“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis
In 2017, the US was among the top 3 countries with the highest number of internet users. More than 300 million (or roughly 95% of our population) use the internet. This means your customers and prospects are most likely online now.
Auto body shops live off customer relations. You strive to satisfy and delight your customers with the services you offer. And what better way to nurture and reach out to your online current and potential customers but with content?
Statistics show that 47% of customers consume 3-5 pieces of content before purchasing a service or product. One of the best ways to create content is through blogging.
But here’s the catch. Writing blogs is one thing. Coming up with fresh and engaging blog topics is another. Everyone is susceptible to a drought of blog ideas. Coming up with blog topics can get pretty hard sometimes.
Collision Websites wants you to have an awesome auto body shop website and maintain good online customer relations. We compiled 6 effective blog ideas sources you can use to keep your website content running.
Source 1. Your Audience’s Questions
People search the internet for answers to their questions. Every question searched by your target audience can be a possible blog topic. You must identify the questions your target audience is asking. What are the issues they need help with? What exactly are they looking for?
The most effective way to keep track of your audience queries is through keyword research. As explained by MOZ, keyword research is a core search engine optimization (SEO) task. Through keyword research, you can identify the words and/or phrases your target audience enters into search engines. These words and phrases are the questions – and a great source of blog topics.
Every keyword can be a blog idea. You just have to be creative with the angle, format and your writing approach.
Source 2. Existing Resources
Another good source of blog post ideas is industry news and books. You’ll want to keep your audience updated with the latest industry news or trends. There’s a new method for paintless dent repair (PDR), for example? Write about it.
Subscribe to feeds and/or newsletters to get the latest news and updates. There are many ways you can utilize industry news for your content. Expand on or summarize the news. Voice your opinion and ask your audience for their own insights.
Non-fiction books can also be a great source of blog ideas. Books are a great source of valuable information, studies, anecdotes, and cases.
We understand you may be busy running your auto body shop. You can utilize books for your content by skimming through the table of contents. Chapter titles can spark ideas. You can also try apps like Blinkist which summarize whole books for you.
Source 3. Industry Experts and Competitors
Websites for other auto body shops and industry experts make another great source of topics. Borrow ideas and make them yours by making them better. It’s not plagiarism if you get inspiration from their blogs and create your own unique content.
Check out their blog posts. Did they write something you haven’t yet? Or do you find any blog posts you think you can expand on or write better? If those blog topics are working for them, then they can work for you too. Read blogs from industry experts and your own competitors and try to match or even surpass them.
You can also search for influencers (people who can influence your target audience) to help you out. Most influencers are always glad to – and more than willing to – help. Reach out and ask for a quote or an interview.
It will give your blog and your business even more credibility. If the industry expert or influencer is promoting something, they can also appear in your blog at no cost. They may also promote your blog post in their own blogs — a win-win situation.
Source 4. Your Own Blog Posts and Ideas
Utilize your existing blog posts and ideas. You can get new and fresh blog posts from your existing topics by doing any of the following.
- Update old posts. If you have a time-based blog post, maybe it needs some update. For example, “Auto Body Paint Trends 2015” definitely needs an update.
- Make a series. You can divide a blog idea into two or more blog posts. Make every post complete on its own, but make sure they go well together as a series.
- Try a new format. You can incorporate new formatting into your existing blog posts. Make a checklist, an infographic, a guide, etc. Change the angle of your post depending on the new format you’re introducing.
- Turn it to a negative. Most writers tend to stick with positive headlines when it comes to blogging. For a change, create a negative version of an existing post or idea. “What To Do After A Fender Bender” can be “Things You Shouldn’t Do After A Fender Bender.”
Source 5. Blog Topic Generators
Try online blog topic generators if the above sources don’t work for you. You can try free online tools like Hubspot’s Blog Ideas Generator, Buzzsumo and Portent’s Content Idea Generator. Identify the keywords you want to focus on, input them in their generators and they’ll come up with blog titles you can work with.
Source 6. Outsource
Your auto body shop requires most of your time. If you’re too busy to personally handle your content marketing, you can hire expert writers to help you with your content, keyword research, outreach, and SEO. Outsourcing your content specialist is a relatively small investment that offers high ROI results. Contact Collision Websites to get help with blog writing for your website.
Other tips:
- Blog ideas can come to you at random times and often when you least expect it. Make sure to write them down on a piece of paper or in the notes on your phone.
- Create a document where you can save and easily update your ideas, like Google Docs or spreadsheet.
- Brainstorm with your team. The more brains, the more topics you can come up with.
High-quality content and blogs help auto body shops like yours maintain good relations with your online audience. You can learn more about your audience and cater more to their needs through blogging. Your content, both new and old, can attract, engage, and convert readers into customers, build trust, and establish relationships.