If you want to keep your blog fresh and fun for readers, it’s essential that you post creative content. Lucky for you, there are all kinds of ways you can generate blog posts that have the creative flair you want — here are 12 strategies to do just that:
1. Giveaways and contests
What They Are: A contest on your blog can involve any kind of competition you want, whether it’s asking readers to create a funny commercial for your product, write an essay about why they are the biggest fan of your product, etc. The second part of this strategy, the giveaway, involves the free products or rewards given out to the winner.
Why They Work: Contests and giveaways allow you to:
- Create links to your website (which is excellent for SEO)
- Increase traffic
- Promote social engagement
- Increase brand awareness
2. Infographics and videographics
What They Are: Infographics and videographics are visual representations of information. As the names suggest, infographics are in the form of a picture and videographics are in the form of a video.
Why They Work: Infographics and videographics are excellent blogging tools for many reasons, including:
- Visual appeal (audience is much more likely to be engaged by an infographic than lengthy text)
- Quick information access (graphs allow you to take in facts and statistics faster than you could reading through a document)
- Social media exposure
Essentially, any organization can take advantage of this popular content form. For example, the recovery center 12 Keys Rehab creates infographics and videographicsthat have scored them massive social capital (thousands of pageviews and social shares).
3. Polls
What They Are: Polls are surveys of public opinion where data is gathered through responses to questions.
Why They Work: Polls allow you to:
- Engage your customers and prospects
- Gain insight regarding customer preferences
- Receive feedback from customers about your products and services, receive suggestions for further improvement, or source information for an article
4. Webinars
What They Are: Webinars are interactive conferences or online workshops. HubSpot does exceptionally well with their webinar campaign.
Why They Work: A few reasons why webinars deserve a place on your blog include:
- Cost-effectiveness as a marketing tool for your business
- Increased customer loyalty
- Generation of new forms of revenue
5. Challenges
What They Are: Challenges are competitions you present to your blog audience on any topic you choose; they can range from “Find the Funniest Baby Picture” to “What is the Best Movie Quote of All Time?”
Why They Work: Challenges are great for many reasons, among them:
- Audience involvement
- Increased site traffic
- Brand exposure
6. White papers
What They Are: White papers are a form of content with built-in marketing messages.
Why They Work: White papers come with many perks, such as:
- Efficient lead generation
- Opportunity to promote newsletter sign-ups
- Greater odds of getting more “likes” on Facebook
7. Free resources
What They Are: Anything you post on your blog that is useful or beneficial to your audience could be considered a resource; possible examples include templates, lesson plans and activities, user manuals, how-to guides, recipes, etc. Furthermore, free resources should be seen as an extension of your blog, granting your overall site more substance.
Why They Work: Besides the obvious point that everyone likes free stuff, free resources are effective with regard to:
- Expanding your fan base
- Raising brand awareness
- Promoting customer loyalty
- Creating something as simple as a badge boosts fan engagement
8. Series and themes
What They Are: Series and themes are blog posts that focus on a specific topic over an extended period of time. 12 Most is one of the best examples out there!
Why They Work: Series and themes are helpful with:
- Establishing your position as an authority in a specific subject area
- Engaging readers (especially ones with a strong interest in that topic)
- I think they work exceptionally well for 12 Most because readers have an expectation and writers already have a framework
9. Controversial topics
What They Are: Controversial topics involve divisive “hot button” issues about which people tend to have strong opinions.
Why They Work: These topics are great because they:
- Boost audience participation (people will want to weigh in with comments expressing their opinions)
- Increased brand exposure — posting about controversial topics is a surefire way to get people talking and raise awareness of your blog. Of course, we run the risk of backlash, but if you’re passionate about a topic it can be a homerun with your readers
10. Futuristic topics
What They Are: These topics predict the outcome of certain events and they provide conjecture as to what could happen in the future based on current trends. Examples include: “What is the future of social media?” or “What will our future healthcare system look like?”
Why They Work: Futuristic topics can:
- Promote engagement
- Entice readers to interact, responding with whether they agree or disagree with your prediction
- Optimize for early-bird searches, such as “iPhone 6” or “PS5”
11. Interesting questions
What They Are: These questions are original and thought provoking, primarily about topics that make readers stop and think for a second. Examples include: “If you had a theme song that played every time you walked into the room, what would it be and why?” or “What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?”
Why They Work: Interesting questions are effective because they:
- Promote engagement
- Increase loyalty (finding interesting questions and content on your blog makes it likely that readers will want to keep coming back for more)
- Are generally fun!
12. Podcasts and article audios
What They Are: Podcasts and article audios refer to a form of digital media that’s part of a series of audio, video, or PDF files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed through the internet to a computer or mobile device.
Why They Work: Podcasts and article audios provide a variety of benefits like:
- Opportunity to strengthen relationships with current readers
- Flexible options for your audience to take in your blog content (for instance, someone who has a long commute will appreciate being able to listen to your podcast in the car)
You can spice up your blog content through a number of different strategies. Play around to find the ones that work best for you.
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