Knowing exactly who you’re writing for helps you to craft pieces that they will relate to and find useful. You can tailor your content around them and create blog posts that they want to read, engage with and share.
So, identify their exact need or problem. What problem of theirs are you trying to solve? Then you can look at choosing your topic from there.
Choose a Topic
Once you know who it is that you want to target with your blog post, the next step is to determine a topic! Choosing a topic to centre your blog post around helps you to focus your writing and have an aim or ideal outcome to strive towards.
There are lots of different topics that you can cover and pieces that you can write on your blog page, including:
But it can be hard to know how to approach these ideas and know where to start. Luckily, there are 3 different ‘types of topic’, to help you narrow it down further.
Industry-based Topics
Content on these topics may help you attract people who are genuinely interested in your industry, searching for trends, or looking to apply best practices.
Ask yourself:
- What topics are most discussed in your industry?
- What are the latest trending topics?
- What do the industry experts discuss?
- What topics are the most controversial?
Tip: Take a look at your competitors’ blog posts to see what topics and trends they’re talking about and what their customers are engaging with.
User-problem Related Topics
Creating content around these concepts may help you attract people who are looking to solve a problem, or profit by overcoming it.
Ask yourself:
- What problems do people suffer from in your industry?
- What fears do they have?
- What are they trying to achieve?
- What are the benefits of a solution to their problem?
Tip: Think of what questions customers or clients tend to ask most frequently and what final goals they want to achieve.
Product/ Service Related Topics
Creating content on these topics may help you attract the attention of people who are looking for a solution to their problems.
Ask yourself:
- What products/ services are you competing with?
- How do users search for a product like yours?
- What products/ services are popular in your industry (even if you don’t compete with them directly)?
Tip: As well as product launches, think about how to showcase what you do, through How-Tos, Case Studies, Comparison posts.
Find and Offer Value
Once you’ve determined your topic and target audience, you then need to decide how you can offer them value - aim to educate, inform or inspire your readers.
Try thinking about your target audience, and what they might be looking for, be interested in or find useful. This could take the shape of, for example, an estate agent sharing the latest changes in the housing market, or an accommodation provider sharing some of the best walks in the local area. Not only are you sharing your expertise, but you’re also creating content that offers useful information for the reader.
Another way to offer value is by finding out what your customers and readership are talking about and what is trending. A great way to do this is by putting in some investigative work and research!
Forums
A useful way to search for trending discussions, frequently asked questions and customer queries, is by using forums like Quora and Reddit. Here you can explore by industry, such as ‘Digital Marketing’ or ‘Home Baking’, and find the popular discussions and questions that are prevalent within that industry.
Social listening
Another great way to appeal to your audience is by keeping an eye out on social media and doing some social media listening! Perhaps customers often ask the same questions on your social media posts, you could turn this into an FAQs blog post - other people might be wondering the same thing and may not know who or how to ask to get an answer! You could also join interest and industry groups to see what is being talked about within your topic or niche.