How to Develop A Successful Blog Content Strategy

How to develop a blog content strategy for the readership’s interests.

How would you rate your blogging content strategy? Do you have insight into what you will be researching and blogging for the next quarter? Are the topics coordinated and carefully targeted? Or do you find yourself quickly picking a topic to write and post to meet your deadline?

My personal blogging experience has been based on a content strategy. When I have created posts at the last minute, it is usually driven by corporate marketing redirection/opportunity. The last-minute blog posts rarely turn out to be as well-read as those in the content calendar. In my blogging, I find the same experience and results.

If I have learned one thing, blogging requires a written plan to develop a cohesive message and see measurable results. A blog content strategy gives you the ability to

Define your goals
Research and understand your target audience
Ask and answer the question of “Why do you want to write the content?
Brainstorm, organize and explore different angles of a topic
Expand, merge and delete topics in the content strategy
Create a content calendar/order in which the blog posts will appear
Organize your time and deadlines for completing the content
Define resources you want to research and interview on a topic
Save many hours because you have to focus
Measure against a plan

In this article, let’s want to explore/outline what constitutes a content strategy.

Defining and Setting Goals for Content Strategy

You are going to be spending many hours developing content. You will need to understand and clearly state the “Why, What, and How.” I believe these questions can be answered at a couple of levels

Reason to Exist
Desired Outcomes

Reason to exist. I am talking about the passion needed to give your blog a heart and soul. It’s the difference between creating just a blog and a blog that educates, inspires and entertains. It’s about having a clear understanding of

Why do you want or have a blog?
What’s the purpose of the blog?
What is your mission or cause?
Why are you going to write about specific topics?
Who are you going to be writing for, and why do they care?

These questions are the same for a company blog or personal blog content strategy. It is going to define what you will be communicating from the inside out. Have you ever met someone who thoroughly loves what they do and freely shares their time, talents and experience with others?

In my own life, many names come to mind. There is Bill, a Boy Scout leader who loves the outdoors and believes in mentoring youth. Teresa, a sculptor, spends many hours behind her pottery wheel molding individual works of art from clay. And there is David, a native American flute maker who turns wood into voices in every musical key. These individuals have a clear understanding of the “Why, What, and How.”

Desired outcomes. At this level, you will define the “Why, What, and How” for the content you will post in the blog. From a personal blog perspective

Do you want to generate leads for personal services?
Do you want to share your passion, hobby, cause with others?
Do you want to build a brand around your name?
Do you have a cause that is important to you?
Do you want to educate?
Do you want to monetize your blog?

From a commercial blog, you will be reviewing questions such as

Do you want to increase customer foot traffic?
Do you want to increase leads and sales?
Do you want to educate your target audience on what you do?
Do you want to share your upcoming events?
Are you going to focus on the local, regional, national, or international level?
Do you want to build your brand?

I suggest you choose no more than three goals from the desired outcomes-focused. Once you have these goals, it’s time to take them one step further and make them very specific. For example, “Increase sales by 10% by December 31.”

Understand Your Target Audience Content Strategy

Understanding the target audience’s content strategy is about conducting market research. This research helps you see in your minds precisely who you are going to be writing. Have you ever played the game, Pin the Tail on the Donkey or tried to hit a Pinata? A blindfold is placed over your eyes in both cases, and it’s up to you to navigate your way. Sometimes your close, and other times you are way off the mark.

Without a clear understanding of your target audience, your blog post can be near or way off the mark. Before you write any blog post, you need to know your audience and why they want to read what you posted. The more you know your audience, the better you will be at seeing where you are going. It’s very much like taking the blindfold off and knowing exactly where to Pin the Tail on the Donkey or squarely hit the pinata.

When you conduct market research for your blog, you will be answering questions like

Who am I writing to?
Is the reader male or female?
What questions are my readers seeking to learn?
What problems is your reader trying to solve? Define the symptoms and pains of the problem?
What are your readers trying to achieve and why?
Where do they like to go online (e.g., types of blogs, social media platforms, forums)?
What type of content do they like to read?

You can find the answer to these questions by doing interviews, conducting surveys, and online research. When you have answers to these questions, you will create blog content that will help your readers achieve their goals. Getting to know your audience is like getting to know a good friend.

Defining Content Strategy Topics, Keywords and More

To write compelling content, you need to start by understanding the keywords for your content strategy. Without the right keywords, your content will not rank well on search engines. It’s like getting all dressed up for a special dinner and showing up at the wrong address.

