The true driving force behind any blog is its content. We can talk about platform, technology, and social media all day long, but without interesting and compelling content, we’re nowhere. Sure, we may attract visitors to our finely tuned blogs through creative means, but those visitors probably won’t return if they didn’t find what they were looking for.
In this post, I’m going to talk about how to drum up good ideas for what to write on your blog. Thinking of worthwhile topics is probably the most challenging aspect of any blog’s continued success. Setting up a site isn’t difficult anymore, getting social isn’t a challenge – even good writers are more accessible than they’ve ever been. Since the beginning, the sticking point has been coming up with captivating articles that you feel visitors would like to read.
Proven Ideas For Writing Great Blog Posts
In the sections below, I’m going to offer up some ideas for topics of blog posts. Do with them as you wish, but remember, if you do decide to use one or more of them, be sure your post is of high quality and gives your readers something they can take away with them. In order for readers to visit on a regular basis, you need to prove yourself worthy. Write insightful posts. Write well written posts. Write posts with the intention of having them bookmarked and shared.
Write About a Skill – If you have a hobby or have a skill, write about it on your blog. Even though you may think the internet is already full of what you’re interested in, you’d be surprised how little there actually is. Every day, web surfers from around the globe search for different perspectives on topics they’re interested in. Let yours be one of them.
Answer a Question – If you’ve been blogging for any amount of time and if you’ve built up an audience, you may have been asked questions about the topics you’ve written about. If this is the case, save up a few of these questions and transform them into posts. Personally, I’d write one post per question because I like to expand upon topics. You may choose to write one post that covers all questions. It’s up to you.
Ask a Question – If you need information on something and want real world viewpoints, don’t be shy about asking your readers questions. I know of quite a few bloggers who use this tactic as fodder for future posts. They ask a question to their readers, the readers answer that question (investing themselves in the post to come) and then a post is written that is of interest to many people. You can’t get better than that.
Write Tutorials – The blog you’re reading is based on tutorials. I very much enjoy learning new things and writing about them here. And apparently other folks enjoy doing the same thing, since the internet is swarming with these types of articles. Remember, the web is someplace people turn to for answers. If you have knowledge, turn that knowledge into a tutorial that may benefit readers. You may just get a boost in traffic from it.
Write About the News – There’s most likely something happening right now that people are interested in. You may even have an interest in it as well. If so, why not offer up some commentary on what’s going on in the world? Trust me, it wouldn’t be the first time someone has created content based on happenings around them. Now that I think about it, that’s what the news channels do on TV. Go for it.
Write About Other Blogs – Being a blogger, you may follow a number of other blogs. These other blogs may relate to the topics you enjoy writing about. If they do, seriously consider writing some posts that talk about these other bloggers and some of their posts, in particular. Not much is more powerful, in the way of getting social, than including yourself and others into the fold. By doing so, you’ll be prompting a response from the other blogger and hopefully some back and forth will result, giving way to some exposure for your own articles. Just remember, be respectful and aim to make a friend from the exchange.
Tell a Secret – People absolutely love gossip. I know, many of them won’t admit it, but the front page of Yahoo! and many other web properties thrive on gossip stories. If you have the stomach for it, sharing a secret about yourself may garner an unexpected response – hopefully in a good way. When writers are genuine about the topics they share, readers tend to identify with what’s written. I know of many stories like this that have gone viral, simply because the author was honest and sincere.
Be Critical of Something – Some things need to be called out. At times, it can be quite popular to discuss something that’s going on in the world that needs to be brought to light. If you have a passion or see something that shouldn’t be happening, you’d be surprised at how much support you can earn, simply by being the one to stand up and say “Stop!” If you’re thinking it, other are most likely thinking it as well. At times like this, readers on the internet look towards a leader to create a venue for conversation. You can offer that venue on your blog.
Teach Something – Similar to writing tutorials, teaching your readers about something is a highly valued way of building viewership and loyalty. Now, just to be clear, a tutorial is more of a step by step process that someone can follow. Being taught something is a general enlightenment. You can offer a tutorial on how to install a hard drive on a computer, while you can teach someone what computers actually are. If you have an interest, go ahead and share it with your audience.
Write Reviews – Amazon.com sells a lot of books, movies and products. Much of the popularity of Amazon’s pages is derived from the comment sections at the bottom of each one of them. When you think about it, each of those comments isn’t a comment at all – it’s a review of a product. Personally, I read through quite a few of those comments before I purchase anything. And if I can find more thorough reviews on other websites out there, I’ll read them as well. Reviews are extremely popular online, so if you’ve got a knack for analyzing products and media, you should definitely give writing reviews a try.
Run a Contest – If there’s one thing that keeps people coming back for more, it’s to check to see if they won something. Radio stations, car dealerships, television stations and websites have been using this tactic for years – and that’s because it works. Not only does it involve a reader in an intimate way, it also gives you a topic to write about.
Create a List – Have you seen a surge of those, “Top 10 Ways To…” and “20 Best Things That…” posts on blogs lately? Eh hem. If so, that’s because people love it when you do the work for them. I’d be hard pressed to find someone out there who would rather think of all the best ways to come up with great blog content themselves, as opposed to simply reading it in a well constructed list. Lists are gaining popularity online because someone else has done the leg work. And in general, readers are very appreciative of it.
Talk About Yourself – If you have a following, many of your readers may want to know something about you. If you think you know what they want to know, go ahead and offer an FAQ. You’d be surprised at how interested people may be. I sure wouldn’t mind knowing more about some top bloggers out there.
Conduct An Interview – Since this blog has launched just a few months ago, I’ve conducted eleven interviews. I have to admit, interviewing people has quickly become one of my favorite things to do – for many reasons. First, I think it offers a venue for talented folks to talk about themselves. This isn’t something they’d typically do on their own. By offering this to these people, many of them are appreciative. I like this fact and it’s truly an honor to present a bit of what makes someone tick to the world. Second, I learn about them. I enjoy this aspect of interviewing very much and if I like it, my readers surely do as well. If my readers like it, in my book, it’s good content.
Write a Series – One area that I’ve been working diligently towards on this site is to create “series” of posts. You can probably see the formation of these if you browse through the categories above. Recently, I’ve been focusing on blogging and photography, but when I first launched this blog, I was focused much more on programming languages. Readers enjoy series because they are very helpful as bookmarks and they’re organized in such a way that allows the reader to find exactly what they’re looking for – fast.
Write a Bucket List – Since the advent of social media, people have been sharing bucket lists. Nothing is more prone to inviting comments than a list of what you’d like to accomplish in life. The reason these types of lists are so popular is because so many of us have them. Also, the best and wildest ideas are usually included, so by sharing your own, you’re giving others ideas or giving them a peek into your mind. Interesting!
Write a Case Study – The internet is sorely missing good research. As I’m sure you’ve seen, much of what we’ve been reading through the years is merely a parroting of something someone else has already written. This is extremely prevalent in the SEO industry. What would be refreshing is if someone conducted an independent study and published the results of that study. Good, bad or indifferent, I’d surely be interested in reading through the findings of a topic that affects me.
I hope you enjoyed the ideas I jotted down for you above. If you did, please share this post with a friend. If you have any blog post ideas of your own, please share them down below. Thanks!
Leave a Reply