10 Favorite Business Blog Post Ideas

Starting a business blog is one of the most effective marketing tools that you can use for your business.  It’s the perfect way to build your audience, create a community of buyers and promote your product without always feeling like you’re selling.

The thing is that business owners are busy and starting a blog – any blog – is hard work.  Coming up with new and effective business blog post ideas is hard work.  But it is one of the few marketing tools that I’ve seen pay off over the years.

Social media will come and go, paying for ads will sometimes work (and sometimes be a huge waste of money), but your business blog posts will last forever.

And when the business blog post is written effectively, you create a space where you can feature your product, capture the interest of new customers and give your shop a presence on the Internet for many years to come.

You also create content that can easily be shared.  Whether a potential customer finds your business blog post while searching Pinterest or your idea is included in a magazine article in a major publication (happens more often than you think), writing business blog posts gives you and your business an entire new reach.

Very few marketing tools have that kind of power.

One of the reasons blogging takes so much time, though, is that people aren’t sure what to write.  When I started my first business blog – Confetti Diaries – I wrote mostly personally blurbs about being a new mom.  I had just discovered blogging and loved it.  But not for the right reasons.

The blog became a place where I shared what I was doing (almost a daily diary), what my child had learned and life in a big city.  Not really about my business at all.

As for a marketing tool for my business, it wasn’t a very good to say the least.  Luckily through writing that blog, I was able hone my writing skills more.  So not all was lost.  

Once I opened my shop on Etsy and the web, I created a real business blog instead.  It was attached to my shop.  I started out by sharing blog posts in almost a press release style about our new products.

But I soon realized that these types of business blog posts didn’t capture the attention of my audience. They were too focused on direct selling and not enough about telling a story.

I needed something more creative to keep my customers’ interested in my shop and products. 

So here are my favorite types of business blog post ideas to use on your business blog.  Hopefully they’ll give you ideas for your shop’s blog and help you share your product to your audience in a whole new way.  

The DIY Post

DIY means do it yourself and this type of blog post does exactly that.  It shows your readers how to do something themselves.  From making a holiday decoration to learning a wood carving project, your blog post needs to teach something.

DIY posts are a wonderful way to feature your products without selling.  Choose a project related to a product that you sell and create a how to about it.

For example if you sell jewelry, you could create a wooden jewelry holder to hold all of the beautiful pieces that they can purchase from your shop. If you aren’t sure how to make a jewelry holder, you could always ask someone that does to guest post on your blog.

At the end of the post, you can mention some of your products related to the DIY project.

For a DIY blog post, you need to include photos of the different project steps.  People tend to be pretty visual these days, so they like to see how to do something.

If you’re good at video, you could also create a DIY video showing how to make the project.

The Round Up Post

A round up post is a great way to share your products and everyone else’s at the same time. 

But why would I want to share someone else’s work too?  By sharing others’ work you build relationships with them.  Other bloggers and shop owners get to know you through the round up post and are  more willing to share your products on their blogs.

To create a round up post, choose a theme or topic related to your business.  Once you decide on the theme, find the items or ideas to feature in the post.  Make a list of all of your ideas. 

Most round up posts include 10 to 15 different links or products.  You can write a round up post with more, but it takes a lot longer to organize the post.

Again, please note, that you must have permission from the blogger or other shop in order to feature a photo of that item.  You can feature just a link, though, if you can’t obtain permission to use the photo.

Then you write the post.  Create a pin featuring all of the different links to help readers know different ideas they

The Freebie Post

It’s no secret… I love freebie posts.  This type of business blog post is my most successful to finding new customers.

Everyone loves a freebie.  So why not share yours through your blog.  It’s a great way to get potential customers to keep coming back and build a positive relationship with potential buyers.

A freebie post is easy to write too.  Once you create your freebie, take some photos of it.  Then write about why you created it and your inspiration for it.

Keep in mind that it isn’t time efficient or helpful to your sales to create freebies without a purpose.  Before making your freebie, decide on what product you want to promote with the freebie.

For example, I created freebie golf cupcake flags to promote our golf party designs.  I included links to our golf party designs throughout the post.  The purpose of the post was to draw readers who were throwing a golf themed party.  These readers also needed other party designs, so sales for our golf party designs increased.

Make sure you also link to the free download in the post.  It’s never looks good to receive emails from disgruntled readers because downloads are missing.  Been there.

The Lifestyle Post

If you have a product that can be shown off, this type of post might be perfect for you.  A lifestyle post incorporates your product and how it solves a real life problem.

For example, if you sell jewelry, you could write a post about the best outfit to wear New Year’s Eve – highlighting the jewelry piece – or versatile summer jewelry pieces you need in your collection.

This post is all about the action.  When thinking about ideas, consider the product you want to highlight and how your customers’ use it.

No ideas? You can always reach out to past customers and just ask.  Find out when they wore an item or how they used a design in their homes.  This is great market research.

The Behind the Scenes

One of the purposes of your blog is to let potential customers get to know your business and art better.  A friend of mine runs an modern art studio – Christy Kill Art.  She does a wonderful job sharing the process behind her art on social media.

In her content creation, she showcases the skills she’s learning to become better at her job, how the landscape of Iceland inspires her and her methods of packaging her art work so it will arrive safely to her customers across the Atlantic.

