3 Secret Blogging Ideas Those Professional Writers Dont Want You To Know

June 20, 2011 By Erik Deckers Ive written enough blog posts that Ive figured out what it is that wins readers, and what bores the bejeezus out of them. If Im stuck for a blog post idea, Ive got a few general topics and idea kickstarters that will get my creative juices flowing, and get a decent post out of it. I use these same kickstarters to come up with topics for my own clients, especially when they think theyre stuck for ideas or have run out of things to write about. These are the three best kickstarters Ive found that work, regardless of the topic or industry.

List posts
I know, I know, you hate them. Theyre boring, theyre trite, theyve been done to death. But do you know who loves them? I mean, really looooooooooves them? Your readers. They eat them up. They love that there is a small number of ideas that they can read and understand. It brings order to chaos. Five Best Dishwashers is way more interesting than How to choose a dishwasher. Secretly, you still think theyre interesting too. Why else would you be here? Admit it, you saw the number 3, and thought, Three, huh? I guess I have a couple minutes to check it out. Still dont believe me? Do a little test. Next time youre in the supermarket, pay attention to the magazines at the checkout lane, especially Cosmo. Look at the headlines on the cover. They all follow this format, and they sometimes use the next two ideas. Every month, for years and years and year, weve been promised Three Secrets Men Wont Tell You About Sex, and Five Ways to a Sexier Love Life. For YEARS, I tells ya! And why? Because people love lists. If they didnt, Cosmo would quit doing it. So Ill keep writing list posts for as long as Cosmo does. Why? Because if youre a fellow blogger, youre not my customer. Corporations and small businesses are my customers. Theyre the ones I need to appeal to. And if they want list posts, then I can think of Seven Reasons Why People Love List Posts.

Debunk long-standing myths and stick it to The Man

This is ingrained in our culture. Were the little guy. We despise the big guy. David hates Goliath. Everyman and Everywoman hates bullies, corporations, and faceless bureaucrats. And if we can see evidence where the little guy sticks it to The Man, we go nuts! So whos the Man? Big business, the government (state and local too), bullies, TV preachers, and teachers.

Not todays teachers. Our teachers from when we grew up. We were little kids back then, and had all kinds of knowledge jammed into our brains that we didnt want. We wanted to rebel, but were held down. Even people in their 60s still harbor a little of that Inner Rebel, and they still want to stick it to their old English teacher whos been dead for 30 years. By writing a post about debunking an educational topic, I can reach that Inner Rebel and make him or her want to read. Last week, I wrote a blog post about Five Writing Rules Youre Allowed to Break, and people liked it. Another one Five Grammar Myths Exploded was extremely popular. Why? Because I attacked the sacred cow of 7th grade English and showed where it was wrong. The little guy stuck it to The Man by proving he was wrong.

Special professional secrets

Want to get someones attention? Share something special with them that no one else gets to find out about. Or they dont want you to know. (And whos they? The Man.) But if its something secret that they dont want you to know it must be really hot stuff. Posts like Five Gas Saving Secrets the Oil Companies Dont Want You to Know or Three Secrets Your Credit Card Company Wont Tell You are a whoooole lot more interesting than Five Ways to Save Gas or Three Little-Known Tidbits About Your Credit Card. People love this kind of stuff; they eat it up. I used all three of these tactics with this post, and chances are you were very intrigued by the fact that I:

Used a number. Promised secrets. Stuck it to an elite group of people professional writers.

It was actually the idea of sharing secrets that led to this blog post, and I added the other two tactics to the headline later. But even if you just use one of these three kickstarters in your own industry or niche, you can come up with some awesome ideas on your own. For example:

Three Ways to Lower Your AC Bill This Summer. History Answers: Who REALLY Flew the First Airplane? Five Secrets to Avoiding Fines Your Library Doesnt Want You to Know.

So the next time youre stuck for a post idea, ask yourself: Is there a number of small ideas I can list, a sacred cow I can slay, or insider secrets* I can reveal to entice my readers? Once you start thinking this way, there is no end to the number of posts you can write.

