We recently shared quick ways to refresh your business website without a blog. For those of you who do maintain a blog for your business or brand, don’t worry — we have tips for you, too! Here are a few ideas you can use and reshape to fit your needs.
Use prompts liberally
WordPress.com Go has more resources. Here are more ideas on what to write about.
You don’t need to generate your own blog post ideas — that’s what prompts are for! Scour the internet for inspiration, like this list of 50 ideas at Entrepreneur and this list of 56 ideas at LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to tweak a post idea so it makes sense for you and your business.
Take your cue from events and holidays
Learn more about editorial calendars.
Pay attention to upcoming events, holidays, and seasonal activities so you can publish timely posts. It might be helpful to draft a yearlong editorial calendar pre-filled with post ideas, so you’re ready for occasions like Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
But don’t limit yourself to traditional events and holidays. To celebrate the total solar eclipse on August 21, for example, wool product maker Pendleton published a post on their collection of child-size blankets to help “celebrate a baby born during the eclipse year.”
Experiment with short formats
If you’re short on time, aim for posts that are informative and succinct. Consider quotes, for example. Are you a yoga instructor? Share an inspirational saying from a recent article you read and briefly explain why it resonates with you. Are you a financial advisor? Share a piece of tax advice from an expert in your field that you think your clients will find useful.
Similar to sharing quotes, curating links is a way to generate relevant content. If you run a small farm and read a lot about organic gardening, solar solutions, and other agriculture news, publish “Top Five Reads of the Week” or “Trends We’re Following Now” posts where you compile interesting reads about your industry.
To create quotes and lists, use the blockquote and list tools in your Visual editor.
Creating a list with a specific number of points is another way to format a post. Write a “Today’s Top Three” post highlighting your three top-selling products. Or share a “Five Gifts for Your Family” feature in time for the holidays. Use bullet points or a numbered list, which make ideas easier to compile. See examples of listicles on the blog of Squirrels & Bears, a small business consulting firm.
Start a weekly post series
How often should you post? Find your rhythm.
If you’d like to maintain a regular posting schedule but don’t want to keep whipping up new ideas, establish an ongoing series. “Ongoing” doesn’t have to mean “often” — instead, aim for a frequency that makes sense to you and stick to that schedule.
In “Customer of the Month,” for example, ask a long-time customer to answer a few questions: What do they like about the store? What’s their favorite product? Or in a “Meet the Staff” series, profile your employees. You can also flip this around — in “Ask Me Anything” posts, let employees take turns interviewing you, and publish a deep-dive series on the business — how it came to be, what it’s like to work there from day to day, and how you envision it will grow.
You could also highlight your inventory with a “Product Spotlight” series. Each week, take a photo of the most popular item of the moment and tell readers more about it. Or consider a “Behind the Scenes” series, in which you try one of these techniques to invite people in for a closer look into a certain aspect of the business.
Learn how to add categories and display them in a menu.
Whatever you decide, create categories to keep your posts organized and easy to find in a menu, as shown on the blog of The Bicycle Escape, a family-owned bike shop in Maryland.
Invite readers and fans to participate
Another approach is to accept submissions from the community. If you manage a small online shop for your art or jewelry, think of the types of quick posts that your readers and fans can contribute from afar, like “What I Bought” or “My Favorite Find.”
One way to collect this feedback is through a page on your website with a contact form, from which you can accept submissions. Check out the “Share Your Story” page on the Ruffwear blog to see a contact form in action. Include introductory text and submission instructions at the top of the page so readers know exactly what you’re looking for.
Share a photo of the day
Download the WordPress app so you can share photos on your blog from your iOS or Android device.
If you don’t have time to sit down and write a post, sharing an image can be a quicker alternative. If you’re on the sales floor of your store amid lots of customers browsing the racks, or just finished updating the store window with new outfits for fall, snap a picture on your phone, then post it to your blog with a caption.
Use Instagram often? You can also embed your latest Instagram photos in blog posts. With this method, you can repurpose existing Instagram shots on your blog whenever you’d like — and promote your Instagram account to your readers at the same time. Your embedded photo will look something like this:
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Thanks for the ideas 💡
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