One of the most common questions I hear around content marketing is ‘What should I blog about?’ And, I think there are two answers at either end of the spectrum.

Whatever you like…

The first is all about you. What do you want to write about?

This is important. If you’re not writing or creating content about the things that are important to you then you’re likely to run out of steam, lose interest and fail to stick at it for very long. This will end badly.

The challenge here is the connection between what you want to write about and what your audience wants to hear.

[Tweet “The two things your content needs to be about #contentmarketing”]

What do you need right now?

The second extreme answer about what to blog about is based on what your audience needs.

Imagine this… You are driving along a country road and all of a sudden your car grinds to a halt. What would you do? If you’re mechanically inclined (I’m not) you might flip the bonnet and have a look at the engine to see if you could identify the problem and fix it.

Now, let’s imagine I’m a content marketer (and I am), then what would be the best message I could send you right now in that instant of mechanical breakdown?

There are probably only two things you want to know right now. You either want to know how to fix your car yourself or you want the name and phone number of someone who can come and fix it for you.

At this moment, you’re not interested in dating advice, business coaching or how to lose weight. You have a very specific ‘situation focus’ and you’re only looking at the problem that’s right in front of you.

[Tweet “The two things you need to blog about #blogging”]

Niches

This is the power of positioning: to be the go-to person for a particular issue.

And, like our car example, it plays out like this: I have a problem that needs fixing and I know I need to contact the person who can solve it for me right now.

For example, I have cash flow woes and I need more sales to fix the problem. Who shall I turn to? Or, if you’re old enough to remember the fabulous old movie, Ghostbusters… ‘Who are you going to call?’

‘And’ not ‘Or’

I’ve presented the two extremes of what to blog or create content about. And, I want to encourage you to create both types. One will keep you passionate, the other will earn you an audience. Together you will thrive.

And, ideally, there will be an overlap between the two. The bigger this sweetspot the more fun and more ipact you will have in your Content Marketing.

COMMENT: What are you passionate about? What do your customers need to know? And, what’s the overlap of the two?