30 Blog Topics For Writers

Posted by Chynna at 7:44 AM

Owning a blog seems to have become a 'must-have' for writers these days. It keeps us in contact with our readers, gives us a platform to display some of our great work and it's free marketing tool. But when you choose to blog every day, you can run out of things to talk about. I know it's happened to me on occasion. My blog, The Gift, used to target a specific audience: special needs children and their families. I loved it but I realized I was running the same topics over and over and I missed chatting about the other passions in my life. In the last few months, I've given my blog a more general feel to it. I still talk about living in a special needs family as that's where my heart is but I also have days devoted to writing, music, gardening, cooking and other interests. And you know what? My followers have doubled, my daily hits have skyrocketed and I've even been approached for some pretty cool writing gigs! I thought what I'd do for today's post is share a few ideas you can try when your blogging topic well runs a bit dry. Here's a short list of 30 you can try out: 1) Do a book review. And don't do what everyone else is doing. Choose a book that's controversial, edgy or just different. 2) Interview an author. 3) Interview a magazine or ezine editor about what's hot, what's not, the Do's and Don't's for their publication and what they're looking for right now. 4) Highlight a new writing opportunity. 5) Do a giveaway. 6) Get another writer, author, editor or publisher to do a guest post. 7) Review a writing resource. 8) Do a 'Top ____' list. Choose a subject such as best/worst books, best writing tools, etc. 9) Do an interview with a character from either one of your works or someone else's. 10) Post a picture and have followers write short story about it. 11) Do a weekly writing prompt. 12) Start a story and invite followers to keep the story going by adding their own scene. 13) Interview a child about his or her favorite books and why they love them. (Kids are a GREAT resource for writing ideas!)

14) Flip through a book, read the sixth sentence and write something based on that sentence. You can choose whichever numbered sentence you fancy! I just chose sixth.) 15) Share a short story, article or chapter from your latest work. 16) Participate in Six Sentence Sunday. 17) Write a post about your favorite song and why it means so much to you. 18) Put another author's blog in the spotlight. 19) Discuss a media tool (eg: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) or give some tips on how to use it most effectively. 20) Have a 'Writers' Treasure Hunt' where readers have to go to fellow writer's blogs for clues to win a prize. 21) Participate in, or organize, a writer/author blog hop with a specific theme. 22) Share a special childhood memory. 23) Talk about an issue that needs to be in the spotlight. 24) Highlight one of your other favorite creative distractions. 25) Have another writer join you for a post where your readers come up with three (or more) prompt words you have to create a story with. 26) Discuss a specific genre. 27) Talk about how you broke into a specific market and share a few tips. 28) Interview a publisher and get some tips for submitting to them. 29) Open the discussion about what a certain celebrity is doing. 30) Give a list of writing opportunities or writing contests. These are just a few I came up with off the top of my head. What would you add to this list? We'd love to hear how you keep the subjects coming on your blog.

10 Writing Topics for the first year

1. Events what happened this week that espouses the values and promotes the voice of your company? 2. Tips to make better use of that product or service Turn our Shoe Holders into Homework Organizers. 3. Tutorial on a related topic of interest to your market. How to get stellar lighting outdoors. (if you sell cameras) 4. Announcements. Version 2.0 has Arrived! 5. Editorial what happened in the news that needs your personal touch? Bring your voice and espouse your companys values. 6. List Post 20 Ways to Extend the Life of your Widgets. 7. Poll Ask a question get feedback! Which of these movies are you most likely to see this weekend? A, B, C. 8. Contest offer a giveaway in exchange for some feedback. 9. Photos. Our office party 2012. 10. Interview. Interview with Friendly Staffer Jim.

