You know that blogging can help grow your home service business by attracting new leads and customers online - but how are you supposed to come up with blog post ideas? And how will anyone notice them if you write about the same old stuff as everyone else?
For your blog to get attention from potential customers, you need to find topics homeowners care about (but that haven’t been written about yet!).
Use this proven strategy for coming up with blog topic ideas so that people pay attention to what you have to say.
The Benefits of Blogging for Business
Blogging is a great way for people to find contractors and home service providers. These days, blogs are how we search for information on the internet.
They help us research important topics and understand new processes faster than ever before.
A blog helps customers understand what you do in detail; it makes them feel like they can trust you with their home’s needs. In other words: it makes the decision easier when deciding who to hire!
Blogs have the power to transform how people find you as well. With a quality blog, your website will have a better shot at ranking on page 1 of Google results, helping you increase the rate of visitors finding you through organic searches.
By providing helpful content that addresses their common questions about construction, maintenance and other home improvements, you have an opportunity to build trust with new and existing customers, in addition to generating leads.
And don’t forget about social media — a shareable blog gives you more content to post on Facebook and Instagram, creating a fantastic opportunity to get in front of even more potential customers!
Choose a Topic That Interests Your Audience
Blogging is a great return on investment, but only if you write about topics people want to read. And even more important — that the people who read your blogs are the types of people who will hire you!
When you write a blog, you need to understand who your audience is so you can write about topics that interest them. For contractors and home service companies, homeowners are your target demographic.
But consider the specifics of this demographic as it relates to your local market and your ideal customer. Consider the points on the image below:
Factors like age, income level, the age of their home and family size should help you figure out what topics suit their current needs and lifestyle.
If your target demographic is younger families who recently bought their first home, you might focus on small home improvements and DIY projects that can save them time and money.
If you’re targeting active retirees who are looking to age in place, you might focus on topics around making a home safe, functional, and comfortable.
These are two very different audiences and require two very different approaches.
Having a good understanding of your perfect customer will help you write content that appeals to the right people!
Think like your customer – what would they care about? Write down 10 things people might want help with in their homes, then brainstorm blogs based off those needs and interests.
Find Out What Topics Are Trending
It’s so important to be on top of what your customers care about right now. Find out the latest news or trends that homeowners are talking about and write about those topics.
There are countless ways to do this, but here are a few strategies that I’ve found work really well.
Set up a Google alert:
A Google Alert will send you an email every time your chosen keyword (or keywords) is mentioned in the media. Here's how to set up an alert.
Follow social media:
Follow local influencers on Instagram who might post photos of their latest kitchen renovation project - this could give you creative ideas for topics that are trending in your area. Also follow your competitors. You can gain valuable insight about who they are targeting and how.
Search hashtags:
Searching through hashtags can yield great results because people tend to use these tags when they want others with similar interests to see what’s going on in their life.
Depending on your ideal customer, try searching hashtags like #homeownership, #firsthome, #renovations, #DIY, and then sorting by the “most recent” tab.
Study Pinterest:
Head to Pinterest and do a search for topics related to homeownership, maintenance, renovations, etc.
Use search tools:
Answer The Public and Quora are a great resource for finding out what your audience cares about. Type your industry or a service you offer in the search bar and get a list of results people are actively searching for.
Ask your customers:
This is an excellent way to get ideas that are tailored specifically to your ideal customer and their needs! All of these methods can help you come up with good blog topics, but nothing beats just asking the people who know best!
Write a Searchable and Shareable Title
Once you’ve decided on a topic, you need to come up with a title. It should be as descriptive and search-friendly as possible.
A good title should include your main keyword or keyword phrase, and should be about 60 characters; ranging between 8 and 14 words.
Include emotional words or power words in your blog title to attract attention. This will attract attention and make your blog more shareworthy.
Try Googling your title to make sure the topic and title don’t already have several similar blogs online. If there are lots of other blog on that topic, you’ll want to come up with a new angle or create a much more comprehensive blog than the others (more on that shortly).
This will give readers a reason to click on your blog instead of the others, and it will give search engines a reason to rank your blog higher than others that are already performing well
Rewrite a Blog and Make It Way Better
If you’ve found a topic you want to write about, but other content already exists on this topic, you’ll need to make your blog better than what’s already out there.
To do this, you’ll need to add more content that the reader will care about and be willing to read for a longer time period.
It seems like most home service company blogs are very short, around 500 words. So you have a unique opportunity to stand out if you write content that is between 1000 and 2000 words.
Long-form content tends to rank higher anyway, so you’re doing your website a favor by writing longer blogs that will be more likely to show up on page 1 of the search results.
To improve and expand on a blog topic, consider these questions:
Can you interview an expert on the topic?
Can you include testimonials, making it more like a case study?
Do you have a unique or controversial opinion you could offer?
Could you explore new trends that relate to the topic?
Have new statistics come out that changed the validity of the topic?
If it’s a “how to” style blog, can you go more in-depth on the process?
Do you have relevant pictures showcasing your own work that you could include to add context?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it should be easier to find blog topics that will interest your readers and help them understand the topic better.
It’ll also show people how knowledgeable you are on a niche subject. That’s when they’re more likely to trust what you have to offer as a professional.
Blogging is a great way to attract homeowners to your company’s website. And finding unique but relevant topics to write about is what will set you apart from the competition.
I hope these ideas help you get started or improve an existing blog in order to generate more leads online!
Now its your turn - how do you come up with blog topics that are unique or exciting for your reader? Tell me in the comments!