{"id":19158,"date":"2014-07-01T12:40:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T16:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.shareaholic.com\/?p=19158"},"modified":"2014-07-01T14:05:53","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T18:05:53","slug":"crafting-original-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/crafting-original-content\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Original Content Ideas for Your Business Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Content gets complicated. <a href=\"https:\/\/shareaholic.com\/publishers\" target=\"_blank\">We enable smarter marketing<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Content is slowly taking over the world.<\/p>\n<p>Blogging, hailed as one the easiest ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/boring-businesses-exciting-blogs\/\" target=\"_blank\">produce original content<\/a> for your site, is something marketers everywhere have been shouting about for a while now.<\/p>\n<p>But the process of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/5-ps-of-content-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\">producing, publishing and promoting your content<\/a> isn&#8217;t always easy. In fact, it can be outright challenging. With your team, you must come up with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/3-types-of-content-that-are-super-shareworthy\/\" target=\"_blank\">original, shareworthy ideas<\/a>, identify and recruit a talented writer, and then market your content as if your life depended on it.<\/p>\n<p><em>Oh, and then repeat.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, blogging is no walk in the park. To simplify the way you do content, here a few tips that will help with one of the hardest initial processes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/how-to-clear-your-head-to-come-up-with-new-blog-post-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\">coming up with ideas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Visual Content<\/h3>\n<p>Remember that old saying, \u201ca picture is worth a thousand words\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Photographs, while excellent, offer only one opportunity to provide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/how-to-use-images-on-your-blog\/\" target=\"_blank\">compelling visuals<\/a> for your readers.<\/p>\n<p>Video, custom images and infographics also help you engage your audience.<\/p>\n<p>Check out this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chairoffice.co.uk\/blog\/86\/12-world-records-you-can-break-in-your-lunch-hour.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">infographic by ChairOffice<\/a>. ChairOffice sell chairs and office furniture &#8212; easily a &#8220;boring&#8221; niche (sorry CO!).\u00a0But the infographic made its way onto <a href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/2014\/03\/11\/short-world-records\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mashable<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/232095\" target=\"_blank\">Entrepreneur<\/a>\u00a0and has been shared over <strong>20k<\/strong> times.<\/p>\n<p>Why was it so successful? There are two reasons:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>First is because the content had <em>nothing<\/em> to do with office chairs. It was called <em>12 World Records You Can Break In Your Lunch Hour<\/em>\u00a0&#8212; a KILLER headline that instantly grabs readers&#8217; attention.<\/li>\n<li>Second, it was visually engaging. The CO team condensed all the information into an easily read \u2018fact file\u2019 &#8212; which made it wildly shareable. If your blog is post-after-post of long prose and the occasional stock image, you&#8217;ll want to consider adding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/the-social-sharing-button-playground-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\">an occasional infographic<\/a> into the mix.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use real people in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/video-marketing-seo-results\/\" target=\"_blank\">videos to create intimacy<\/a> and a connection with your audience.<\/li>\n<li>Use infographics or comic-strips to present information differently.<\/li>\n<li>Use photographs to tell a story. Try a \u201cHow to\u201d post using predominantly photos (or gifs), or use a gallery to share your brand&#8217;s story of growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19161\" alt=\"Twelve World Records You Can Break In Your Lunch Hour\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Twelve-World-Records-You-Can-Break-In-Your-Lunch-Hour.jpg\" width=\"560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Twelve-World-Records-You-Can-Break-In-Your-Lunch-Hour.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Twelve-World-Records-You-Can-Break-In-Your-Lunch-Hour-414x400.jpg 414w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Twelve-World-Records-You-Can-Break-In-Your-Lunch-Hour-300x290.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Twelve-World-Records-You-Can-Break-In-Your-Lunch-Hour-311x300.jpg 311w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>2. Helpful Tools and Resources<\/h3>\n<p>Everyone craves information, whether they consciously think it or not! We are driven by a thirst for knowledge &#8212; whether to get better at what we do or simply to show off in front of peers!<\/p>\n<p>And someone, somewhere, wants to know more about your industry or niche. It doesn\u2019t matter what product or service you offer &#8212; you will always have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/define-blog-target-audience\/\" target=\"_blank\">potential audience and customer<\/a> in mind.