10 Evergreen Writing Topics

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Featured Client. The 2012 Baby of the Year (you sell environmentally friendly diapers) Old & New. Present a scrapbook of your company through the year. Our company 2011. Interview with Client. Featuring Power User Bill. Q & A. How can we help you? Review a product that coincides with yours. (It may not be tasteful to review your own product.) 10 Knitting Needle Companies We Love (if you sell Yarn) Link Roundup. Our Favorite Stories this Week on the Web. Recommend. Partner up with a local or companion company. Visit the Bakery Next Door, we have 10% off Coupons! Quotes. This Quote Explains Why I Love My Job Your Turn. I saw this on the way work today. What do you think? Controversy Present an issue with a new twist. Our widgets are made with plastic why?

This is only the beginning. Armed with these topics, put your best writing foot forward. Keep your goals in mind. Keep your key words in the article, and educate yourself on the art of Copywriting. May I recommend Copyblogger.com and the free Copywriting e-book we produced last summer? To your success,
Cathy

15 Blog Ideas To Kick Start Your Writing When You Dont Know What To Write About
April 18, 2012 By Carol Lynn Rivera

Everyone gets stuck. It can be challenging to start a blog and it can be just as challenging to keep it going. Last post, I walked you through a simple strategy for starting your business blog with a plan and a list. But sometimes it doesnt matter how many ideas you have on your list, you just dont feel inspired. Even veteran bloggers have those days when theyd rather eat a bug or scrub the bathroom grout than write a single word. You must resist the temptation to give up or even to do otherwise neglected household chores. A successful blog takes time more time than many people realize. You may not see results for a year or more, but even if your traffic has been hovering somewhere in the double digits and the only comments youve gotten are spam, you need to keep going. You may need some better marketing skills, but if your content is good, do not quit. So for days when sagging traffic and lagging comments or just an ordinary case of the blahs are sucking up your inspiration, here are some blog ideas to pull out of your hat.

1. Tell A Story About Your Business

Who doesnt love to tell stories about themselves? If its a success story, an underdog story, a come from behind story tell it. People love to root for other people who are struggling and if youve been in business for any length of time chances are youve struggled with something. Share that story and its happy (or maybe not so happy, but lessons-learned) conclusion.

2. Address Customer Fears

Tackle a touchy subject if you sell orange doohickeys and people are always worried theyll fall apart in the rain, address that concern. If they dont fall apart in the rain, explain why. If they do, offer alternatives and solutions. Give the pluses and minuses of your product or service. Or address a common concern like, Why are orange doohickeys so expensive? Your honesty will be appreciated.

3. Write A List
The possibilities here are endless. Write a list of the top 10 uses of your orange doohickey, of the lessons you learned your first year in business, of the most common mistakes you see people in your industry making, of the best apps for people like your customers. Think about lists that include the best, worst, biggest, dumbest, craziest, funniest adjectives will get you far in this case.

4. Write A Series
Take a topic and turn it into a theme by breaking it down into smaller components. This post is a simple example of that. I started with how to plan a blog, progressed to giving you ideas for blogging and plan to follow up later with some marketing ideas for your blog. Or take a list and turn it into multiple posts. 10 ways to enhance your home dcor with orange doohickeys can be 10 different posts.

5. Conduct An Interview
This doesnt have to be complicated. Grab one of your good customers and interview him about his business and throw in a few questions about how he uses or feels about your product or service. Your customer will appreciate the recognition and youll get a testimonial out of it, too. You can also interview someone else in your industry, a colleague, staff member (as part of a profile series), supplier, or fellow blogger.

6. Teach Something
Youre successful because youre good at something. Take that something and turn it into a howto. Even if your livelihood depends on installing tile, go ahead and tell your customers how to tile their own bathrooms. On this blog we tell people how to all the time. And yet we still have

jobs doing things we tell people how to do. Why? Because most people want to know, but not everyone wants to do. Dont be afraid to give up some information.

7. Tell Your Secrets

I dont mean how many cookies you really ate or what you do in the dark of night, but what you do when youre in your customers shoes. If youre writing how-tos, theyre probably fairly general. But now I want you to tell your readers how you do it. If you were going to tile your own bathroom, set up your own 401k or build your own website, how would you do it? What would you start with or think about? What specific tidbits have you necessarily left out of a more general guideline? Better yet if you have done it. Theres a ton of fodder there what mistakes did you make? What horror stories can you share? What do you wish you had done differently? What worked really well? What tricks did you learn that made things easier? Every experience is another blog post.

