How To Choose A Relevant Topic For Your Blog In 5 Simple Steps

When choosing what you are going to write about on your blog, you care about relevance, SEO, and longevity. A relevant topic will rank you high in all three areas. And it’s not hard at all to pick highly relevant topics. You need to follow five simple steps and do that every single time. Until it becomes a habit, then you will be king of great content yourself. Let’s get started and go through every step.

Have Your Audience In Mind

When it comes to writing or blogging, if you like, it’s always about the readers. For your blog to be a success, it has to tell a good story, share practical advice, or provide high-quality thought food for the readers. Never choose a topic or write for something just because you like it. Instead, ask your audience what do they want to hear? What do they care about? How can you help them?

For well-established businesses, this is an easy part. All they have to do is ask their audience on their social media or their website. But if you are just starting out and don’t have a decent following yet, you’ll have to do it the hard way. You’ll have to dig what your competitors are doing, do a survey (like we did), talk with friends and acquaintances, etc. Whatever works for you, really. But you’ll have to think about your readers and their needs, their preferences and not yours. Writing about something simply because you like the topic won’t work. Trust me, as we’ve been there, down that already. Below, I’ll also mention a few tools you can use to make wiser topic decisions.

Get Inspired

I’ve read somewhere that Good artists copy and great artists steal! Don’t get me wrong. I don’t say you go and copy-paste somebody’s content! Just copy or steal their ways of doing it. If something works for the competition, it will work for you. I bet there are plenty of blogs about choosing a relevant topic for your blog, but they are far from being the same. The important thing here is to speak from your experience, share your views, your knowledge, and be yourself in doing so. You are allowed to steal tactics and means to do something as long as you are not literally stealing content. Apart from the competition, you can also look for inspiration in other industries. The best way to do so is to save posts that catch your eye and keep an “inspire me now and thank me later” folder. Or whatever you’d like to call it.

Keep It Relevant

Relevance is about the topic being related to your niche, your audience, and the right time. The best way to check if your topic is relevant is by doing research, asking Google, and a bunch of other search engines. Look for it on Quora or Reddit or any other community, a forum where an actual dialog happens. You can check even local groups (if relevant), or sometimes your neighbors (again if relevant), all depending on what industry you are in and the types of products or services you offer. Don’t look for a shortcut. You will either do it right and do your homework first or learn the hard way (like often happens in life). Again in the tools section, I’ll suggest few ways out that will assist your digging. However, do not rely solely on the tools. Dig deep and comb the web!!!

Make It Evergreen

If applicable, evergreen topics are always a better choice. When I say evergreen, I mean you write about topics that are “always” popular, like “how to start a blog” or “how to become better in XYZ” etc. Even these topics will not cover the exact tactics and solutions in 3-5 years, but the beauty of it is that you can come back and update them. You can just go back and add any newbies that appeared in the meantime and make them relevant and up-to-date again. Our advice is, the more evergreen topics you have on your blog, the better. However, even if a topic is with a due date, like writing COVID-19 related topics, it can be a good choice if it’s relevant. Relevance is a must, and timelessness is optional.

Use Effective Tools

Tools are your best friend if chosen wisely. If you are new in the business, you may feel overwhelmed with the broad palette of tools out there. But don’t worry, as time passes, you will develop a skill where testing and selecting new tools comes naturally. And you will stick with a few that makes your job easier. Here’s my close selection of tools that I recommend in terms of finding relevant topics:

• AnswerThePublic – Also known as a search listening tool, it helps you get how much people search a specific topic. It also gives you a wide range of alternatives that people ask, queries related to the subject in question. You can look for a topic/brand/product in the tool’s search bar, and for best results, you need to use one or two words at least. Bear in mind that the free option is limited but enough for you to test it.
• BuzzSumo – Again, this tool will help you find if a topic is relevant but in a slightly different way. If AnswerThePublic listed what people search about a particular topic, BuzzSumo gives you a list of trending articles on that topic. By going through the popular articles, you get insights into what works. Another way to use this tool is if you want to link to relevant articles and connect with relevant blogs for collaboration. Try it for free and see if it works for you.
• AllTop – This is the last tool on my list to help you choose an excellent topic for your blog. AllTop works much like BuzzSumo and provides you with popular articles on a preferred subject. You take a glance at all of these articles that are doing it right and realize what is relevant. You don’t have to do things from scratch. Just follow the good examples, get inspired, and write an original blog article on a relevant topic of your choice.

Are You Ready To Pick A Relevant Topic Now?

I hope all of the above is enough to get you started. If you still feel uncomfortable or unprepared, reach out! We would love to help out! The first consultation is on us, and we have some extra resources for anyone who will book a call with us! From content calendars to more tools and valuable tips, all related to your unique needs.