Keeping the books, balancing budgets, and preparing people’s taxes couldn’t possibly make for compelling content, right?
Wroooooong! With quality control, smart research, and attention to presentation, we believe anything can make for compelling content – provided that content is valued as a real driver of revenue.
But if there were ever a challenge to that assertion, accounting blog topics might fit the bill. This stuff is heavy. We’re happy to report, however, that there’s a wealth of impressive blogs out there, with room for many more. How can you join their ranks? Read on!
10 Accounting Blog Topics
Business blogging requires sustained and dedicated work, but not prohibitive financial resources. These accounting blog topics will give your early efforts a boost. We started this series to help small businesses – not with boilerplate conventional wisdom, but with real-world examples from the high-performing blogs of your peers on both the B2B and B2C fronts. They inspired us, and we hope they inspire you.
The SEO keywords, in red, have respectable-to-high search stats with low competing results. They’re yours to use. We found them, and then found blog posts covering similar topics.
Good luck!
1. Capitalize on Evergreen Potential
Title: QuickBooks Tips and Tricks for 2015
Suggested Call to Action: “Keep up with QuickBooks in the new year with our updated guide, and give us a call if you need any other accounting questions answered!”
Kaufman Rossin Co. boasts a fantastic blog with comprehensive articles, and they’ve taken full advantage of the fact that the accounting industry offers plenty of opportunity for updating and repurposing content on an annual basis. Otherwise, my only gripe is this: As with several examples on this list, their keyword could use some help – nobody’s searching for “QuickBooks Tip,” but 110 per month are looking for “QuickBooks Tips and Tricks.”
2. Make a List and Check It Twice
Title: 2014 Year-End Tax Planning Primer
Suggested Call to Action: “As the year winds down, it’s time to start planning for your taxes. Read our new checklist and share it with your friends and colleagues!”
As you can see, we love the list format. We’re not alone, of course, but Moss Adams perfects the art with this exhaustive post offering options for both individuals and businesses. The lesson here is to use your blog to show potential customers and clients your best work. Don’t just throw a list up online that lacks in context, annotation, and data – or you might lose business to someone doing it better.
3. Video Is Valuable
Title: Private Equity Valuation: An Instructional Video Series
Suggested Call to Action: “Stream our four-part video series on private equity valuation and be sure to see our related resources for more in-depth advice and best practices.”
Everybody’s trying to figure out how to incorporate more video into their content marketing efforts. McGladrey’s high-quality and informative work shows that if accountants can do it, anybody can! Videos like this can help your clients get a better sense of the people behind the product.
4. Podcasts Are a Nice Touch, Too!
Title: The Role of CFO Is Evolving: Hear a Longtime CFO Discuss How!
Suggested Call to Action: “Listen in as we talk about the changing role of the Chief Financial Officer, and subscribe to our email list for future installments and the latest in accounting news.”
Similarly, Tofias – a firm with offices in Boston and Providence that partners with national agency Mayer Hoffman McCann – does a great job of taking dry, dense content and making it more dynamic with multimedia, while pairing it with a traditional post to maximize their SEO efforts. They’ve got their email sign-up box, free book order form, and white paper download well-positioned, as well. This blog has its act together in a big way!
5. Protect Their Interests
Title: Occupational Fraud: Spot the Plot Before Your Goods Get Got
Suggested Call to Action: “Have you experienced occupational fraud at your company? Currently conducting an investigation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!”
BKD shows their vast expertise and authority with this helpful B2B post – an important objective for your content when it comes to current and potential clients. Again, as you might expect from an accounting firm, this crew covers their bases when it comes to accounting blog topics. The post I link here, along with many others on their blog, is solid.
6. Cautionary Tales Can Lead to Sales
Title: 10 Tax Audit Red Flags to Watch Out For
Suggested Call to Action: “We can help you avoid an audit with this roundup of accounting miscalculations. Sign up today for our services, and we can give you airtight protection.”
WIPFLi shows companies the sales tax audit red flags to beware of with this thorough list. It’s a friendly service, of course, but also a shrewd – and classic – marketing move. Sales tax issues are the bane of small business retailers and restaurants. The subtext here is something along the lines of “You know, we can handle all of these annoyances – which can cause headaches and even nightmares – for you.” In turn, the only snag with this post is the lack of an actual call to action.
7. Get Creative With the Numbers
Title: Business Tax Form Basics: An Infographic
Suggested Call to Action: “Struggling with tax forms as your company grows and your responsibilities expand? This infographic breaks it all down clearly and quickly – be sure to share it on LinkedIn!”
H&R Block’s fun, colorful B2C blog is full of quality content, with a balance of hard and soft sells. Their infographics alone are worth the price of admission. Bad infographics are just lame and forgettable, but good infographics can be a game-changer for your content marketing.
8. Carve Out a Niche Audience
Title: Freelance Taxes: All of the Information You Need
Suggested Call to Action: “Are you a freelancer or independent contractor freaking out about what you’ll owe to Uncle Sam? We’re here to help you prepare. And when the time comes, we can prepare your tax return, too! Answer just a few questions to get a head start.”
TaxACT is an online service that can work for anyone in any profession, but their blog segments potential customers into niche audiences like this one using SEO and well-calibrated (and well-written) content. We put a heavy emphasis on audience here – every BuzzAudit we conduct includes a customer personas report –so we appreciate seeing it in action.
9. Be Part of the Solution
Title: Will New Revenue Recognition Rules Affect Your Business?
Suggested Call to Action: “Our analyst has studied all of the new revenue recognition rules so you don’t have to. Read the results of her work here, and download one of our free white papers or eBooks for more of the best accounting research available!”
The KLR blog integrates news and industry trends with a practical approach, presenting potential implications and how to address them. It doesn’t hurt that they have awesome and diverse content to help seal the deal with potential business clients.
10. Help the Little Guys
Title: How to Get Tax-Exempt Status as a Nonprofit
Suggested Call to Action: “Dot your i’s and cross your t’s with this guide to getting – and holding onto – your tax-exempt status. Call us if you’re having any issues, and we can get you back on the right track.”
Providence-based LGCD comes through with a the always-welcome how-to – this one for nonprofits. If you’re a local accounting firm, you can reach out to your community via your content. Look to LGCD for how to run a local and regional blog with excellence, style, and strong business instincts.
These accounting blog topics provide an array of launch points for your company’s original content campaign. I’ve resisted any “You do the math” jokes to this point, but seriously: You do the math. Investing in your blog will bring in more traffic and more chances to convert that traffic into clients and customers.
Of course, we’re always here to help! Give us a call if you’re having any trouble getting things to add up.
