money for Travel: Revealed” but there is too much information to tell in one blog or article, try breaking it up into a multi-part series. This gives people an easy read, while incorporating click-bait to get them to continue clicking on additional topics at the end of your post, and going deeper into your website.The activity of clicking and continuing to read will improve your search engine performance, as search engines see that your website is gaining more activity and traction among visitors.
- Comparisons: This is another format that readers can’t get enough of, as it helps them make decisions. For the travel agency, a blog titled “Pros and Cons of Traveling with Kids” will put you in front of prospective families.
- ___ vs ___ : Which Do You Need?
- ___ vs ___ : Which Is Really Better?
- Why ___ beats ___
Hopefully this gave you some ideas and got you off to a good start. While ideas are fresh on your mind, start writing. For help in generating new ideas, check out our blog post: The Best Online Marketing Tool. It’s Less than $3!
