How to Keep Your Blog Fresh When Your Topics Have Been Covered Before

Whether your company is new to blogging or you’ve been blogging for years, chances are someone else is blogging about the same topics you are. While this may seem intimidating, finding your own way to say similar things will be the key to your blogging success.

Here are five ways to keep your company blog fresh and relevant, even when your topics have been covered again and again:

1. Infuse your posts with personality – There are customers out there who are the perfect match for your company’s particular approach, values, people and solutions. When you write posts that express who you are as a company and as individuals, those ideal customers can find you. Just as importantly, the ones who are better suited for someone else will stay away.
2. Talk to lots of beginners – It’s easy to convince yourself you know what “the market” wants and needs, but until you talk to real people and actually test your theories, you won’t know for sure. So instead of creating blog content from the perspective of what you think people understand and want to know more about, ask them – directly! Listen to their questions, and note how they describe the topics so you can use that same language.
3. Simplify your ideas – Talking to beginners also helps you see how complex and confusing the subject may seem to them. When you’re immersed in your industry day in and day out, you can forget that your prospective customers haven’t been there with you. Just because information is out there doesn’t mean they’ve seen it. If you can bring it to them in a clear, concise way that’s easy to understand, you’ll get and keep their attention. So forget what you know and help beginners get started on the topic.
4. Seek out related blogs – Instead of ignoring other blogs that cover your company’s topic, hoping they’ll go away, I recommend you look at them – often. As soon as you begin defining your own blogging strategy, start reading, bookmarking and subscribing to similar blogs. Notice what you like, what you don’t like, and what seems to be working well for them. Then continue to monitor the best blogs for content you can learn from, build on, and – yes! – share with your network. This may lead to guest post opportunities, expert interviews, exposure to each other’s audiences on social media, or a rich dialogue that could inspire a multitude of future posts.
5. Use case studies – When you illustrate the facts with examples from your own leadership team, employees, customers and vendors, you bring a personal and unique perspective to any topic. One of my clients who writes about federal contracting often cites examples from bids he and his company have worked on – both successfully and unsuccessfully. This brings credibility to his information and shows how his company employs the practices he blogs about.

Blogging is a powerful tool for attracting new customers who are a good fit for your company. By incorporating your personality, interacting with beginners to your topic, simplifying your content, reading related blogs, and using your own relevant case studies, you’ll find your company’s unique blogging voice and the inspiration to keep singing.

For another look at this topic, check out What Once Was Old is New Again from the Content Mastery Guide archives.