Starting a blog, either for pleasure or in the hope of creating an income, is an exciting prospect. A lot of people are choosing to start one in their own specialised subject. But, a lot of people jump right into it with more consideration to the concept than to the topic and the posts. Therefore, prior to starting your blog, I want to challenge you to sit down and write out at least 50 post ideas, and write up at least 10 of them.
Why should you think of 50?
There are a lot of great reasons to actually do this activity (and not just read about it).
To begin with, this is your make it or break it test. Thinking of starting a blog on a unique topic? Well, if you can't think of at least 50 topics off the top of your head either you aren't really focused on writing about it, or you have picked too narrow a topic. Consider that many blogs take about a year to really get started. Therefore, if you can't think of at least 50 then you are going to be under pressure after 6 months and possibly quit before you eventually make it.
Next, probably the most crucial thing in starting a blog you wish to be popular is to post 'epic content'. Content which is amazing, informative, sets you up as an expert so people revisit. Making the effort to list out 50 possible topics will allow you to identify the amazing ones from the less amazing ones.
Third, if epic content is the most important thing, then being consistent as a blogger is the second most significant. Nobody tunes in on a regular basis to a blog that might or might not have something new that week/month. The moment people first arrive at a blog, they find it as more authoritative and interesting if there are frequent updates. Therefore you need to be posting 2-3times a week if you want to make a good impression and keep people coming back. Thus, when you have a list of topics already prepared, and can even suggest in posts about upcoming relevant topic you may be writing about, your blog is going to appear a lot more organised and long-term.
How do you think of 50?
So, have I convinced you that you've got to have a list of possible topics prepared? Good. This is the time to look at which you could acquire the best ideas from. Below are some top tips for creating your list.
1. Start with Google Keyword research. You must already know what keywords you are targeting in your blog (otherwise, definitely do this first). Making use of keyword research tools then you're able to determine what related words people are searching for. This is great information about what your audience wants to understand. For example, thinking about writing a blog about Young Adult fiction? Once you look it up, Google will show you that a lot of people search for the related 'Twilight - Meyers'. Blog post? I think so.
2. This is a great tip from Pat Flynn as Smart Passive Income (so want to claim it as mine, but the academic in me is screaming plagiarism). Visit Amazon or Google Books and try searching for your keyword. This would showa selection of books relevant to what you want to write about. Using the preview function, take a look at their content page. Bam! Before you is a list of topics that you can be writing about.
3. One more great tip I've discovered is try splitting your posts into various types for your area. For instance, if you're playing to post three times a week you might have Information Monday, How-To Wednesday and Review Friday. You then just need to think of about 20 ideas under each of these. For a blog on house building you might have some Information posts on different types of architecture, How-To various renovation projects, and Review the top tools of the trade. This makes it much easier to think of topics, and determine what to write.
4. Related to the last tip, I strongly recommend breaking information posts into series. You don't want your posts to be too long, but still give plenty of important material making people feel like you know a lot regarding the area. Writing a number of posts every Monday on a topic can help you narrow it down so it's not too large, but still deal with everything people want to know. For example, take a post on barefoot running. With this one idea, you can make at least three excellent posts that link to each other. You can do one on the history of barefoot running (why it has suddenly become so recognized), major techniques you need to know to run effectively, and a post on the different types of barefoot and minimalist shoes. One idea, at least three posts.
5. My final tip has helped me numerous times. Go to Forums. Go to the places that your target audience already are at and find out what they want to learn about. Forums are great places for getting post ideas as your audience is literally indicating 'I want a post about this.' I am often surprised by the questions people ask and think 'How can you not know that already?' But luckily for me, they don't and I do. In addition, after writing your blog post then you can return to the forum, answer their question and put a link to the full post!
So, using these tips, it should only take you a small amount of research to come up with 50 topics for your blog. This is time that is not wasted. When you've done this, take a minimum of 10 of those topics, write up the post and save them as drafts. You'll thank me for this later. Trust me.
Why should you think of 50?
There are a lot of great reasons to actually do this activity (and not just read about it).
To begin with, this is your make it or break it test. Thinking of starting a blog on a unique topic? Well, if you can't think of at least 50 topics off the top of your head either you aren't really focused on writing about it, or you have picked too narrow a topic. Consider that many blogs take about a year to really get started. Therefore, if you can't think of at least 50 then you are going to be under pressure after 6 months and possibly quit before you eventually make it.
Next, probably the most crucial thing in starting a blog you wish to be popular is to post 'epic content'. Content which is amazing, informative, sets you up as an expert so people revisit. Making the effort to list out 50 possible topics will allow you to identify the amazing ones from the less amazing ones.
Third, if epic content is the most important thing, then being consistent as a blogger is the second most significant. Nobody tunes in on a regular basis to a blog that might or might not have something new that week/month. The moment people first arrive at a blog, they find it as more authoritative and interesting if there are frequent updates. Therefore you need to be posting 2-3times a week if you want to make a good impression and keep people coming back. Thus, when you have a list of topics already prepared, and can even suggest in posts about upcoming relevant topic you may be writing about, your blog is going to appear a lot more organised and long-term.
How do you think of 50?
So, have I convinced you that you've got to have a list of possible topics prepared? Good. This is the time to look at which you could acquire the best ideas from. Below are some top tips for creating your list.
1. Start with Google Keyword research. You must already know what keywords you are targeting in your blog (otherwise, definitely do this first). Making use of keyword research tools then you're able to determine what related words people are searching for. This is great information about what your audience wants to understand. For example, thinking about writing a blog about Young Adult fiction? Once you look it up, Google will show you that a lot of people search for the related 'Twilight - Meyers'. Blog post? I think so.
2. This is a great tip from Pat Flynn as Smart Passive Income (so want to claim it as mine, but the academic in me is screaming plagiarism). Visit Amazon or Google Books and try searching for your keyword. This would showa selection of books relevant to what you want to write about. Using the preview function, take a look at their content page. Bam! Before you is a list of topics that you can be writing about.
3. One more great tip I've discovered is try splitting your posts into various types for your area. For instance, if you're playing to post three times a week you might have Information Monday, How-To Wednesday and Review Friday. You then just need to think of about 20 ideas under each of these. For a blog on house building you might have some Information posts on different types of architecture, How-To various renovation projects, and Review the top tools of the trade. This makes it much easier to think of topics, and determine what to write.
4. Related to the last tip, I strongly recommend breaking information posts into series. You don't want your posts to be too long, but still give plenty of important material making people feel like you know a lot regarding the area. Writing a number of posts every Monday on a topic can help you narrow it down so it's not too large, but still deal with everything people want to know. For example, take a post on barefoot running. With this one idea, you can make at least three excellent posts that link to each other. You can do one on the history of barefoot running (why it has suddenly become so recognized), major techniques you need to know to run effectively, and a post on the different types of barefoot and minimalist shoes. One idea, at least three posts.
5. My final tip has helped me numerous times. Go to Forums. Go to the places that your target audience already are at and find out what they want to learn about. Forums are great places for getting post ideas as your audience is literally indicating 'I want a post about this.' I am often surprised by the questions people ask and think 'How can you not know that already?' But luckily for me, they don't and I do. In addition, after writing your blog post then you can return to the forum, answer their question and put a link to the full post!
So, using these tips, it should only take you a small amount of research to come up with 50 topics for your blog. This is time that is not wasted. When you've done this, take a minimum of 10 of those topics, write up the post and save them as drafts. You'll thank me for this later. Trust me.
About the Author:
Do you need ideas on how to create a killer online platform ? Or if you're looking for advice on how to improve your writing and speed check out Buffy Greentree's website The Five Day Writer.
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