<\/p>\n<p>Think about your customer, and brainstorm things they want to know. If you sell a product, don\u2019t just tell people about that product. Instead, tell a story about the entire process.<\/p>\n<p>Provide a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-blog-checklist\/\" target=\"_blank\">checklist<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/the-bloggers-guide-to-tax-season-10-must-read-resources\/\" target=\"_blank\">resource<\/a>, or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/html-101-for-bloggers\/\" target=\"_blank\">guide<\/a>. Give your buyers the opportunity to become \u2018experts\u2019 in the niche too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe first time buyers guide to [insert your service\/product here]\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAftercare\/cleaning advice for your [product]\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Remember to think outside the box. <em>MyBedFrames<\/em> sells beds and mattresses. That\u2019s it. But they wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mybedframes.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/02\/14-alternative-ways-to-decorate-walls-without-paint\" target=\"_blank\">this blog post<\/a> about decorating because they realized their target audience is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/blogger-themes-home-design\/\" target=\"_blank\">interested in interior design<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Answer Common Questions<\/h3>\n<p>People always want to learn more. Check your <a href=\"http:\/\/support.shareaholic.com\/hc\/en-us\" target=\"_blank\">support page<\/a> and FAQs for ideas about topics that concern your customers. Compose a detailed and well-researched answer for each of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/understanding-the-new-shareaholic-for-wordpress-interface-and-configuration-settings\/\" target=\"_blank\">their biggest questions<\/a>, and turn each one into a new blog post.<\/p>\n<p>Soon enough, you\u2019ll find yourself blogging about genuinely helpful and useful information.<\/p>\n<p>But, more importantly than that, it will show your clients that you are actively listening to them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Answer the right questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Talk to your customer relations and sales team, and find out what questions you get asked the most.<\/li>\n<li>Use sites like Quora to search for questions people are asking. Once you have written a blog post, you can respond to those questions and link back to your newly published article (and drive targeted traffic).<\/li>\n<li>Create small surveys and get your clients to answer them. Use that data and feedback to produce killer content your readers will love.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Reviews<\/h3>\n<p>There is nothing wrong with highlighting some of your best customer reviews on your company&#8217;s blog. Just try not get into the habit of ONLY featuring positive reviews. No business is perfect (admit it!), and you will come across as self-indulgent and spammy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Invite customers to write a detailed review of their experience. That way you are actively engaging them while demonstrating that you value their opinion.<\/li>\n<li>Pick out quotes or ratings and turn them into images. Perhaps you can create a monthly \u2018review board\u2019 where you post a handful of mixed customer reviews. With any negative feedback, be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/234882\" target=\"_blank\">smart about how you respond<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>If you do receive a bad review &#8212; and you have done something wrong &#8212; author a public apology. As intimidating as it can be, it will work in your favor (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.officevibe.com\/blog\/sorry-latest-infographic-about-disengaged-employees\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Officevibe<\/em> did it<\/a> and they came out on top).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19162\" alt=\"Apologizing and Making Amends\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Apologizing-and-Making-Amends.jpg\" width=\"560\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Apologizing-and-Making-Amends.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Apologizing-and-Making-Amends-417x400.jpg 417w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Apologizing-and-Making-Amends-300x288.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Apologizing-and-Making-Amends-313x300.jpg 313w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>5. Revisit and Update Old Posts<\/h3>\n<p>Go through your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/reuse-old-blog-posts\/\" target=\"_blank\">old blog posts<\/a> and freshen them up.\u00a0When you&#8217;re done, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/ways-to-redistribute-repurpose-content\/\" target=\"_blank\">re-distribute them<\/a> letting everyone know they&#8217;re still relevant.<\/p>\n<p>Revisit old topics and discuss how much things have changed in that space of time &#8212; or how things have actually stayed exactly the same.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cLook at this predication we made back in 2008 &#8212; we weren\u2019t far off!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Updated: [Insert old blog post title here]<\/li>\n<li>If you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/social-media-traffic-trends-01-2014\/\" target=\"_blank\">old survey statistics<\/a>, consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/social-media-traffic-trends-04-2014\/\" target=\"_blank\">making a new survey<\/a> and compare the old and new data in an interesting way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>6. Evergreen Content<\/h3>\n<p>When thinking of a blog topic, ask yourself: <em>Will people still read this and think it is interesting a year from now?