6 Ideas To Keep Your Small Business Blog Posts Flowing

Posted February 1, 2011 by Ralston Vaz    

The thought leadership and expertise a blog allows you to showcase is absolutely vital to the success of your small business. But knowing that won't keep your blog well from running dry, will it? How do you keep the ideas flowing and keep from featuring stale, outdated content on your website?

Enter Jessica Swanson, founder and owner of Shoestring Marketing. She published a great list of 50 Blog Topics for Small Business Owners on the Biznik business network that's worth sharing. Of the 50, there were 5 in particular that resonated with me. I'll share those and add my own little bonus (for those keeping count, that's 6 ideas to keep your small business blog posts flowing, as promised).

1. Link to another blog post and offer your unique opinion.
   This is an excellent idea. And, much like this very post, I've turned my comments on other blog posts into posts themselves on the u'bd blog. [No. 25 on Jessica's list]
2. Debunk or challenge a common belief in your industry.
   Yeah, this is great especially if you're passionate about your field. Just be careful of your wording and tone. You don't want to come off like a sandwich board nut. [No. 31 on Jessica's list]
3. Record a 3-5 minute podcast or audio and post it.
   This is something you'll be seeing soon on the u'bd blog. If you're thinking about offering quick audio clips on your blog, Audioboo.fm is a great—and free—resource. [No. 33 on Jessica's list]
4. Create a beginner’s guide for newbies in your niche.
   This is more cleaver than you might think. You may be wondering "do I know enough to blog about it?" The thing is, there are probably plenty of people new to your industry who know less than you. Help them out and establish yourself as a thought leader or virtual mentor in the process! [No. 42 on Jessica's list]
5. Tell your small business story...why you do what you do.
   Yeah, I mean, who doesn't need a little inspiration. Share your tale. [No. 45 on Jessica's list]

And my personal, bonus add-on...

6. Curate content from great (and maybe little known) sources. What is it to curate content, you ask? Let's chat for a sec about the wonders of content curation.

Content curation, living water to your ailing small business blog

Content curation is the simple act of finding and featuring published blog posts or articles (in part or in full) on your own blog. It's a practice that can add depth to your blog's content mix as you borrow from recognized thought leaders in your industry, or new, innovative thinkers struggling with exposure.

And yes, with proper link credit back to the source of your find, content curation is legal, is allowed and is even welcomed by smart bloggers and content creators. Those individuals will jump at the chance to increase their visibility on the internet by having their content published in more than one location on the internet. Undoubtedly a win, win situation for your small business blog and their content.

Two-cent tip

Remember that the vast majority of bloggers on the internet today are pretty approachable. So if you're nervous about the idea of featuring someone else's content on your small business blog, reach out to the author via email or Twitter. Let them know you'd like to feature their great work on your blog and assure them you'll provide proper link credit back to their blog.

Also, use content curation in moderation. You'll want to maintain your own, unique voice for your blog and your small business brand. You also don't ever want to be mistaken for a content scraper; which is a website that features no original content of its own. That's a bad idea for all sorts of reasons, but in recent news Google announced plans to really crack down on ranking content scrapers in search results.

Otherwise, keep those blog posts flowing and make sure you publish clear and proper credit linking back to the source. Do not pretend you authored the content you found. No one like a plagiarist—except for maybe copyright lawyers.

What's your story?

Do you have a 7^th idea? How do you keep the flow of new blog posts going on your website?

Categories: Blogging, Business , Content Strategy