It’s no secret that people are spending more of their lives online, and 78% of Internet users conduct product research online, reports HubSpot. Since the Internet is where people spend their time, it makes sense for your business to be there too. Business blogging can have a major positive impact on your company. In fact, businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than businesses that don’t blog. 
Although there is still an appetite for cat videos and memes, people expect to find useful information online. To turn your blog into a valuable resource, start with an understanding of your product or service and its value. Then, understand who your audience is and what types of topics will be interesting and helpful to them. See what people are saying on your social media profiles and pay attention to any comments on your blog. The better you understand your audience, the better you can talk to them through your blog.
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No matter what your topic, make sure your blog posts are informative, relevant and solution oriented. Varying the types of posts you publish will keep your readers interested and draw in new people.
Consider these popular blog topics and get started reaching your audience.
- Beginner’s Guides
Beginner’s guides and how-to posts are a great way to add value for your audience, and this type of post works with any type of business. This is where understanding your audience comes in handy. What questions do they commonly ask? What are their problems and pain points? Use these to identify the place to start your guide. In your guide, strive to be as comprehensive as possible when explaining the basics of your topic.
This type of post doesn’t have to take the form of a traditional blog post. You could also turn your guide into an infographic or video.
- Ultimate Guides
Just like the beginner’s guide provides the fundamentals of a topic, your ultimate guide is an opportunity to show off your expertise. It’s important that if you call something an ultimate guide, it actually is. Be as thorough and helpful as you can be on the topic. Create a resource that people want to refer back to and share because it is so helpful. Something like this may take a bit more time to put together, so save it for the important subjects.
- Interviews With Industry Experts
Sharing your own expertise on your industry will make your blog a worthwhile read for your audience. Including the thoughts and advice of experts and thought leaders in your industry is another way. This can also help to expand the reach of your blog through an expert’s audience, because they’ll likely share your post. You can do this in the form of guest posts or interviews with industry experts. If you aren’t able to contact these people directly, look for local options, maybe even within your own company. Think about the people who know everything there is to know about part of your business. Interview them and share their insights with your audience.
- Case Studies
Another one of the most popular blog topics is the case study. An in-depth example of how a company achieved an impressive result will pique readers interests, especially when they can relate to the challenge. Lay out the initial problem and the steps taken in a way that the reader could implement those same steps for themselves. This type of post can be a way to highlight your company’s product or service, but make sure to put most of the emphasis on the practical steps taken and the solution. This is not just an opportunity for a sales pitch. We did this on our own blog with a post on inbound marketing best practices used successfully with clients.
- Best-Ofs Lists
The “listicle” is a popular blog format in its own right (in fact, this post is an example) because it is an easy way to organize a post and break up your text, which keeps readers reading. Using numbers in your title can increase the clickthrough rate by 36%, according to data from Backlinko, so that is another compelling reason to write this type of post. A best-of list implies that the information in the post is the most important to know on a topic. Why read a dozen other blog posts on how to do something when the top 5 ways to accomplish it are right here?
You can also use this type of post to provide your perspective on a topic, like the top 15 marketing influencers to watch this year.
- Industry News
Whatever your industry, it’s important to stay on top of news and trends. Often, this information will be of value to your audience as well. Writing about your industry provides an opportunity to show off your expertise and position your company as a thought leader. You want to be the source people come to for information. Plus, you can capitalize on the buzz surrounding news to become part of the conversation.
- Company News And Profiles
The main focus of your blog needs to be providing relevant, educational content to your audience, but from time to time, it can also be used to share news about your company. Use these posts as a way to show the people behind the logo. Consider doing profiles of employees or an overview of a new program or product. These kinds of posts can give people insight into what makes your company tick, and may make them choose you over another company. This is another opportunity for people to connect with your brand.
Put these popular blog topics to the test and get started creating content your readers are sure to love.
