The most important step in creating content is figuring out what your audience wants to read. 

Audiences come to trusted brands for their information. In fact, 65% of daily internet users read blogs. It could be YOUR blog if you make it easy for them to find it.

And yes, while blogs can assist you with the effective promotion of a service or product, they do more to build your businesses credibility, trust and authority. 

However, if you're still about the ROI:

• 63% of people turn to blogs to influences their purchase decisions.
• 60% of U.S. online consumers say they've made a purchase as a direct result of reading a blogger's recommendation.

Continue reading how to build content your readers want.

All companies should have a blog to help tell the story of your brand. Espoma's blog helps answer common questions and insights on how to garden, with some of their products sprinkled in between the tips.

Costa Farms’ blog focuses on decorating and the benefits of houseplants. Garden Media has a blog helping others learn the tricks of garden public relations, but you already knew that :)

The first step, even before you think about the design of your blog, is to think about what kind of content you will write. Who is your audience? 

• Create an Audience Profile: Before you come up with content ideas, you have to determine the profile of who you are writing for. Hubspot calls these Buyer personas and says they will help you understand your customers (and prospective customers) better. Creating a buyer persona makes it easier for you to tailor your content, messaging, product development, and services to the specific needs, behaviors, and concerns of different groups. 
• Brainstorm Ideas: Think of the top 10 questions you get asked about your product or industry. One of our favorite influencers, Marcus Sheridan, calls these the Big 5. Blog topics that are guaranteed to drive traffic, leads, & sales.
  • Cost and Price
  • Problems/Issues
  • Vs/Comparisons
  • Reviews
  • The best
• Reach Out to Your Sales People: They interact the most with your customers, garden centers and clients. So your sales people know the problems your customers have and why they bought the product. If the problem is something your product/service solves, write about it.
• Find Trends, Create a Series: If the same few questions continuously pop up, create a series of blogs that can help educate your audience about something relevant. For example, winter is rough on trees so The Davey Tree Expert Company writes various posts about how to handle and care for a tree during the winter.
• Create Better Content: Don’t just throw a blog together for the sake of blogging. Be sure that the content your company is putting out is quality content readers want or need.

Is your company ready to blog, but don’t have the time? Call us. We can handle all of your content needs.