Blogging Tips Thursday: Foundational Content

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Foundational Content: you might’ve heard of this term. You might not have. Some people call it “Pillar Content.” Regardless of if you have heard of it or not, it is really important when trying to establish your blog.

Foundational content is what it sounds like, something that is the basis of your whole blog. This is the content that you write when initially start your blog to get people interested. When I first started Crunchy Frugalista, my foundational content was the Couponing 101 tutorials. I started my blog as a way to teach others how to save money and shop they way I had learned to over the years. This is why I started the tutorials. It was more than just listing hot deals. It was the ins and outs of couponing and the philosophy behind it.

There are several reason why foundational content is vitally important to your blog. Foundational content is what makes readers want to come to your blog, and it’s what makes them stick around. Writing your foundational content establishes regular, consistent content that you readers can expect from you. This doesn’t mean that you have to be chained to a desk blogging until your fingers bleed, but it does mean that you need to remain relatively consistent about when you post and telling your readers about upcoming posts. The goal is to develop some articles that your readers are just biting at the bit to read!

This is especially important with deal and coupon bloggers. There are a bajillion bloggers in this genre. Scooping other bloggers on deals is becoming more and more difficult. Foundational content is what is going to set you apart from the competition. It is what is going to make readers want to come to your site first before they search other blogs for their deals, and foundational content is going to change a casual visitor into a loyal long term visitor!

No, you don’t have to write a mini novella to establish foundational content. Just make sure you have some! Here’s a few tips and tricks to think of and to get started:

1. What is something that you would enjoy writing about?

It could be a quirky anecdote about your family, teaching others about a new skill (ie Couponing Tutorials), or just a list of tips and tricks.

2. How often do you want to post it?

You can do it weekly, every other week. Plus remember loyal readers, will also forgive you if you are a day late. (Look at me it’s Blogging Tips Thursday on a Friday!)

3. Why would your idea for foundational content set your blog apart?

To most the whole point of blogging is getting read, right? Well what will set your blog apart? Why would someone want to read what you have to say over others? Answering these questions are sure to make your content even stronger, and have you on your way to being a bloggy superstar!

4. What kind of readers are trying to attract with your foundational content?

Each blogger has their own goals when it comes to fans. Asking yourself this question, is key to figuring out what your audience is. This is actually one of the first questions you should ask, because it will help your foundational content be more consistent. Knowing who you are and who you are writing for equal consistent awesome content!

The great thing about foundational content is that once you feel that you have expanded as much as you can on the first part of the foundation, you can add more. Crunchy Frugalista started with Couponing 101, then expanded to CVS 101 and Walgreens 101. Every now and then, I think of something else to write and go back to add onto those tutorials so the blog is constantly changing and evolving. That is a sure fire way to guarantee your content will not grow stale. It also helps expand your audience over time.

So don’t be shy, get to writing. It may just be the key ingredient you need to set your blog apart from the rest of the blogosphere!