Too many blog post topics crowding your inbox, bookmarks folder, desk and brain?
Not sure how to prioritize and separate the best publishing ideas from the rest?
Come, let me rub that aching mind of yours.
Which is the river and which is the canal?
Are you a blogging canal - charting a straight and narrow publishing course and actively choosing where to go?
Or are you a blogging river - following the path of least resistance and letting time and whims decide for you?
Which one gets you to your goal first?
With that in your relaxing mind ...
Here are 10 tips to help you choose what to blog about when there are 1,000 things you could publish.
1. New conversation trumps all else. In terms of blog post potential (community, traffic, links), it's generally more valuable to start a new conversation - break some news, offer original tips, share new information, ask a new question - than it is to merely respond to what another blogger has already said.
2. Choose what excites you most. What gets your blogger blood pumpin'? What could you blog about for 24 hours straight without popping a vein or falling asleep? Exactly - write about that! Your readers will detect your enthusiasm and respond in kind.
3. Meet your blog's objectives. Write toward a specific goal - not just to scratch a blogging itch or join a passing bandwagon. Be a canal, not a river.
4. Timelessness trumps timeliness - for long-term purposes. On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that people will find your post useful a year from now? If it's reader loyalty and lasting sustained traffic you want, go with a "how-to" or "top tips" post.
5. Timeliness trumps timelessness - for short-term purposes. Given the choice between the flavor of this month and last month's leftovers, you know which one to pick. If it's buzz traffic and an influx of new reader blood you're after, consider a timely news-oriented story.
6. Respond to tangents elsewhere. If it doesn't squarely clear the bar you've set for post topics, don't post it. Leave a comment at the original blog post instead, or contact the blogger personally. Or simply digest it, save/delete the URL, and move forward with an unburdened mind.
7. Meat and potatoes over fast food and sweets. Pick the topic that is most likely to nourish readers time and time again, as opposed to giving them a quick fix. This is the difference between a flash-in-the-pan blog and an enduring creation.
8. Satisfy your readers. That means placing your current and future blog readership ahead of your own personal needs. As you sow, so shall you reap.
9. Mix it up. Maybe you're in the "wish-I-could-post-about-everything" rut. Too bad - you've only got 24 hours a day like everyone else. So step boldly out into the unknown and do something different. Without overextending your topic, stretch it a little and give your readers something refreshing.
10. Make and follow a posting schedule. Your readers will appreciate the regularity, and you can always throw in extra posts as needed. Plus it makes the taskof choosing writing topics easier!
I hope these 10 blog post prioritization ideas help you improve a personal blog, business blog or corporate blog. I know there are many ways to decide what to write about, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling with 10 of my favorites.
What did I leave out? How do you decide what to blog about when presented with a wide range of ideas? Please leave a comment below.
I only wish that I had that dilemma!
Good post, though.
Posted by: Mat | March 15, 2007 11:01 PM | Permalink to Comment