8. Shoot A Video
Not an expensive, animated, high end video. One you sit down and do with your webcam. Theres no rule that says a blog has to be in writing, so write out loud. If youve got something on your mind, say it.

9. Do A Roundup
If youve been blogging for some time, do a what youve missed post that compiles the headlines and teasers of your top 10 or 5 most recent or 6 most underrated posts. Chances are someone out there has missed them and will be glad for the summary. Do this on a regular schedule and youve got a built-in topic that you can use over and over.

10. Explain A Price

If youre in a service industry, you can have an entire lineup of blogs based on the cost of your services. We did that recently, when we covered the cost of a website. This doubles as addressing customer concerns and triples as a series. Many business owners hesitate to put price tags or even price ranges on their services, but I say dont be afraid of it. If someone is scared off by the price tag, thats probably not someone who would have done business with you anyway. Plus if you do this well and explain the rationale for your pricing, you can refer prospects to it when they ask you why something costs what it does.

11. Curate Content

Make a list of the five best blog posts or news stories youve read on a topic of interest to your audience. Add a snippet with your review or perhaps an opinion on the topic and a link to the source. You may even get some bonus attention that way, when other bloggers see youre promoting them.

12. Review A Book

Remember all that great reading youve been doing (as per the advice in my last blog)? Make it do double duty by reading and then reviewing. Talk about something that inspired you or that you completely disagreed with. This shouldnt be a high school book report, so only do this about a book you particularly enjoyed or particularly didnt. Either way, its your passionate opinion that counts.

13. Ask A Question

This can be a question you really want answered, or it can be a hypothetical question that you plan to give your very strong opinion on. Why are orange doohickeys the best deal in town? How can orange doohickeys help you combat boredom? Take any statement or headline and turn it into a question. I guarantee your brain will want to answer it, and then your hand can write about it. In my industry we talk about social media a lot. A recent headline stated, Facebook Purchases Instagram For $1 Billion. You may read that and barely notice it. But turn it into a question: Should Facebook Have Spent $1 Billion On Instagram? And now it makes you wonder. Do this wondering out loud.

14. Challenge A Convention

I stirred up some pretty strong opinions recently when I wrote a post telling people that the best way to do social marketing was to stop engaging customers. I honestly didnt expect the reaction. Mostly I was so tired of hearing the word engage and seeing so many people do it poorly that I wrote about it. But it sparked an interesting conversation an engaging one, in fact. It must be something you can back up, either with fact or a reasoned opinion, but if there is some conventional wisdom in your industry that you can refute, do it. Youre not looking for agreement or a pat on the head. Youre looking to get people thinking and responding.

15. Make A Comparison

Do you offer more than one product or service? Compare them. Do you offer a product or service that has a competitor in the market? Compare those, too. Compare your orange doohickey to your blue one. Compare a WordPress website to HTML. A leather purse to the fabric one. A 401k to an IRA. If you sell Diet Aid A, compare it to your competitors Diet Aid B. Whatever you sell, give your customers the pros and cons of choosing it over a similar or competing product. Avoid the temptation to sell. No product or service is perfect and there are pros and cons all around. Customers are smart enough to know this and if youre the one being honest, youre the one theyre going to trust enough to buy from.

Bonus: Finding Ideas Wherever You Are

When youre sitting there staring at a blank page or screen is not the time to start thinking of blog ideas. You should be thinking about blog ideas all the time. You dont even need to be a workaholic to do it.

