Blogging is one of the best inbound marketing tactics. It helps with search marketing – helping you get found, and it helps with lead generation – helping you get leads and customers. But for many, knowing what to write or how to write is just a task that seems overwhelming. The truth is you know your product (or service) and customers better than anyone. You have the knowledge, it’s just a matter of learning how to turn a phone conversation, email or networking discussion into a blog article.

The purpose of this article is to show you how to turn what you already know into effective blog articles.

Once a month or quarter set aside 1-2 hours and sit down with your sales and/or management team (or yourself if you are the management team) and write down the answers to the following questions:

• Why do people need your product or service?
• What is their problem, need or pain point?
• Why should they buy from you?
• What are the problems if they buy the wrong product or service?
• What should they know before making a purchasing decision?
• What questions do customers ask before buying?
• What questions or reservations do people who don’t buy ask?
• Why don’t people buy from you?
• What do people want to know about your company before buying?

Answers to these questions are all blog topics or even a series of blogs.

Other useful tips for brainstorming blog topics are to write down:

• Conversations at recent networking events.
• Recent email topics, check your inbox and outbox to see what you're already writing about.
• Any new legislation or industry changes coming soon.
• The latest industry trends, stats or research.
• The latest innovations or technology changes to your industry.
• Latest company news: new product launch, new customers, projects.
• Your top industry news/articles of the week: include snippets and links to the top industry articles you read during the week.
• List content you already have like: presentations, webinars, seminars, case studies and repurpose these in to blog articles.

Now you have a list of blog topics, the next step is to brainstorm different ways you can write about each topic.

Here are some popular blog styles to help you get started.

• Anything numbered is popular; Top 10 ways to…, 5 things not to do…
• Top 10 lists; your top 10 suppliers, vendors, examples
• How to articles
• Hot Topics – can you relate your product or service to anything newsworthy, stories in the news, an upcoming holiday, season or event.

When you're writing remember the following tips:

• Put yourself in your audiences' mind - what are they interested in?
• Blog articles should be educational so write more like a teacher than a marketer. 
• People are busy there's no need to write long articles - keep them relatively short 200-400 words.
• Make sure the article is easy to read as people often scan - bold subheadings, use lists and keep the wording simple.

I hope this helps you plan out your next month or quarter of blog articles. If you have any questions or anything to add please use the comments section below – I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Blogging!

Additional resources to help you on the road to successful blogging

Inbound Marketing and Blogging For Lead Generation

17 Ways To Use Your Blog For Inbound Marketing And To Get More Leads

10 Inbound Marketing Tips To Help You Blog More Effectively