Your industry isn’t boring, you’re just too deep in the trenches to identify which parts are fascinating
I’ve touched on this a bit in the past, but Gary Vaynerchuk published a post that reminded me to write about it again today.
Someone wrote in to his #AskGaryVee video show recently, asking how he could possibly create content for something as boring as a “hardware store.” Which of course, after spending the past few weeks on YouTube and the web looking at building tutorials with my husband, seemed completely absurd. There’s SO MUCH FUN to be had writing about hardware stores. I wish we had a hardware store as a blogging client.
Gary wrote, “If you think your industry is boring, shift your way of thinking. Immediately. You need to change your outlook in order to change your output. “
Which of course I totally agree with, otherwise I wouldn’t have even dropped the quote in here. But I have more to add.
Yes, this employee might be bored with working in a hardware store. Who wants to hear about tools anyway, right? Is there more to social media than shouting the latest promotion? Can’t blame a hardware guy for not knowing that there’s more to marketing than re-posting sales flyers on Facebook.
The most important thing to recognize is that this employee doesn’t know the value of his knowledge, and might not even be “bored” with his industry, but doesn’t realize which parts are fascinating to a consumer.
That’s the challenge, telling a guy who’s in the trenches every day, which pieces are most interesting to those who aren’t.
For example, we’ve been telling our accountant that his firm needs to start blogging, because they’re already producing great content for their client newsletter and everything in it is totally fascinating. Around tax season especially, they send out easy to understand updates to tax laws, exemptions, etc., plus new ways to save on your taxes and get back more in return.
He thinks this stuff is boring, but I keep telling him it’s not! Almost 100% of people in the US have to file taxes every year, and I’m pretty sure about 100% of them would like to know how they can get more back every year.
Why blog? Because you can, and because it will get you more sales.
Still think blogging is a waste of time? Or think that you’re in an industry with nothing to blog about?
If you run a construction company or sell anything related to construction like The Porch Company or the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, blog about different types of construction designs and options while showing off your work in the process. Read our construction blog ideas.
If you sell accounting services or accounting software like Bench.co or H&R Block, write posts for the millions of people out there that are searching for better ways to budget, run their business, and file taxes. Read our accounting blog topics.
If you sell tax software to companies like Bench or for the Do-It-Yourselfers out there, you can expand on the accounting ideas with ways to make tax prep easier, and, dare we say, fun? Zen99 and Canopy both provide good examples. Read our tax software company blog ideas.
If you sell insurance or insurance software, appeal to those who need your services by writing about the topics you get consulted on most often. Become a resource for your vertical of insurance, it will also soften the rep that anyone in the insurance industry automatically inherits. Check out the blogs from esurance or Allstate, and read our insurance blog ideas.
If you’re a property manager or work in the industry like RentPrep orHappyInspector, write about topics that attract landlords. Write about topics like landlord liability, property management horror stories, or even property management essentials for new landlords. Read our property management blog ideas.
If you’re in the niche of recruitment or staffing like Aerotek or Murray Resources, write about how to use social media for recruitment, or how to retain staff – anything an employer might be searching for when they’ve lost an employee or may be starting to recruit. Read our recruitment blog ideas.
If you sell fitness or health products like Fitbit or MyFitnessPal, you can easily attract those who would be most interested in your product by writing content that helps them get healthy and fit. There’s a huge universe of keywords out there for health and fitness that send millions of people to websites just like these every day. Read our fitness blog ideas.
If you offer a service or software that simplifies HR like Indeed, TribeHR, orTSheets, you can attract HR professionals who can benefit from what you sell by attracting them with content that helps them do their jobs better. Read our HR blog ideas.
If you sell furniture or home accessories like IKEA or California Closets, you can sell each product individually with unique blog posts that inspire people with interesting ways to use or showcase it. Read our interior design blog ideas.
Or maybe your niche is office furniture, like standing desk makers Nextdesk or Focal. There are plenty of health-related topics for you to write about. Office workers everywhere will love you. Read our standing desk company blog ideas.
If you sell real estate or are in the business of cataloging properties like Trulia or Zillow, try to write about topics that attract those in the process of house hunting. Some topics might include moving with kids, the most affordable cities to live in, the best neighborhoods in Denver, or the best schools in New Orleans. Read more of our real estate blog ideas.
Is running payroll boring? We don’t think so. Neither does Gusto or Wagepoint. The truth is, payroll isn’t just about numbers; it’s about people. Payroll software? That’s about making everyone’s life a little easier. Read our payroll software blog ideas.
We all run into challenges now and then. The best people to help out are right there at the help desk, like startups Zendesk or Freshdesk. They use their blog to model help desk best practices and to offer suggestions for streamlining your workflow. Read our help desk startup blog ideas.
Speaking of startups, do you run a time tracking startup? Toggl has a blog full of time management tips, and Timeneye offers productivity ideas. You’ve probably got a few ideas of your own to share by now, don’t you? Read our time tracking startup blog ideas.
Who doesn’t love a vacation? Travel agencies, like The Quirky Traveller or Let’s Take the Kids Travel Agency know you do. They write about everything from ghosts to in-depth city guides. The possibilities for a travel agency blog are almost endless. Read our travel agency blog ideas.
Of course, when you travel, you’ll need a hotel to stay in. Hotel Providence and WestHouse NYC both offer specialized accommodations for travelers with kids and with pets. Vacationers are always looking for hotels that meet their needs, but also local recommendations and a sense of trust. Read our hotel blog post ideas.
No vacation or locals-only night on the town would be complete without a good restaurant meal. Restaurant blogs are hard to come by, and we can’t quite figure out why. Clover and Forage LA both have blogs full of great ideas. Your customers love reading about food and in today’s food-centric environment, they’ll love you even more for writing about it. Read our restaurant blog ideas.
How about now? Just think – you can write hundreds or thousands of blog posts, each attracting new customers who will learn about your product and hopefully be driven to buy.
Most of the companies that come to us, come because they have this “boring industry” mindset. I’d love to prove you wrong. Sign up for our BuzzAudit and I’ll personally do the research to come up with 30 days worth of content for you to dive into (or we can write it – you decide that later!)
[Tweet “Still think blogging is a waste of time? Or that you’re in an industry with nothing to blog about?”]This post was published in 2015 and has been updated.
