How to Identify the Perfect Blog Post Content for Your Online Business

April 19, 2021 Lauren Taylar

Do you have a blog for your business?

Chances are that if you’re reading this post it’s one of two things…

Either you’re looking to start a blog and want to make sure you’re going at it the right way.

Or maybe you already have a blog but want to spruce it up by being more intentional and specific about the types of content you’re adding to your website.

Not sure why you should start a blog? Here’s 7 reasons to start blogging for your business today.

Creating a blog on your website is an incredible marketing tool because it enhances your brand online, establishes you as an authority in your niche, and positions you on page 1 of Google.

But many business owners have no idea where to start when it comes to creating blog content.

Or rather, they’re getting it wrong.

I see this all the time when clients come to me for my 1:1 SEO package, which is all about crafting a blog strategy.

Here are 4 simple steps to identify the best topics to write about on your business blog so you can attract more aligned clients.

1. Find common themes from your 1:1 services or digital products

Here are some questions to ask yourself…

What information are you teaching or providing in your offers?

How can you break that information up into main buckets?

You can also think about your framework and the journey you help your clients go from point A to B.

You need to write content that directly correlates with the services and digital products you offer.

This might sound hella obvious, but I see so many business owners who treat their blog like a journal or personal diary.

I wouldn't even bother to write personal blog posts until you’ve established a somewhat large following because you’ll just be wasting time and energy.

Keep your day-to-day personal anecdotes for Instagram Stories or your email list.

Remember that you’re not building a lifestyle blog.

You’re building a business.

Your content needs to be reflective of the work you do.

So establishing these main buckets that support the work you do with your clients and students is an important first step.

Think of these main buckets as content pillars, or simply - categories.

I wouldn’t recommend more than 5 categories on your blog, and each post should fall into 1 category.

Sometimes you might have a post that falls into 2 categories, but no more.

Here are some examples:

Business coaching categories: mindset, sales, and social media strategy
Wedding photographer categories: frequently asked questions, engagement sessions, and weddings

You can see that they’re broad, but very different at the same time.

2. Draft 10-20 blog post ideas

Looking at the categories that you’ve written out, jot down some ideas of specific posts you can write under each.

With this step, we’re narrowing the focus.

Don’t get too much in your head about this - just write what comes to mind.

Think of educational and solution-focused posts that will help your readers learn something new or achieve a small win.

This is your “how to” content that will add value by educating or solving a problem for your audience.

You can also include questions you get on sales calls. This content is helpful because it will help to fill that information gap.

Remember this: each piece of content should have a specific purpose and a clear focus.

Going back to the business coach example, some blog post ideas that could appear under social media strategy is:

How to establish authority on Instagram Stories
How to build an engaged Facebook Group
How to sell in the DMs without getting on sales calls
Different types of captions to use on Instagram
How to go live on Facebook or Instagram with confidence

When thinking about ideas, it shouldn’t be so specific that you’re not able to write more than a couple hundred words.

Aim for topics that you can write 1,000 words or more about.

A common question I get is… “If I give all this information away for free on my blog, why would someone hire me?”

It’s a valid question but here’s how I want you to think about it…

If you were choosing between 2 different life coaches who had the same qualifications and had gotten similar results for clients, would you go with the person who:

Just has a typical 5 page website
Has a typical website PLUS dozens (or hundreds) of blog posts on how to improve your life

Chances are that you’re going to go with person #2. You read through their posts, learn a few things, and see them as the authority because they’ve provided all this amazing content for free.

People can read through your blog and still not achieve the result they want. They hire you for your specific guidance for their life and their problems.

People can spend hours sifting through all your content trying to piece everything together. They hire you or purchase your course to learn what they need to know in the right order and cut down on time.

They hire you because they know that if your free info is this good, your paid products have to be better.

The key is that you’re not giving away every single detail.

3. Use keyword research to validate each of your blog post ideas

Many business owners stop after step #2 and move forward with publishing blog content to their website.

But here’s the problem with that…

Even though you’ve identified topics you want to write about, you need to make sure that people are actually searching for information on these topics.

Specifically, you need to identify the exact words and phrases people are typing into Google.

This is truly where SEO, or search engine optimization, and keyword research comes into play.

A keyword is simply a word or phrase you want to rank for.

By doing keyword research, you’re able to find the exact string of words to include in your content.

These keywords are used in your blog post:

Title
URL
Content
Image file names

By doing so, you’re helping Google correlate a specific search with your content.

You’re optimizing your post to give it the best possible chance of ranking on page 1 of Google.

4. Craft blog post titles

Once you’ve validated the post idea through keyword research, it’s time to package the blog post title.

Think of this as just adjusting the original post topics that you drafted out.

An important thing to keep in mind about blog post titles…

They should be clear and direct, not a vague 2-3 word description.

This is a common mistake online business owners make.

Instead, you want readers to understand exactly what content they will digest if they click through.

Listicles, or list articles, tend to do best for this very reason.

The title of this blog post is a perfect example of a listicle.

They commonly include a number and the “thing” (i.e. tips, steps, reasons, tactics) that the article will walk you through.

Remember to include the main keyword of the blog post in the title itself. Try to use it exactly as it’s written, unless it’s something like a 5-word keyword that doesn't sound natural when spoken/written.

Once you have these pieces finalized, it’s time to start writing the actual content!

Keep in mind that your blog post title can change after you finish drafting the post, but it’s good to have a set direction when you sit down to write.

As a recap, you want to:

Find common themes from your 1:1 services or digital products
Draft 10-20 blog post ideas
Use keyword research to validate each of your blog post ideas
Craft blog post titles
Start writing!

I hope you found this helpful! Feel free to drop any questions below!

Looking to have most of this process taken off your hands? I help coaches and creatives with crafting a blogging and SEO strategy so that they can reach page 1 of Google, grow their leads on autopilot, and make more sales.

Looking for more Squarespace SEO tips? Check out these blog posts: