If you blog for your business at least three times a week (which is optimal for SEO purposes) then you understand how hard it can be to create new, fresh and useful content. Sure, you may know your business backwards and forwards, but don't you ever feel like you've run out of creative and interesting things to tell your audience? Trust us, we've sat scratching our heads trying to come up with blogging content ideas before - and it's not fun. The best way to solve this problem is to come up with a blog content planning guide that will help keep your business blog running like a well oiled inbound marketing and content machine.


Create a Calendar

First, we recommend creating a calendar that clearly spells out what type of content will be published every day. We know that running a business and blogging at the same time can be difficult, so this calendar will really help on those days that you can barely take a breakfast break, much less think of something awesomely engaging to tell your readers. Don't worry, you don't have to be extra specific on your business blog calendar- simply write the type of blog and that will help get your creative juices flowing.

Types of Blog Content

Not sure where to start when it comes to blogging? Choose a type of blog from the list below and put your writing cap on!

1. Case Studies

People will read your blog if they feel that it provides insight into the industry. Position yourself as an expert on your field and share successes and challenges of the industry. As we've said a million times to our inbound marketing customers, blogging is NOT the time to promote your products or services. Instead, share valuable information that your audience will appreciate and consider as a helpful resource.

Case study blogs can include:

Video or Photo Stories
Tips and Tricks of the Trade
Industry Lessons
Testimonials
Industry Resources
Personal Conquests

2. News Stories

Everyone likes a good news story. If you share a relevant news story or an industry development then your readers will keep coming back for more! Just remember that you are providing a third perspective on the story, so do your best to not act as an actual breaking news source.

Here are a few types of new stories that will resonate with your audience:

Commentary & Response
Predictions
Summary of the Week
Announcements
Real-time Posting
Press releases

3. Personal Insight

You should always infuse a little bit of your business personality into your blog content. Readers appreciate a little bit of character when they're reading a blog. If you can act as an insightful and read-worthy blogger then you will win the affection of the industry masses.

Here are a few ways to make a blog "yours":

Humor
Compare and Contrast
Infographics
Pros and Cons
Myth Busters
Forecasts
Oddities
Challenges or Problems

4. Problem Solvers

From our research, it seems that most people go online to find the solution to a problem. Ask yourself this, how many times have you asked Google a question that you just can't get out of your head?! It is a good idea to make your blog the answer to the questions that people are asking; leveraging yourself as an industry leader and a problem solver.

Here are a few types of helpful topics:

How-to articles
Statistics and Examples
FAQs
Common Mistakes
Checklists
Guides
Tips lists
"Best and Worst Of" Ratings


Of course, there are thousands of potential content topics that you could use for your business blog. If you want to really grow your blog then we recommend keeping your topics diverse and insightful, so readers just can't resist coming back!

Not sure where to start with your blogging techniques? Want to learn more about inbound marketing? Read our free guide below.