Want more readers and action happening on your blog? (Of course you do)
I’ll let you in on an open secret – you’ve got to pick the right blog topics to write about.
If you’re a copywriting genius you may just get away with talking about the weather and keep your readership (maybe, maybe not).
But for the rest of us, this one important ingredient is easy to fix…
Here are 7 ways to pick great blog topics and guarantee that your posts will meet a better reception, and your readers will keep on coming back for more…
1. Controversy
Be the ‘Myth-Buster’. Let the cat out of the bag. Topics which matter to people and get them emotionally engaged are a great way to stimulate visits to your posts, and responses too. Make sure to stay respectful though – not everyone may share your views.
2. Up to the Minute News
If you’re the first one to report that Steve Jobs is now inventing iHarps for the angels, or Facebook has sold for $100billion – people will jump across and read the news. Gotta be right on the crest of the wave to make this one work though. Yesterday’s news is… well…. Yesterday’s news.
3. Solve those problems!
In touch with what your target readership really wants and needs? Give them solutions. Offer them hope and explain what they can do to fix what needs fixing and get the results they desire.
Obviously this will be based upon your niche, but the ‘big 3′ which really crack it here are making more money, improving relationships, and better health.
4. The Good Old ‘How to…’
As long as it’s based on what your readership want to learn, explaining how to do something they can’t yet do is a godsend, if it finds the right people at the right time. Easy to break down into a nice, digestible post as well. ‘How to’s’ are always a safe bet.
5. Turn on, Tune in…
Whatever your readers are talking about, asking and bringing up is going to be great fodder for juicy blog topics. Take note of comments on your other posts, listen in to what’s being talked about on Twitter and other social media, engage and interact as much as you can on niche forums and communities.
6. Start With Keywords
Do some keyword research based around the core topics your blog covers. Expand the results to find long tailed key phrases which people are actually searching for and turn them into blog posts.
Added bonus here is that you’ve got a built in potential traffic source at the very heart of the blog posts that are born this way.
7. Fill in the Gaps
What hasn’t been explained or explored enough in your niche? What terms, concepts or strategies need to be defined more clearly to your new readers?
Whole posts and even post series can come from simple things like explaining how SEO works, how to set up a blog or how to use Social Media to Drive Blog Traffic.
Identify the gaps and fill them!
So what are you waiting for? Put these tips into action and you’ll have no trouble coming up with quality blog post ideas to keep your blog topped up with top notch content.
Still not enough ways to find stuff to blog about? Check out my post about 25 Ways to Discover Good Blog Topics in any Niche
Thanks for sharing this article with your social networks – it’s what keeps the blogosphere turning!
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Tagged as: blog copy, blog post ideas, blog topics, Blogging, content, Inspiration, writing
{ 37 comments }
These are good guidelines for good blog topics. I especially like to write how-to posts, as they are usually help users to solve certain problems. For example, on my blog you can find topics on how-to find a good web host.
How to’s are always attractive to readers – if you identify the problems and challenges they are facing…
Thanks for your comment Jasmine
You’re right, my “How-to” articles usually receive a lot more readers than other.
Thank you for the nice tips
Jenn
You’re welcome – How to’s are certainly useful and if you write them well – easy to digest…
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. It helped me gain a lot of info.
You’re welcome Suraj,
Thanks for commenting
It also helped a lot and thanks for sharing this post.
I believe its better to avoid controversial, that way you don’t not get a bad name associated to your band. I can understand that it brings in a lot of attention, but it might not be good for business, Take a look at Godaddy and SOAP.
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Nice tips! I have my own blog and it is realy useful information for me. Thanks!
Welcome Stacy!
Great tips on getting ideas – something that I used to get stuck on all the time.
A key tip of mine is to create quick polls on your Facebook page to see what people are currently interested in. Another idea is to use Google hot trends and build something around that!
Nice tip Sam… Polls through different mediums are a great way to get in touch with what your readership want. Another one I like to use is Survey Monkey.
It’s an important area for all bloggers to get a handle on, after all – quality content is what good blogging is al about…
From what I’ve seen, how-to articles, whether they describe how to solve a household problem, make something, or cook something, can have a long online life. The more universal the need that’s filled, the more people will want to look at it.
Absolutely Alan.
It’s important to keep the balance between universal appeal and niche balance though – if you want to get your posts found by the people who will appreciate them the most.
I agree, how to’s make a reliable basis for long term, useful content.
Thanks for commenting mate
It’s also a good idea to simply ask target audience members what kind of information they’d like to receive. Reach out to social media followers. They will appreciate that their input matters.
That approach is so powerful it probably deserves a post all of it’s own Nick.
Setting up channels of communication via social media, or through your blog, is essential. Once the dialogue is opened up, you can really find out what your readers want and need…
Thanks for your comment mate.
Great post, I especially like the 1st tip, its a well known fact that controversy causes discussion. Not only will it gain traffic, but it will get people talking, it may not sit well with everyone though!
Sure – controversy needs to be always tempered with respect for other points of view (IMO!)
Still – things that people feel strongly about are always going to captivate attention and stimulate reactions!
Thanks for your comment Jason
I believed when you write something that will spark a debate, your readers will come often.
True Ricardus. Getting a good juicy debate going is a great way to engage readers and stimulate interaction and sharing.
Thanks for adding that
While it’s important to try and pick a topic your readers will love, it’s not half as important as picking a topic YOU love! If you love the topic, you will right passionately about it, and your readers will pick up on this, while will make it more enjoyable for them to read and keep them coming back
True Robert – our own passion is ultimately what drives us to do what we do and do it well.
It’s the sweet spot between our passion and the needs and desires of others that gets the best results…
Thanks for adding that mate
As a tech blogger I focus on giving some practical tips and unique tech reviews…:)
Knowing your target readership and picking topics in a way that suits your niche is a very wise move Bennix!
Thanks for your comment mate.
Nice points Jym,
Controversial topics, How to post and latest news or updates……. these are some topics which always receive huge traffic and people love to search them in their market.
Yup. Good topics all Shalyn…
Tapping into current affairs which are relevant to your readership is an awesome way to inspire visitors to come and read your blog.
Great stuff here and right on time since I have just built my own personal site and all these points will help me get on a roll and bring readership especially 1 and 6, cheers.
Glad to know it’s helpful Stephen… Best of luck!
Personally I find keywords and news are excellent starting points, and a smattering of controversy will always up the engagement and interest!
Thanks for commenting mate
Very descriptive post, I enjoyed that a lot. Will there be a part 2?
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How about the celebrity gossip topic. That usually gets some traffic.
True Tyler, in most niches that can be applied in some way. I guess for online marketing niches the celebs would be big blogging players, entrepreneurs, Google spoke people and so forth…
Certainly leveraging popularity of leaders or key figures related to whatever topic you blog about will stimulate interest!
Great point, thanks for adding that
I was just looking for this kinda article.thanks for sharing ..it will help a lot
Welcome Hursh
Hi Jym Tarrant,
Thanks for sharing this interesting post that is filled with great information. I will visit again to continue gleaning from your post.
I really have to give it to those who write a series of posts explaining a very interesting topic. That really makes you want to go back to see if it has already been updated. It’s pretty much like how TV dramas work. The excitement just makes you want to watch next week’s episode!
Great point Gerald.
There’s much to be learned from the way strategies are used in other media and marketing, and TV dramas pull in huge numbers of viewers week in, week out – sometimes for years!
Revealing enough but leaving the reader with a tantalizing teaser promising something more if they come back for your next post/sign up/subscribe/buy is a powerful way to move them through your ‘blogging funnel’