It’s the beginning of 2011 and many businesses now have blogs that have not been updated since the middle of December. For the new year, here are three post ideas to give your business blog a head start in 2011.
List the top 3 to 5 blog posts that generated the most traffic or discussion
Lists attract traffic. And writing about your top posts of 2010 is an easy and effective way to engage new and returning visitors. I always find myself drawn to reading this type of pos. It appeals to me for two reasons: I want to know what other people find important, how that relates to what I believe is important, and I want to make sure I didn’t miss any big events. I’m invariably surprised at how many things I have missed when I read “Top 10 news stories” type posts. They can give a successful post a second life from new visitors who have yet to read it.
Write predictions for 2011 for your product, service, or industry
An easy way to create credibility for your company and industry is to create a well-written, authoritative blog post that analyzes trends and makes predictions for industry performance in 2011. Prediction posts always generate discussion. And discussion can generate links, not to mention visits, from potential customers who may consider prediction posts when making a decision.
Prediction and trend posts can benefit your business by indirectly generating press for your blog. Imagine if a reporter who is searching for housing market predictions lands on your real estate or financial blog and then uses it as a source for an article they write.
Reflect on 2010 and compare expectations with reality
If your industry was forecast to have a great or dismal year, what actually happened? Look back at news articles in early 2010 and late 2009 that made predictions about your industry and see whether those predictions came true. It’s always interesting to look back and compare forecasts with actual outcome.
If you critique a specific blogger, you might want to send an email to them letting them know about your post because they may link to it as an update to the original post or a mini-post along the lines of “Remember last year when I said that … well here’s a post that discusses what actually happened.”