Clients are the true content experts

When it’s time to create blog content, professional service firms are often at a loss. How can you generate ideas and determine appropriate topics to ensure that your content is read and valued? It’s easy to get hung up here, but there’s a readily available source of expertise with all the guidance you need: your clients. Whether you’re in accounting, law, IT, or another professional service sector, you can count on these folks to steer you in the right direction.

As you’re putting together your editorial calendar for upcoming articles, think about your current clients and those you want to attract. Put yourself in their shoes – knowing much less than you do but highly invested in running a successful, efficient business. What is it they want and need to know? You’ll be offering something of value if you share articles that address:

• Answers to their questions – What is it you hear clients asking about again and again? There are sure to be questions that come up repeatedly, and this is the perfect place to start your topic list. Provide the answers to the questions they’re asking today, and you’ll be very likely to become the go-to source next time.
• Deeper understanding of issues – There are some questions clients may not ask, but you wish they would. Where do you see them making frequent mistakes? If you can provide the greater understanding they need to avoid common errors, you’ll make your job easier at the same time you’re helping their business.
• Legislation that will affect them – You read the professional journals and recognize the potential impacts of impending legislation; your clients do not. They trust you to analyze what’s happening and keep them informed, in language that makes sense to a non-professional. Everyone appreciates a heads-up, so write about anything you see on the horizon that could affect their interests.
• News in their industry – Your clients know their own industry, but showing you understand it as well increases their trust in you. And when changes come around, whether it’s GDPR, Section 199A pass-through deduction, or California’s Equal Pay Act, they’ll certainly appreciate your help in making sense of what it means for their business.
• Processes that will benefit them – What can your clients do to become more efficient, more profitable, or even make your job as a service provider easier? Articles that explain best practices and time-saving tactics can make a big difference in a small business. Help them improve record-keeping and book-keeping, stay on the right side of the law, or select the right tools with a quick blog post offering advice.

Here’s another wonderful aspect of this approach: it’s versatile. If your blog is directed at other professionals you can go into more detail and freely use niche-specific terminology in your posts, offering guidance for these experts to help them better serve their own clients. If not, you’ll need to review each article carefully to make certain it’s easily grasped by a less sophisticated but no less motivated audience.

Whether your readership consists mostly of current and potential clients, or you’re writing for the professionals who serve them, keeping your focus on what’s important to clients will reveal a wealth of topics that your audience is sure to appreciate.