As a professional writer, I have spent a lot of time learning about keyword content strategy, consulting with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts and researching keywords for the blog content I write. It is very easy to be overwhelmed. I think about the following areas

Define article framework

When I think about content topics, I mentally walk through a checklist of how it fits into the blog mission and strategy. I picture what the article will look like. I also think about questions like

Should this be a long detailed or short article?
Should this be a blog post, podcast, video or all three?
What resources do I have to tell the story?
What questions are you going to addressing in the article?
How will the article help the reader move forward?

Search topic keywords

Research and find keywords that have a high search volume for the topic you are writing. For example, if I was writing about how technology is improving warehouse efficiencies, my keywords might be

Production planning and inventory control
e-commerce warehousing and order fulfillment
Warehouse performance management
Warehouse processes and procedures
Warehouse management system software

Include the main keywords in your title, body copy, headers and image alt text. Depending on the length of the article, I will use the keywords 3-7 times.

Remember, keyword research is just one element in your content strategy, but keywords should not drive or control your content strategy, content topics and content message. Good content strategy is about merging specific keywords with your topic knowledge, topic research, and understanding of the target audience. As a side note, when I have done keyword research, I have continuously developed new content ideas.

Data mining

Always be learning about your audience’s content needs. For example, I find it very important to data-mine the comment sections of my blog posts. I see how the readers view the content and where I can expand upon topics. At the end of the article, consider asking your reader to define how you should develop the article topic.

When you are doing your keyword backlink research, I look at my competitor’s most popular posts. I use forums to see conversations about the topics I consider and capture insights, questions, and conversations’ profiles.

Develop Your Blog Content Strategy Calendar

By this stage of your blog content strategy, you are ready to put form and vision to your blog with a content calendar. My content calendar has been as simple as a list of article and due dates to working breathing document that can

Provide an overview of the content that will be written
Create a sandbox where you can explore, expand and merge ideas
Help you keep track of critical milestones in content development and posting schedule
Include keyword research
Social media messaging to help you decide if different parts of the article can be posted on other channels
Includes space for sketching topic ideas
Provides a list of tasks, assignments and due dates
List important contacts like subject matter experts to interview
List of assets that will be used in the article development
Help communicate content strategy to staff and managers
Define the target audience for each article
And more

I have used a spreadsheet and full-blown content management software that links people and teams worldwide for my content calendars. They both work fine. Just be committed and actively using the calendar to drive outcomes. If you are starting with building a content calendar, be patient. It may take you several months before you have a document that is right for you.

Write Content Your Target Audience Want to Read

Now is when your content strategy takes on comes alive. Great content helps to transform the readers. I want readers who spend the time reading the blog post to mentally say, “Thank you, I appreciate the time invested in making this article available.” Be consistent with your posts so that your audience will know when they can expect to hear from you, be it once a week or three times a week. Just make sure it best content possible.

You can consistently create quality articles that your target audience wants to read because the content is

Researched and documented (e.g., sourcing content, referencing case studies, analyst reports, subject matter experts)
Written in right format/style (e.g., case study, listicle, emotional, educational, Q&A, interview)
Answers the questions the target audience want to be answered for your chosen topic
Written so search engines can find it
Written using proper sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and spellcheck
Easy to follow and find needed content (e.g., headers, subheads, bullets, bolding, and italics)
Includes proper supporting media (e.g., images, audio, video) to tell your story

Ultimately, you are meeting your reader at a point in their journey, and you become a trusted resource and companion.

Conclusion

When you take time to develop a blog content strategy that reflects your target audience’s needs and interests, you can create a blog that consistently delivers content that reflects the blog’s mission and builds a growing following. Every blog needs a content strategy, even if it’s just a personal blog.

Blog content strategies shouldn’t take a lot of time to establish and keep up. If you have never developed a blog strategy, don’t worry, it’s a living document that will allow you to see where you have been and where you are going. The blog content strategy is a process that is scalable, shareable and measurable.

One of the surprising outcomes will be how much time you save in the writing process and how much better your blog posts are because they are part of an ongoing plan. You stay away from just writing down whatever you feel like writing.

If you have a question or comment about blog content strategies, share your thoughts in the comment section below.

This blog content strategy is the equivalent of sharpening your saw. You’ll be far more prepared and probably have more fun if you take the time to put it together.

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