The Hard Task of Blogging

We all face the challenge of having to write and not knowing where to start.  When it comes to a blog it gets even more complicated.  This isn’t some paper for your teacher to grade, or a letter that will be read by a select few.  This is going out into the Internet ether, and no telling what will happen next.  Whether you’re blogging for business or have a personal blog, topics are sometimes hard to find.  Yet we’re all told that we need to be blogging weekly or even daily.

I tell all my clients to blog at least weekly on their websites.  If I’m helping them with these posts then I will push it even harder.  But even the best among us can come up blank sometimes.  So recently I went looking for blog topics.  I found that it is a common topic out there in the web.  Experts like Chris Brogan, offer lists, and even weekly newsletters that contain topics. Sites abound with “random” generators that spout out questions and instructions for blogging.  And then there are sites like Plinky.com that have daily topics and a forum to post them in.

So what is the best approach? There isn’t one.  Blogging has to be personal for it to work.  You have to inject your personality into the posts.  Now I’m not saying pour your heart out, but even if you’re writing about something dry like back injury treatment, add some humor or a personal story.  It is small touches like these that will help you get and retain readers.  People will value your content for the same reason they value your postings on social media.  It’s a personal connection.

Now, I’m not saying don’t use the many resources out there for blog topics.  I love Chris Brogan’s 100 things he wants others to blog about.  It’s a great way he was able to purge ideas, and make a connection with his readers.  I have copied the list over to a word document along with some from Plinky.com that I like.  So expect some fun posts coming up.  The big challenge is that I’ll be trying to write about each topic on both my blogging sites.  Here on my business blog and on my personal blog. I also like the suggestion I found online of going back to previous posts and writing about the same topic again, either expanding upon the original post or finding a different angle.

So dig out the thinking cap and go hunting for some topics.  You might find that they inspire you with your own idea.

Related articles

• Why You Should Become a Reader (savvyblogging.net)
• Becoming a Trust Agent w/ @ChrisBrogan [@InboundNow #6] (hubspot.com)
• What Plinky Is and How to Make It Better. (reluctanth3ro.wordpress.com)
• Topic: How do you stay focused? (dailypost.wordpress.com)
• An Amateur’s Guide to Blogging (blogworld.com)