Discover 11 Blog Topics That Will Get Every Small Business Owner Writing Today

“Business Blogging.” This is by no means a new buzz-word. In fact, blogging is fast becoming a tried and true marketing tool for businesses big and small to reach customers online (yes, eMarketer projects over 96 million blog readers in 2009). Despite the apparent trends, there are countless business owners who still don’t realize the power of blogging. There are more businesses yet that know the power of blogging but ask themselves, “What does my business have to blog about?” I’m going to share with you 11 blog topics that will get you writing – today – creating a blog that’s a valuable and engaging resource for your customers.

11 Blog Topics for Small Business Owners

1. State and Discuss Your Tag Line or Mission Statement:

   Every business has (or should have) a descriptive tag line or more importantly – a mission statement. For most of us, this statement of purpose drives our actions and has special meaning. Share that with your readers! You will show them how much you care. If you have a multi-point mission statement, break it up over several days. Give yourself, and your readers, time to digest the meaning of each point individually (plus, it’s that much more blog fodder).

2. Write About What’s Going Well and Not So Well:

   Most of us don’t really consider the daily minutia of our business to be all that fascinating. The trials and tribulations are our own, we’ve learned from them and have grown/adapted accordingly. I would argue that those details, both the good and the bad, show the human side of you and your business. Giving them a peak behind the proverbial curtain will connect them to you in a meaningful, human way.

3. Developing a New Product or Service? Write About It:

   This topic requires something of a disclaimer. When developing a new product or service, there may be details that you can’t share – either legally or in an effort to keep your competitors away from that information. So, consider this topic carefully. If you can’t actively blog about the detailed experience of creating a new product, perhaps you can instead build anticipation for your new product in a more general fashion. Talk about what’s behind door #1 without opening the door, so to speak.

4. Explain How Your Product or Service Benefits Customers:

   Benefits make the world go ’round. At least that’s what I believe. A product or service is useless to any customer if they don’t understand how it will help or benefit them in some way. Without writing a page-long sales pitch, describe the benefits of your product. Depending on the number of benefits your product has (it could be many!), and the number of products you have – this topic alone could fill your blog post queue for some time.

5. Announce Sales, Promotions and Special Events:

   I love to state the obvious. Always have. And in keeping with personal traditions, this one is a no-brainer. If you’re having a sale, promotion or ANY type of special event – blog about it. I could write a post on this topic and the potential benefits, but I’ll save that for another day. Just suffice it to say, if something’s on sale, tell your readers.

6. Have Burning Questions? Solicit Comments or Conduct a Survey:

   I’ve never met anyone who was genuinely clairvoyant. None of us are mind readers, however much we wish we were. So, whenever you have questions that only your customers can answer – there’s only one way to get the answer. Ask your customers! This is really one of the greatest assets of a blog for small businesses: easy access to your customer base. This could be as simple as writing a brief post containing your question and soliciting feedback via comments. Or if you would like more quantitative data, set up a survey. Tools like Survey Gizmo (and others) make it super simple to create, launch and record results from surveys.

7. Utilize That Cache of Customer Testimonials and Post Away:

   This topic assumes that you’ve been gathering customer testimonials. If you haven’t, add that to your list of priorities! Customers are your most effective sales force. So, take the positive (or maybe not-so-positive, but constructive) testimonials and post them to your blog. The rest of your readers will appreciate the gesture and will like you even more.

8. Get Topical by Providing Commentary on Your Industry’s News:

   Your industry is changing. Seems simple enough, right? Write posts that share that news with your readers. Though don’t stop at merely repeating the news, add your own commentary – your 2 cents. If it’s good news, explain how that news will influence your products or services. If it’s bad news, explain how resilient you are and that you aren’t going anywhere!

9. Leverage Social Media to Capture Customer Response and Blog About It:

   Blogging is a great way to connect with your customer base. Social media is yet another. The environment within the various social networking sites makes it quite easy to participate or start conversations. If you’re in need of a quick topic – hop into Twitter or Facebook and ask a question. One of 2 things will happen: the responses will be so great you can just post them directly to your blog OR someone will say something that inspires your next post. Another topic checked off the list.

10. Post a Response to Another Blog Post in Agreement or Disagreement:

    There are likely several other business owners in your niche that are blogging, too. Read their blogs, participate on their blogs, etc. As you read those blogs, look for areas where you agree, disagree or just simply don’t understand their viewpoint. Write a response on your own blog that links back to the original article. Make sure that you extend the conversation with your own viewpoint – don’t merely re-publish. Be careful of disagreements, and remember to be respectful (unless you intend to burn bridges permanently): be prepared to back up your stance.

11. Make Lists: Best-Of, Who’s-Who, Favorite Products:

    I’ve added this as a bonus of sorts. If you get desperate and feel like maybe you’ve reached the bottom of the barrel, go for this type of topic. Create lists about the best blogs in your industry, the most notable people in your industry, the 5 biggest influences on your business or simply a list of your favorite products or services. Always remember that you should be adding value when writing a blog post. If you create a list, explain why those items are important to you so that your readers will find them important, too.

These 11 topics will get you and your small business out of the gate and running into the world of blogging. Let me reiterate, this will get you started. As you begin writing, you’ll find that topics will come to you – seemingly out of nowhere. This is the sign that you have officially caught the blogging bug. But if you resist the bug either out of a sincere lack of creativity or just plain stubbornness, have no fear. I would highly recommend that you check out the following resources to keep your creative juices flowing:

55 Post and Topic Ideas for Your Business Blog

50 Blog Post Ideas for Business Blogging

Where to Get Ideas From for Your Business Blog

How to Generate Post Ideas When You Are Stuck

With that, I’ll leave all of you to your writing. As you strike out on your new adventure, remember that blogging should be fun! Write as yourself, and be relatable. And a business blog can be a powerful marketing tool so long as you remain vigilant on writing blog posts that provide value to and engage your readers and potential customers. Good luck!

Photo courtesy of Kristina B at Flickr.