A very successful blogger confessed he comes up with business blog ideas by spying up on his competitors. He’s considered an authority in his field, and many content marketers look up to him for inspiration. It’s surprising he needs to borrow ideas from others.
At first glance, his strategy seems smart: Seeking truly original business blog ideas takes effort, so let your competitors do the hard work, borrow their ideas, and turn them into better content than theirs.
But what if your competitors are in turn cutting corners? What if they’re not creative at all and they’re in turn borrowing others’ business blog ideas? Then by using their blog as inspiration, you’ll end up creating content that looks like a re-repainted stolen bicycle.
If you’re willing to put in the effort to seek inspiration for your digital content, here are other ways to find original ideas for your business blog.
1. Ask your readers to suggest business blog ideas
If your business blog has many readers, prompt them to suggest blog topics. Pick the best business blog ideas, create a poll, and share it on social media. Let your readers choose the topic for your next blog post.
You’ll not only publish an article your readers need but also show them you value their opinion. That’s the strategy radio stations use when they ask their listeners to vote which song they want to hear next.
Though I’ve never used polls, I draw inspiration from my clients’ questions to create blog posts on topics that interest them.
2. Let your conversations with others inspire you
“The abundance of the universe provides me with an endless stream of ideas for writing and blogging!” said a Quora user.
That’s the right attitude! But those who have a business blog need a smaller pool of ideas to fish in.
To narrow down your list of blog topics, do the following.
- First, write down any idea related to your business that you’ve discussed with customers, co-workers, friends, or other people lately.
- Then select the topics that prompted conversation but are not too parochial or controversial.
- Finally, turn them into blog posts. Or hire a freelance content writer to develop your ideas into professional articles for your business blog.
For example, let’s say you attend an industry event and someone asks you a tough question. You could reply, “This is a great question, but I don’t have a good answer right now. But I’ll think about it and give you an answer in a few days.” Then get that person’s email and send them a message when you publish the answer on your blog. As a bonus, you’ll network!
Conversations with others have inspired me to write the post Freelancing myths: What people think freelancers do (and what we really do).
3. Repurpose your answers to FAQs as blog posts
Chances are you spend a lot of time answering your clients’ inquiries about your services or products. That’s why you got a FAQs page on your website—to avoid answering the same questions over and over again. But some of your answers may be good business blog ideas.
Choose the most interesting questions and elaborate your answers. As a result, you’ll create unique blog posts.
One article I created based on a frequently asked question is What’s the difference between editing and proofreading?
4. Review products or services on your business blog
As a small-business owner, you are a consumer of products and services: IT hardware and software, internet services, and more. You can turn any of these products and services into business blog ideas.
Write reviews of these products or services if you think your readers would appreciate your opinion. For example, if you provide photo editing services, review the equipment you use or the photography books on your bookshelf.
While the web is full of opinions, unbiased reviews are valuable to consumers.
In one of my posts I wrote a review of Upwork, and in another, I reviewed some of my favorite nonfiction books.
5. Interview your team, business partners, or other people
Interview some of the people who work for your business and create a series of articles about your team. You’ll give your potential customers the chance to get to know your company better.
“People do business with people—not with companies” is what many entrepreneurs will tell you. If you allow your business partners to get to know your employees, they’ll start seeing your company for what it is: a group of talented people working together rather than a faceless vendor.
This strategy for finding business blog ideas is especially useful if you have an online business and never get to meet your customers face to face.
If you own a sole proprietorship, interview some of your business partners. Or, interview people in a related industry.
Let’s say you’re a web developer. You could interview a copywriter, graphic designer, or translator. Ask them questions relevant to your profession: For example, ask a translator if English is still the lingua franca of the internet. Or, ask a graphic designer about the best font types for screen display. You’ll help these professionals spread the word about their business.
And they’ll help you create original content for your company’s blog.
For one of my blog posts, I interviewed the author of a nonfiction book: On writing: Interview with scientist-author Katharina Vestre.
6. Analyze how an event might affect your industry
“Great ideas come from cross-pollination”, said one of my LinkedIn connections who takes many online courses apparently unrelated to his job. Curiosity sparks ideas.
To find unique business blog ideas, be constantly curious. Ask your connections about the latest trends in their industries, subscribe to a science newsletter, and read nonfiction books. Make a note if you see a link between your industry and a new scientific discovery, an event, a survey, or a new product. Be among the first to talk about how it could trigger change in your industry. You’ll create a blog post that may even attract a top newspaper’s attention.
Publish articles like this often and you’ll be on your way to becoming a thought leader. If you lack journalistic skills but enjoy writing, create a draft and hire an editor to revise the article for you. If you have only your business blog ideas and an outline, ask the help of a freelance content writer instead.
Ready to seek original business blog ideas?
Good business blog ideas aren’t easy to discover, so it’s tempting to imitate your competitors’ content. But this is only a temporary solution for a creativity lapse. It shouldn’t be your long-term strategy if your business blog is an important asset for you.
If you’re tired of looking into your neighbors’ yard, try some of the creative ways I listed here to find original ideas for your business blog. They will help you create unique content your readers will appreciate.
Do you need a freelance editor for a business blog? Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.
Related posts:
- Tips from an editor on managing content writing projects
- Editorial style guide for small businesses
- The small-business owner’s proofreading checklist
Last revised on 16 July 2022
