Saturday, August 19, 2017

37 ideas for overcoming blogger's block

It happens to all bloggers. The day to post has come, and you're still scratching your head about what to write.

You can't shake that ugly feeling that everything's been covered and there's nothing new to say about your industry. The frustration can make you want to dump blogging and get into book writing.

Fear not. Here is a list of enough blog post topics to keep your fingers flying all year long. These are accepted, tried-and-true topics that work for sharing, commenting and conversions:

1. Listicles. People love lists. Lists state ideas clearly, are easy to consume and come in handy as reference. Suggested titles include a number plus the use of "Top," "Best," and "Most Popular" to describe the list subject.

2. How-to. Getting good, solid information is a huge motivation for internet users. If you can successfully take visitors through a step-by-step process, they will share and bookmark your pages. How-to pieces also build your authority in your industry. Titles could also include "Tips" and "Tricks."

3. How not-to. This is a listicle or case study of what not to do in any given situation emphasizing the words, "wrong," and "not."

4. Case studies. Case studies are the proof side of your how-to post, only this time it's "How They Did It" or "How I Did It." Again, write about a step-by-step progression of efforts that lead to a successful goal-informative as well as inspiring.

5. Problem solved. A sort of combination of how-to and case study, the problem solved can be drawn from a terrific solution you discovered in your professional or personal life.

6. FYI. This is pure research, either academic or experiential, to educate readers on a subject of interest.

WORKSHOP: Learn advanced techniques for corporate storytellers and writers in this event hosted by Mark Ragan and Jim Ylisela.

7. FAQ. A combination of how-to, problem solved and FYI and formatted as a listicle for easy consumption.

8. Checklist. How-to meets listicle, with a black or box to check off each action on a printed version.

9. Editor's picks. This can be a regular rotation on the blog in which a particular item, web page, tool or service is described in detail and linked to.

10. Review. Consume or use a marketed item that relates to your blog and write what you think about it. Be subjective or objective—or both.

11. Guide. Subtitled, "Everything You Need to Know About_______," the guide presents all the info that can be exposed about one topic.

12. Blog series. If your how-to, guide or problem solved post is multi-faceted and lengthy, you can publish for weeks about the same subject, one installment at a time. This is especially appealing with its opportunity for e-book creation.

13. Event review. In the same vein as the interview, an industry-related event, presentation or panel discussion is where the material is being handed to you. You just have to compile and edit it.

14. News. Just about any newsy thing can be written about as long as it's current.

15. Trends. Some content creators are able to predict trends as they are happening. If you're a trend spotter, create content on your blog that rides that emerging trend.

16. Shootout. Something versus something in this comparison post, written to help readers understand the difference between particular products or services.

17. Group think. If you can get answers to the same question from many different authorities, you can pull together a post that's basically a list of quotes. Once you get the responses, the work is all in the editing and formatting.

18. Interview. All this requires is a bunch of questions and a willing authority. The material can be easily acquired using audio, email, Facebook or chat. The hard part is transcription (if audio) and editing text, making the effort almost 90 percent editing.

19. Survey. Broadcast a question on a trending topic to your readers, and edit their answers.

20. People to know. A list of influencers in a particular area that includes a bio, quote, clips, links and social media connections for each.

21. Storytelling. A first-person, experiential post to inform and entertain your readers, possibly with an educational parable.

22. Humor. File this under creative writing as it takes an extra effort to pull off. Can involve satire or a parody, but irony and sardonic wit work, too. It's best when tied to cultural references or world events.

23. Seasonal. If a holiday is coming up, jump on it to promote a product, idea or person.

24. Controversial. Go out on a limb with your idea or theory, and take an unpopular position. It's risky, but it often generates respect.

25. Predictions. Most popular as a year begins to describe upcoming trends. You can be controversial and cover the outcome of a specific event, like an election or referendum.

26. Rant. If something is sticking in your craw, go on about it using run-on sentences and passionate language. It can be cathartic.

27. New release. If you have a new or updated product, service or partner, or you want to promote an upcoming event, tell your readers all about it.

28. Portfolio piece. Show off your latest competed project with a description of the challenge, solutions and methods, along with a plug for the client.

29. Our best posts. A listicle of your most widely read posts as determined by Google Analytics.

30. Response. Point to a particular piece of content, and outline your opinion in favor or against it.

31. Questions and answers. Answer questions that your readers have posed or that have appeared in social media threads.

32. Contest. Get a prize, create a contest, and announce it in a post. Require entrants to "like," subscribe or follow.

33. I dare ya. Pose a challenge to your audience. Follow up with updates about audience members participating in the challenge.

34. Podcast. Create a podcast, and post it elsewhere as well as on your site, with a post about each episode. Be sure to write a introduction and conclusion sufficient to satisfy Yoast's demand for 300 words on the page.

35. Vlogging. Video blogging is the same as podcasting, but with video. Again, add enough words for Google to chew on.

36. Photo essay. Every picture tells a story, doesn't it? If you have a visual story to tell, use those images alongside some descriptive captions.

37. Slideshare. Slideshares are popular educational tools that start as a Powerpoint and can be uploaded to YouTube or slideshare.com

Mari Kane is a blogger and WordPress consultant living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Follow Mari on Twitter @blogsitestudio. A version of this article first appeared on her web design blog, Blogsite Studio. This article was previously published on PR Daily in August 2016. 

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