Even if you have a messy office and chaotic work lifestyle because of family, think about how you can feature elements of your business in a blog post.  I love showing different art and writing projects we work on together as a family in the studio.  I’ve also shared my studio renovation to give customers a behind the scenes view of my work space.  

Customers love seeing what your space and work look like behind the scenes.  This type of post helps them get to know you better.

The Something about You

Not only do customers want to learn about your work space and process, but they also want to find out more about you.  Customers are very curious about who is behind creating their new favorite products.

Understandably.  We live in a big box store kind of world where there is a huge disconnect between the consumer and buyer.  Normally, we don’t know anything about the person who designed the art print for your child’s room or made the Baptism gift for your niece.

Etsy, the Internet and creative entrepreneurs have turned that concept on it’s head.  Suddenly, you can get to know about your favorite artist, designer, potter and knitter just by visiting their website.

Alicia Paulson does an amazing job telling her audience about herself and life on her blog Posie Gets Cozy.  She sells embroidery patterns and kits to stitch in her shop.

But her blog is all about how she embraces simple living, a love of sewing and enjoying the good life.  She’s created an unforgettable brand through her photography and world view.  It makes you want to jump right in.

Seeing her blog posts gets me thinking that if I just took up sewing – and purchased her sewing kits – my world could look just as peaceful.  Although this probably isn’t true, the feeling is there.  And that feeling has kept me going back to her website and shop for the last ten years.

The Frequently Asked Question

Do you have a question that your customers are always asking you?

For me it was about water bottle labels.  I received questions constantly on the size of water bottles to use, how to print them, cut them and attach them.

When I started my shop, I used to write each customer an individual email about water bottle label creation.  That, of course, took way too much time. Then I created a template response, but I wanted to include photos, which I couldn’t.

My solution was to write a blog post about it.  The blog post answered the question, provided a photo tutorial and I could even include affiliate links to my favorite water bottle label paper (which created some passive income).

I included the post in a section of my website called “Tutorials”, making these types of posts easy to find.  They have become some of our most read posts on our business blog.  Turns out that customers really wanted to learn how to make water bottle labels.

If you have a question that customers ask a lot.  And not a basic question like shipping information, but a question about how to make something or the origin of a design, write a blog post about it.

The best part about answering the question in the blog post is that it gives you a place to send customers when the question comes up.  You can send them the link to the post in an email or Etsy conversation.

The other win is that you’re now sending them to your website without begging.  Many times customers will browse your other work and sign up for your mailing list.  All because you answered their question.

The Customer Spotlight

After you’ve been in business awhile, you’ll find some customers just love you.  They keep coming back over and over ready to buy.

If you have a customer that has been really loyal or found a creative way to use your products, write a blog post about him or her.  Talk about how your customer found your shop, uses your products and things he’d like to see in the future.

A customer spotlight post is a great way to share your customer’s favorite products and how they’re used without directly selling.  Plus, featuring some of your most loyal fans gives them a new and creative way to share your product with their connections.  Everyone wants to be featured online these days.

The Sources of Inspiration

One of my favorite days every quarter is my inspiration seeking day.  I go to the city or a local small town, window shop at the shops, check out the art galleries and see what’s popular right now.

These trips are how I find my inspiration and get new ideas for my designs.  I love to feature my adventures on my blog.  My post shares what I discovered and the design ideas that might be in my future.

If you have fun ways that you find inspiration, share them with your audience.  They love to know the origin of their products and how you develop them.

The Social Media Feature

I hear a lot of business owners wondering how to grow their social media followings faster.  Your business blog is a perfect place to feature a Pinterest board, Instagram post or Facebook share.

One idea is to showcase favorite pins from one of your Pinterest boards.  You can link back to your Pinterest board to encourage new followers.  This is a great way to tell customers about other ways to find ideas and collect with your store.  Check out this example of how Chickabug shares her Kids Party Food board in her blog post.  

An important note… if you choose to use images from someone else’s blog post directly in your post (such as creating a pin with the images featured), be sure to contact them directly and read their disclosure on their blog.  These images are copyrighted to them and many do not want them freely shared.  Most bloggers are willing to be included if you contact them first.  But ALWAYS double check to avoid any legal trouble in the future.

You can also feature a recent Instagram or Facebook photo in your blog post.  Your post can share more about the event or photo.  Tell customers about the experience, how you did something, ways you were inspired or anything else that might interest them.

Be sure to link back to your Instagram or Facebook account so they can follow you for more wonderful inspiration.

Final Thoughts…

Your business blog is one of the most important marketing tools that you have. So use it well.

When looking at all of the different types of posts you can write, choose ones that match naturally to your business and personality.  Don’t write DIY posts if you hate making things.

If you have a business blog post idea and don’t have the ability to create it yourself, consider hiring a freelancer to write it for you.  This will save you time that you probably don’t have.

When planning your business blog posts, create a content calendar so you know what to post when.  Schedule different kinds of posts to keep your audience interested.  It’s hard to keep people coming back day after day when you only write one type of blog post.  Even my audience gets bored if I share too many freebies.

Make sure before you write your business blog post that you know your why.  Understand the product that you want to promote and the action you want readers to take.  This helps bring more focus to your writing.

Haven’t set up a business blog yet?  Now’s as good a time as any.  Find out the easy steps for creating your own business blog here.

And remember, the best writing advice I ever received was to “just start”.