Once you get into a blogging mindset, a listening, watching and learning mindset, youll find that ideas practically generate themselves. You wont be able to stand in line at the supermarket without thinking of a way to turn it into a blog post. Every magazine headline will scream blog post! Every time someone says something funny, stupid, interesting or odd it will start churning in your mind as fodder for a blog post. Thats when having a notepad or an app comes in handy because youll want to capture your ideas immediately. I implore you not to wait until you get home or until you get in the car or until you get to your desk to write your ideas down. By then the inspiration and probably the entire concept in general will have passed. Remember, you dont need to blog about an idea immediately. You just need to be gathering ideas and adding them to your list. My list is pages long, but on any given day I dont want to write about 99.99% of them. It doesnt matter. The longer your list of ideas, the more youll have to choose from when its time to write. Then you can pick the topic that really does inspire you, the one that makes you feel passionate enough to sit down and pound out a few words. I hope these ideas go onto your list and I fully expect to read some of your blogs about them later! If you have other ideas or story-starters up your sleeve, please share. Even I have days when I dislike 100% of the ideas on my list!

20 Ideas for Writing a Blog Post

Blog Post Suggestions for When You Can't Think of What to Write About
By Susan Gunelius, About.com Guide
See More About:

writing a blog blog posts blog traffic blog contests blog carnivals

The more you blog, the harder it can be to come up with fresh ideas to write about. Two of the most important parts of a blog are compelling content and frequent updates. Take a look at the following blog post ideas to spark your creative juices when you can't think of what to write about. Just remember to try to apply each of these ideas appropriately to your blog topic.

1. Lists
People love lists, and just about any kind of list is bound to attract traffic. Top 10 lists, 5 things not to do, 3 reasons I love something, etc. Start with a number then take it from there.

2. How-to
People love to find easy-to-follow instructions to help them accomplish a task. Whether you want to teach your readers how to throw the perfect curve ball or how to avoid getting bitten by a mosquito, the choice is yours.

3. Reviews
You can write a review of just about anything on your blog. Take a look at the following suggestions:

Products Websites Books Movies Music Restaurants Hotels

The possibilities are nearly endless. Just think of something you've tried and write about your experience and thoughts.

4. Photos
Post a photo (or photos) related to your blog topic.

5. Link Roundup
Write a post that includes a list of links to other blog posts that published great posts or to websites you like.

6. Current Events
What's going on in the world? Write a post about an interesting bit of news.

7. Tips
Write a post to share tips to help your readers accomplish something in an easier, faster or cheaper way.

8. Recommendations
Share recommendations for your favorite books, websites, movies or other "favorites" related to your blog topic.

9. Interviews
Interview a prominent figure or expert in your blog topic then publish a blog post about it.

10. Polls
Register for an account with a site like PollDaddy.com then publish a poll related to your blog topic in one of your blog posts.

11. Contests
People love to win prizes, and blog contests are a great way to drive traffic to your blog as well as encourage visitors to leave comments. Blog contests can be used to write several posts such as an announcement post, a reminder post and a winner post.

12. Blog Carnivals

Join a blog carnival (or host one yourself) then write a post about the carnival topic.

13. Podcasts
Sometimes it's easier to talk about something than it is to write about it. If that's the case, try audio blogging and post a podcast.

14. Videos
Share a video from YouTube or one of your own, or host a video blog.

15. Quotes
Share a quote from a celebrity or prominent person in a field related to your blog topic. Be sure to cite your source!

16. Links to Interesting Content from Digg or StumbleUpon

Sometimes you can find some really interesting submissions on Digg, StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking sites. It's fun to share links to some of the best submissions related to your blog topic or of interest to your readers in one of your own blog posts.

17. Your Turn

Turn the tables and post a question or comment then ask your readers what they think about that question or comment. Your turn posts are a great way to spark a conversation.

18. Guest Posts

Ask other bloggers or experts in a field related to your blog topic to write a guest post for your blog.

19. Point/Counterpoint
A point/counterpoint post is where you present two opposing sides to an argument or issue. This type of post can even be separated into two different posts where the first presents one side of the argument and the second presents the other side.

20. Answer Reader Questions or Comments

Look back through the comments left by your readers and find any questions or statements that can be used to spark a new post.