Blogging is an art form: it’s a careful balance between providing unique content that can’t be found anywhere else, while still covering the important and popular issues in your field. With this in mind, one of the best ways to provide value to your readers is to enhance your blog post with news sources.
How Your Blog Benefits From Using News Sources
One of the primary goals of your blog is to market to your ideal client. In some cases, your clients may even be more familiar with the current events in your industry than you are.
If your readership follows industry news religiously, they know who the major players are, what the market is doing, and how their actions are going to impact the industry for the foreseeable future.
By using news sources to craft the content of your blog, you’ll show your readership that your values are the same as theirs. Best of all, you’ll keep your blog current and fresh, which keeps your readers coming back to find out what you’re going to say next. Aside from aligning yourself with your target market, there are several benefits you’ll see by utilizing news sources for your posts:
1. Higher SEO rankings.
You have the opportunity to use current keywords to help attract readers who might not otherwise make it to your site. As you build a series of articles based around current events, you will attract an audience who is interested in those topics.
2. Improved site reputation.
Your posts need authority behind them. You can put anything on the internet and someone will probably believe you; but when you use news posts to back up your information, you show that you do actually know what you’re talking about.
This is especially important if you blog for a small, local business that’s hoping to attract new customers. Whether you’re linking to a source to agree with it or to argue with it, linking to others in your industry adds a level of credibility to your writing by showing that you are engaging in an ongoing conversation.
3. A never-ending source of ideas for new posts.
When you check out the latest information available on Google News or through your favorite industry-news source, you get a solid list of all the latest happenings. Whether you agree with the current stances on those events or not, you can use them as a springboard for a constantly renewing source of blog topics. Anytime you’re stuck about what to post, a quick news search in your field is a great place to start.
How To Find Credible News Sources
Let’s face it: search engines can be tricky creatures. You know that there’s information out there. You’re even relatively certain that you’ve read something about the topic you want to write about recently. There’s just one problem: no matter which search engine you use, it’s steadfastly refusing to spit out the information you need.
If you’re struggling to find current news sources for your blog, there are several strategies you can use to help increase your odds of successfully finding the source you’re looking for:
Know How Keywords Work
How are the news sources that you want to read assigning the keywords for their articles? If you’re using the wrong term, you can search all day and never find the information that you’re really looking for. Take the time to understand keywords, and you’ll be one step closer not only to optimizing your blog for search engines, but also to easily finding information about any topic you need.
Change Your Search Parameters
Open up the advanced search options and change your parameters so that you’ll be more likely to acquire the information that you need. Google makes it easy with specific options, but any search engine will allow you to search for recent information about a topic. Use those advanced search features to help narrow your search and find the information you really need.
Remember that you have options both to include and omit specific phrases that you in and from your search results. Fine tune your search-engine skills so that you’re always sure you’re getting the results you really want.
Use Valid Sources
A bad source is often worse than no source at all, especially if it includes misleading information. Make a habit of double-checking your sources to ensure their accuracy. There’s nothing quite so embarrassing as citing The Onion as a genuine news source.
Stay Up-To-Date On Information In Your Field
Make a regular habit of browsing other blogs, news sites, and social media accounts relevant to your field. If you find a piece of information that you think would make a good blog post later, go ahead and save it now.
If you’re blogging regularly, you should already have a file with quotes, links, and other resources that you can use when you’re writing your blog posts. As you browse news sources, add the information you gather to your file.
Keeping your information organized will also make it easier to find when you need it. Consider sorting by the date when you found it, by subject, or by potential blog post.
Using News Sources Effectively
All right, you’ve gathered up your sources, you’ve spent more time researching your article than you had originally intended. Here’s how to use that information effectively:
Identify Your Sources
If it’s a current event that everyone knows about, you don’t have to list a specific source as soon as you mention it. But a lesser-known event may require that you cite a news source to let your readers know what you’re talking about.
Keep in mind that the credibility of your sources will help improve the validity of your own article. There’s a big difference between an article that you pulled from The New York Times and one that’s on the front page of the New York Post.
It’s also important to cite your source if you plan to argue with the conclusions that it has drawn.
Include Links
You’ve told your readers where you found your information. Including a link is a courtesy that makes it easier for your readers to find the exact information that you’re referencing. Remember that the post that was on the front page of a news source might disappear from view in a few days, and be harder to find.
Back It Up
When possible, include more than just a single source in your post. If it’s breaking news, there might not be a lot of information available yet. Covering a heated issue? Providing links to arguments on both sides of the debate can help improve your readers’ appreciation of your arguments.
Your blogs don’t all have to be based on news sources, but including them can enhance your blog and its value to your readers. Your blog should reflect the current trends in your industry and include plenty of current information. Using relevant news sources is a great way to do exactly that.
