5 ways to devise creative blog post topics

You probably already understand the positive attributes of creating and maintaining an active and unique blog. The most successful and followed blogs often focus on a particular theme (cooking, parenting, etc.) or are oriented toward a specific area of expertise (public relations, scientific discovery, etc.). Followers value the useful nuggets they are able to glean from each post.

But how can you constantly keep things fresh, especially if you have limited resources and time to consistently create posts of interest to key demographics? As it turns out, it’s not as difficult as it seems. With just a few minutes’ investment, you can create an entire month’s worth of blog ideas.

1. Connect with sales personnel. Sales teams serve as “feet on the street” and often collect the most interesting information as far as potential competition, pricing issues and, most importantly, customer feedback. When sales teams pursue business, they are often barraged with questions – each of which could potentially become a blog post itself. Research and find answers to those questions and use that information in your blog posts.

2. Frequent your own FAQs page. Most businesses maintain a Frequently Asked Questions page detailing responses to the most commonly heard questions about the company, its products, shipping, etc. Some FAQs are unique to a given business and can prove to be useful blog posts on their own.

For example, if a subscription box business delivers every 30 days, customers may want to know if this is an exact science (meaning that, no matter what, a box will be on your doorstep in exactly so many days) or if shipping schedules, weather, holidays, weekends, etc. may impact delivery. Writing a blog post about subscription boxes and how they work may help customers decide which delivery mechanism and time frame suits them best. As a bonus, it may also edge up your SEO at the same time.

3. Focus on your freebies. Most businesses, especially service-driven operations, offer free resources to support potential clientele and to provide a sampler platter of the business’ expertise or knowledge base. For instance, Axia Public Relations makes available several downloadable e-books concerning topics including crisis communication best practices, social media management and making the most of PR. Each of your unique and useful resources can become a creative blog post, especially as that content is already written and needs only minor tweaking to conform to the blog post format.

4. Assemble editorial calendars. An underutilized but broadly available method for creating content is the editorial calendar. Business journals, magazines, newspapers and even digital media often follow a general framework of topics on an annual basis. This effort assists with securing targeted advertising revenue while also helping editorial teams in their efforts to research and build large-scale features on seasonal topics. Scan your industry magazines to see what topics they’re covering and build similarly themed editorial blog posts.

5. Provide customer service. Any direct-to-customer or outwardly facing team member can prove to be a treasure trove of potential blog topics. Whether a customer service representative, waitress, tax consultant or receptionist, questions they field each day can yield topics worth exploring on your professional blog – some inquiries/topics may be as simple as how your company handles returns. All feedback is useful and can assist in jiggering creative ideas for future posts; if one person takes the time to enquire, there are likely a dozen more who didn’t, but would love to know the answer. Research your responses and transform them into informative blog posts.

Axia’s blog has consistently earned recognition as an Editor’s Pick at PR News thanks to its progressive and consistent focus on industry issues. Your blog, too, can become a highly followed resource if you make an investment in it.

For more information on how Axia can help you make the most of your PR and marketing dollars, subscribe to our 60-Second Impact newsletter.

Wendy Bulawa Agudelo has more than 15 years of experience in technology, business, consumer and non-profit public relations. In addition to serving on the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress PR Task Force, Wendy enjoys cooking and rooting for her favorite New England sports teams.

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