Blog Ideas for Your Content Marketing Plan

Written by: Gary Horsman

Blog Ideas for Your Content Marketing Plan

Good bloggers work from a plan. This plan defines content that the blogger feels will be of interest to their audience and provides value to readers. It make things easier and more effective to work from a plan. In the long run a plan makes your blog better and saves you time.

Here are 7 ideas that I recommend you consider for your blog content marketing plan. You will have better content which leads to improved SEO, higher authority and more and better business!

The Case Study

A case study shows how a problem has been solved. Define a problem you often see that your clients struggle with and show how this problem has been successfully solved. Keep it short and to the point. Use bullet points to make it easy to read and understand.

For your SEO select a phrase that someone may actually type into Google to find a solution to the problem. Use this phrase in the URL, the Title, the Meta Title and the Meta Description. Use an image with this file name (ensure it makes sense) and use the phrase as the alt text for the image.

If you can provide a solution then end with a call to action or something that leads the reader to learn more about your solution.

Be informative and not promotional. Also, you want to make a case that you have the solution. Do not make the case study a full-blown “how-to” post on and provide every detail about how to solve the problem. Make it clear that you can guide (consult) or completely solve the problem for them.

The List of Bests

Best lists are — drum roll please – — the best. People love these types of lists. They like to see what is considered best practice and to see examples. There are countless options in this category, including best tools, best tips, best resources, best blogs . . .

For you SEO consider a best list topic that relates nicely to your specific business. The topic could again high light your work or your solutions.

As you make your list know well that to curate materials from other locations is good for your SEO. Google loves “hub” content that enables a reader to find multiple interesting items by visiting a single “hub” page. Make the links more SEO worthy by using keyword phrases get more creative and leverage the links for your own SEO by using something other than “click here” or “visit website”. You can make the text links relate nicely to the main SEO phrase for the post.

The Step-by-Step

Like best lists, step-by-step posts are helpful for readers because you walk them through how to implement a business solution from start to finish. The step-by-step post does not have to provide all the nitty-gritty details but rather can again show the reader the main steps in the process and indicate that you have the solution.

For your SEO you can again use a phrase that someone would use if they were searching for a solution to a specific problem or issue. It is always good for SEO to be niche-focused as it is easier to be found for a niche topic and if someone is searching specifically to find a solution to a specific problem then they will be particularly interested in your post.

The Pop Culture Tie-in

Blogging on something related to a trending pop culture item is a great way to increase the SEO value of your posts. Be sure it is in good taste. Use Google Trends to follow what’s popular and brainstorm how one of those topics could fit into your theme.

This can be wonderful for your SEO. I wrote a blog post on content marketing but tied it to the great Twinkie Crisis of November 2012. I connected the idea of content marketing to the ingredients used to make a Hostess Twinkie. It worked!

I also received a very significant increase in traffic (for about 2 days) because of this post. I must also note that the not all the traffic was valuable to me as many people were searching for ingredients for the Hostess Twinkie but it demonstrates how with a trending topic and some cleaver thinking that high search position and higher traffic levels can be achieved. The ones that were interested in content marketing (and the Hostess Twinkie) seemed to appreciate the way I had connected the two topics in the post.

Industry Changes and Industry Trends

At any point in time you can share your insights into market changes and trends, technology changes or even specific business trends. Both your clients and potential clients will benefit from your insights.

This type of post also helps to demonstrate your authority and helps to project your expertise into your marketplace. For your SEO this is valuable as Google likes to display authoritative content.

Moreover, this type of content can produce in-coming links as others want to  share your insights with their readers. Again, this helps your SEO.

The Influencer Tips

Of course you want to be the expert on your blog. However, experts know other experts. Experts like to hang out with other experts (even if only online). If you can bring some other industry experts into your blog then this further establishes your credibility.

After all, a serious experts will not want to be displayed on a light weight or low quality blog.

For your SEO this can help again by gaining in-coming links. Expert guest bloggers will certainly promote the post and help to provide in-coming links.

The ideas here are endless. Consider a post on how to use YouTube to establish authority.

The Title could be “How to Use YouTube to Gain Qualified Leads” with comments from industry pros on how they do it. Get a few cool ideas from your industry-pro friends and you will have a very nice and valuable post.

Make sure to include links the contributors’ blogs and social media handles. They will return the favor.

The Guest Post

Similar to numbers to the Influencer Tips idea (above), the guest post is a good way to build relationships with other industry pros and bloggers. It also provides your readers with a fresh perspective on your topic and reduces your brainstorming and writing time. To make sure your guest posts are valuable, set some guidelines ahead of time and confirm the post’s angle and direction with your fellow blogger so you know it’s the right fit.

Consider using some or all of these ideas in your blogging plan. These ideas will help you to make connections, provide solid SEO and help to increase your authority.