For almost as long as businesses have had websites, digital marketers have held that maintaining a useful and active blog is one of the most effective ways to promote them and build regular web traffic. In fact, business blogs remain a key component of modern content marketing strategies, even if they don't get as much attention as the ever-changing list of current content marketing trends.
But if you ask the average small business owner to start producing content for their business' blog, most won't have any idea where to begin. And that's only natural because most entrepreneurs didn't start businesses with the intent to write about them. They'd much rather be working to build their brands into industry leaders.
But it isn't all that difficult to create high-performance content for a business blog. The trick is to know what types of blog posts and articles tend to draw steady traffic and can become evergreen additions to the blog's library. To help small business owners start churning out the right content, here are five types of blog content that power every successful business blog and some useful examples of each.
Industry-specific guides
Without a doubt, the best way to draw visitors into a business blog is to give them valuable information. And since one of the overarching goals of a business blog is to demonstrate expertise in the field in which the business focuses, a great way to do that is to create industry-specific guides. This type of business blog content walks consumers through a particular product or service they'd commonly encounter in the target industry – even if it's one the business itself doesn't offer.
Excellent examples of this concept may be found right here on Keap's Business Success Blog. Articles that cover outsourcing tools and subjects like automation best practices supplement Keap's main business focus. They provide useful information that keeps potential customers coming back again and again. And this comprehensive guide to a web host's pricing structure makes for an excellent in-depth guide template, as it covers everything a reader could hope to learn about its subject matter.
Expert DIY advice
Another way to create value in a business blog is to share expertise to help visitors with their industry-related DIY efforts. Doing so will both establish the business' expert credentials while putting the needs of the visitor first – both of which engender loyalty and goodwill.
This article on small business collections is a letter-perfect example of the DIY advice content type. It walks readers through the important points of the invoice collection process while offering helpful hints along the way. It also points out when the reader might want to consider seeking professional help. And of course, the business itself is perfectly positioned to offer the exact type of help needed.
In-depth product reviews
These days, consumers turn to online reviews before making almost any significant online purchase. And they're not just browsing. One recent survey found that 93% of consumers said that online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. For that reason, business bloggers always do well by giving consumers what they want – reviews, reviews, reviews!
Of course, it's always a good idea to keep the reviews on a business blog confined to products relevant to the industry it serves, especially if the business is running an online store that carries the products to be reviewed. It's also a great idea to provide as much detailed information in each review as it's possible to find.
As an example, this in-depth review of popular consumer VPN service Surfshark goes into great detail about the product and gives readers an honest evaluation of what it has to offer. It's also written in easy-to-understand language, so it's ideal for internet security novices looking to choose a service they might not know a great deal about. It accomplishes everything you'd want in a review on a business blog, and articles like it are always a steady traffic draw.
Educational whitepapers
For any business, a key component of driving sales lies in educating potential customers about the products and services they offer, and what problems they might solve for the buyer. The trouble is, some customers won't always be aware that they have a problem to solve, to begin with, much less how a business might help resolve it. The answer: whitepapers.
A whitepaper is a complete, top-to-bottom explanation of a product or service that addresses the topics above. And since businesses are typically well-versed in their own offerings, they're easy to create. There are excellent guides on how to write a whitepaper available online that cover the basic form and function. And for inspiration – this network hardware whitepaper from Cisco offers a great example of how to blend graphical elements, compelling storytelling and hard data to make your point.
Tips and tricks articles
The final – and easiest to create – type of high-performance content suited for business blogs is tips and tricks articles. They're usually short, topical, and provide easily-digestible, actionable advice to readers. It's a winning combination that's deployed on business blogs far and wide, to great effect. But not just any format will work.
The key is to try and identify simple tips that may not already be part of the conventional wisdom on a given topic. In other words, they have to be unique and engaging. This Keap article on tips to quickly learn payroll offers an example of the proper balance between brevity and utility that covers some not-widely-known information. And this thorough tips article on running successful remote one-on-one meetings offers an example of a comprehensive look at a subject that holds the reader's attention with the promise of a useful template at its end.
Get blogging
The above five types of content should be enough to power any business blog, so long as they're executed to perfection. And with the provided examples to guide you, that's just what you should be able to do. With that said, it's time to get to blogging!
