The key to connecting with your target audience is engaging them frequently with relevant content that provides value, that they will seek out, and look forward to. But, it’s easy to draw a blank when you try to come up with topics that will resonate with your core base. The best way to make sure you meet your blogging schedule is to stay ahead of the game. Here are some great resources to help you identify timely, attention-grabbing content topics.
Use Google To Find Forums
Let’s say your niche is B2B marketing. Pop over to Google and search “forum:B2B Marketing”. Google will bring up the biggest and best B2B marketing forums. Select the forum that seems most relevant and take a look at it. Look for forum sections where people are asking questions about the topic. Check for the view counts and numbers of replies to get an idea of how popular the question is, and whether it has been answered sufficiently. This method has multiple perks. The first is that it gives you topic ideas, and the second is that once you have written your blog on the topic, you can return to the forum, answer the question, and post a link to your blog, possibly bringing in new readers, and driving traffic to your site.
Use SubReddits
If you’ve ever ventured onto Reddit, you know that you’ll find a subreddit for just about any topic – from food to conspiracy theories. If you haven’t used Reddit, a subreddit is essentially a type of forum. Head over to Reddit.com and search for your niche term. Look for a forum that matches your topic. Sort through the posts labeled “this week” or “hot” to find current questions or topics of interest. Once you find a relevant topic or question, write your blog, then head back over and post your link in that thread.
Ask Your Audience
This approach is often overlooked. But, if you think about it, who knows best what they want to see you posting about than people who already read your blog? There are a couple of ways to do this:
The direct ask – If you have a dedicated newsletter, ask your readers directly to suggest topics they want to read about. It often helps to offer a small giveaway for people who respond with questions and topics. Here’s a base template to use: “Hello! I have a quick favor to ask of you. I want to write about topics you want to read. Hit “reply” and ask a question or post a topic and I’ll add your name into a drawing for a (post incentive here).
The P.S. Method – At the end of your newsletter, after you’ve signed off, add a P.S. asking, “Do you have any questions? What topics do you want to be covered in the future?” This is a passive way to bring out possible topics without annoying your readers. Make sure you note that you will reply to every response and that their interests matter.
Use BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is a site that allows you to search for a topic or website and brings results about what content is being shared the most. Go to the site and search for keywords in your niche. BuzzSumo will give you a list of the most-shared content on those keywords on a variety of social media platforms. The site allows you to do a couple of free searches per day, which is typically all any SMB would need, but they also offer a 14-day trial for free if you want to use the full product.
