Research your Audience
To have a valuable blog it must have a clear purpose and revolve around the needs of the audience that you are wanting to target. In order to make this happen, you need to research your audience as a way to understand what they are looking for. This will get you ideas for your blog content. For example, here at Walker360, we provide revenue-focused marketing tools to your everyday print and mail challenges, along with an array of digital services. Therefore, if you’re reading our blog, you may be here to get insight on marketing, analytics or detailed information on different types of print pieces.
There are a few ways that you can do some simple research to gain some insight. Google has a free keyword planner tool that you can get broad ideas for the kind of content that your audience will best receive. Next, you can directly ask your audience what they want to see more of. You can use forms and surveys to gain feedback on what they enjoy reading the most. Finally, you can use social media management tools to research trending topics and questions that are arising. Overall, this will help you learn your audience better
What are the current issues that are important to your industry?
Along with researching your audience, it is equally as important to look into the issues that are popular in your industry. This will help connect your blog to a larger movement. Finding these current issues can be as easy as googling the new trends in your industry. What are the experts in your industry talking about? Additionally, you can think even deeper on what is going on in the world and tie it in to your industry and how it is affected.
For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a lot of changes for everyone’s work industry. Most places had to adapt to going virtual and using online tools to adapt to the “new normal.” This provided various blog topic ideas, such as, one of our blogs titled “How Walker360 Kept Calm and Stayed Busy.” A few examples of industry related things that you can tie into your next blog would be; Easter, baseball spring opener, daylight savings time, and many more! People like reading things that they can relate to, so if you can tie things like this into your industry specific blog, then you are on the right track!
Do Some Competitor Analysis
If something is working well for your peers, it might work well for you too. Check out their top performing articles and see what keywords they are using. The key here is to identify opportunities and then put your own twist on it. In this case, can you expand what has already been written and adequately improve it? Additionally, you might have a new and interesting angle on the same topic. If you’re reading this and are in the printing, marketing, digital or advertising industry, take a look at our old blogs that might help you spark some creativity!
