niche blog dilemmas

[inertia]

Everyone says the best way to build relevant IBL is to blog or create interesting articles which are link bait and attract links. This sounds fine and for a lot of our clients is not a problem but what if you're company and situation really doesn't lend itself to blogging in the global community. For example what would you tell a guy who does CD duplication in Manchester to blog about?

I always recommend that clients get proactive in the online community for their sector but sometimes i find it really hard to guide them through that process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bj]

Too bad he's not in the US, he can blog RIAA and MAFIAA issues! LOL!

With this kind of client, they can talk about some of the uses people have found for their services. Also, any community service work he or she has done, short blurbs on news articles that pertain to the industry or the technology, etc. And featuring some of their clients might generate some goodwill if their clients are selling the cds produced this way.

[chowell]

Think a little more out of the box...

Get the client to write down some of the things they do during the day and conversations they have with customers (or vendors). They might also be able to talk about some of the jobs they're working on, industry news, new duplication equipment, new hires, etc.

There's a lot of stuff to talk about. Granted, not everyone will be interested in each item, but collectively, you might have enough for a decent audience (or for SEO results).

[carbonize]

He could blog about the music scene in Manchester. I mean it's a big enough topic. I don't mean the big acts playing at Gmex or the Apollo (whomever owns it these days) but the small bands performing at the smaller venues. Not only would this get his links out there in a relevant way it might get some business his way from the small bands.

[nottheusual1]

Originally Posted by inertia

For example what would you tell a guy who does CD duplication in Manchester to blog about?

He's in a market that has become very commoditized, so it would help him if he focused on those things he does to better the customer experience, interesting stories of how his company helped Company B meet a critical deadline, etc. Just keep it real, not smarmy.

Talk about trends in the business.......

It's like a free license to create "testimonials" that he is testifying to. How can that go wrong?

One of our properties is a CD replicator in the US, and we're embarking down that path now, hosting the blog on one of the public services to help IBL'ing.

[incrediblehelp]

You can always find something to blog about. Consider getting client testimonials as posts to start. If someone is buying that means someone is complaining/cheering somewhere.