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ideally, you\u2019d like the answer to be yes. That\u2019s evergreen content, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-traffic-to-website\/\" target=\"_blank\">content that doesn\u2019t have a \u2018time limit\u2019<\/a> and won\u2019t suddenly become old and outdated after a few months.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, content like this is much harder to produce. But if you can manage it, it\u2019ll work wonders for your blog (and traffic).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Consider subtopics within your niche that are consistently talked about.<\/li>\n<li>Try writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\">a beginner&#8217;s guide<\/a> &#8212; there will always be people new to your industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>7. Give Away Free Stuff<\/h3>\n<p>There seems to be a reluctancy in every business when it comes to giving away free value and insight.<\/p>\n<p>If your blog is relatively new, then a competition is a great way to build up an initial subscriber and follower list since no-one can resist free stuff (especially if it\u2019s something really, really good).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Give away a new or popular product or service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/rafflecopter-shareaholic\/\" target=\"_blank\">in a competition<\/a> &#8212; but make people sign up to your newsletter to enter.<\/li>\n<li>Offer up a product or service in exchange for a review.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>8. Follow My Lead<\/h3>\n<p>Share your expertise and assert yourself as a reputable and authoritative source.<\/p>\n<p>Divulge some of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/ways-businesses-write-content\/\" target=\"_blank\">your best secrets<\/a>. There is a huge theory that giving away free advice is detrimental to your business &#8212; that people won\u2019t pay for your products or services if you give them away for free.<\/p>\n<p>To that, I say, it depends on your business. People are always going to use a digital agency like the one I work for, because they do not have the appropriate in-house resources to do it themselves.<\/p>\n<p>By sharing my knowledge with you, do you think you would be <em>more<\/em> or <em>less<\/em> likely to use my services in the future?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/ultimate-guest-blogging-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\">Guest blog on influential sites<\/a> within your niche.<\/li>\n<li>Write an incredibly useful guide. Be specific, don\u2019t be too general.<\/li>\n<li>Share industry secrets &#8212; especially if your competitors haven\u2019t been talking about it. You\u2019ll come across as honest, authoritative and more professional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>BONUS: Remember, at least, this one tip when it comes to blogging for your business!<\/h3>\n<p>You are not writing for you. You are writing for a specific audience. Identify who that is and then put yourself in your reader&#8217;s shoes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What would you want to read about?<\/li>\n<li>What would you want to know?<\/li>\n<li>What are you likely to share and why?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Think through these questions every time you write a new blog post. You\u2019ll have SEOs telling you to think of keywords first. <strong>DON\u2019T.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Place your audience on a pedestal and write with them in mind. When you&#8217;re done, pass the post along to an SEO expert to read it over. Soon enough you&#8217;ll be able to produce world-class content &#8212; and that\u2019s how you\u2019ll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/best-brands-content-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\">stay ahead of competitors<\/a> in the long run.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>About the author:<\/strong> Louise Dickens works in Content Marketing\/Digital PR for digital agency <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aptitude.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Aptitude<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"text-align: center;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/shareaholic-email-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"Shareaholic Email Signup\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/shareaholic-newsletter-cta.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Bloggers:<\/strong>\u00a0Want to write for Shareaholic?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/guest-blogging-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\">Welcoming all contributors<\/a>!<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Developers and marketers:<\/strong> Start your career with us.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shareaholic.com\/careers\" target=\"_blank\">Join Shareaholic<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Content gets complicated. We enable smarter marketing. Content is slowly taking over the world. Blogging, hailed as one the easiest ways to produce original content&hellip;&nbsp;<br \/><a class=\"continue-reading\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/crafting-original-content\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":19161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[606,521],"tags":[295,581,704,705,532],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}