Starting a blog? 12 ideas for blog posts
I’m currently writing a chapter on blogging for a book on online journalism [UPDATE: Now published]. It includes 12 typical blog post types to kickstart ideas. Here are the examples I came up with – I’d welcome any more:
UPDATE: Also available in Japanese.
Point 6 UPDATED January 20 2012 in response to this blog post (I’m now wondering: was that linkbait? 
).
- Respond to something elsewhere on the web: the best way to start blogging: simply link to something elsewhere that you feel is interesting, or (better) that you disagree with. If you make a constructive response to what someone else has posted, for example, you can start a useful inter-blog dialogue. You might add links to evidence that challenges what the original post says, for example. In its most simple form, when you simply post useful links, this is called ‘link journalism’.
- Suggest an idea: for a story or for a way of doing things. Invite reaction and suggestions – and don’t expect people to come to you: approach people you might otherwise be shy of asking, and invite them to respond on the comments. Ideas can travel very far, so can be very effective in attracting readers.
- Interview someone: a straightforward and easy way to create a post. An email interview can work well, but if you can put an audio or video recording on the site that often adds value. If you are interviewing a busy person it helps if you limit your questions or, if you’re asking for their advice, specifically ask for their ’3 tips on…‘ or ’5 things I know about…’. You can even turn this into a series of interviews with the same theme.
- Blog an event: attend a relevant event – a conference, meeting, public talk, demonstration, or even just a conversation – and write about it. If you have access to the internet during the event you can even ‘liveblog’ it by starting a post as soon as you have something to report and adding updates or new posts as the event progresses. Ambitious bloggers can use liveblogging tool CoveritLive.
- Ask a question: this typically only works once you’ve established a readership and generated goodwill by contributing yourself on your blog and in comments on other blogs, or if it’s for a worthy cause. But it can be very effective in generating useful information. Taken further, you can use free online polling tools such as PollDaddy and SurveyMonkey to conduct a larger survey.
- Pick a fight: there are two ways you can pick a fight on your blog – one good, and one bad. The bad variant is called linkbaiting (although the term covers a broader range of practices), and is done by bloggers seeking traffic or attention, typically by loudly criticising a popular blogger in the hope that they’ll respond, sending links and readers in your direction. The result tends to be lots of noise, and not much insight. The good variant, by contrast, starts with two things: constructive criticism, and a desire to gain insights rather than attention. If you are to criticise another blogger, then, it is worth considering if it will be seen as ‘bait’ or a constructive and valuable debate. Done well, a genuine argument between two bloggers can generate insight and bring factions to compromise. You can also pick a fight with a company or brand, and mount a campaign to instigate change.
- Reflect on something: it might be something that happened to you this week, a decision or choice that you made, a lead for a story, or anything else. Why did it happen? What are the implications? What did you learn? Keep it open so others can contribute their experiences or insights.
- Do something visual: take photographs and/or video footage as you travel along a particular route. Explain them, ask questions, include relevant links. Or draw sketches and photograph them.
- Review something: try to make it useful – include links to further information, quote from (and link to) other reviewers.
- Make a list: Lists are enormously popular on the web, frequently topping websites’ ‘most shared’ lists. It may be anything from ’5 ways to tie a knot’ to ‘The 100 best albums by women’. A good tip for your first post is to make a list of the top 10 blogs in your subject area – a useful task for yourself while also making them aware of your existence.
- Write a how-to: in his book Click, Bill Tancer notes how one of the most popular types of search query is ‘How do I..?’ or ‘Why do..?’ Tutorials also frequently top websites ‘most-shared’ lists and can be enormously useful in generating goodwill in your sphere – not to mention attracting comments that then add to and improve your knowledge of the subject.
- Let someone else post: if you find someone with particular expertise or experience, invite them to write a ‘guest post’ on a particular subject. Even if they already have their own blog, they will probably appreciate the opportunity to reach a new audience, or to write in a different context, and again it will improve your own knowledge.
Are there any other typical blog post styles you can think of?
Google it! And set up Google news alerts for the key areas / issues you want to follow and comment on. For example, online journalism and / or online advertising.
And glossaries / jargon busters, guides, top tips
A couple of ‘tumblr’ ideas, quick and easy…
Post a quote, or a sentence written by someone else that’s grabbed your attention.
Post a conversation which is sometimes an easier way to get your point across than structuring a ‘proper’ blog post.
@Jonathan – excellent addition. Thanks.
@Dave – likewise!
hi paul i think you may be the man to help me with something which i am having trouble finding my way around,i am simply outraged at some comments made in (wanna be facist) ed west’s telegraph blog but i cannot find any way to reply to these comments and although i have just spent two hours looking through the telegraph site i cannot find a link or a board on which to express this outrage and feel that to leave these comments unchallenged would be irresponsible at best,please can you help as i am very new to computers,blogs and all the jargon that goes with,please help me make my voice heard, thank you for reading this,your time and effort and hope you can help. Andy.
Do you mean comments are closed? You can always email the editor, or the blogger. But if comments are closed there’s little you can do – they’ve effectively decided the discussion is finished.
If it were me, I’d seriously think of revising several of the poits here.
How about “start something original rather than feeding off someone else’s ideas or material.” as number 1? Lists, picking a fight, etc are too parasitic, they should be crossed off immediately in my opinion, or used very sparingly.
Move number 8 to the top, forget about numbers 1, 6 and 10, and only review something if you have something original to contribute. Don’t link to other reveiws if you don’t have any value of your own to add unless you are an aggregating site. If you are an aggregating site, reconsider what you are doing. No. 3 Interview someone, like number 8, create something visual, is fantastic because you will be forced to do something original yourself. Concentrate heavily on these two. No-one cares if you are linking to some other loser’s review, but they will notice if you get that interview yourself. Do some work for christ’s sake. if you get that interview, others will be linking to you. This is where you are adding value. Don’t offer any half arsed ideas in the how to do section. Do you have any knowledge or insight on how to do it? If not, don’t bother. I’m sorry d@ve, but “Post a quote, or a sentence written by someone else that’s grabbed your attention.” is exactly the sort of post to be avoided to my way of thinking. How about “create a quote that will grab others attention.”? Jonathon. Glossaries, jargon busters? Well yeah, I suppose, if you really can’t think of anything original, it might do for filler until you do. I’d say use sparingly between other original posts.
Several of these points are what’s wrong with online journalism, and blogging in general in my opinion. Anyway. Enough ranting for now.
Are you trying to start a blog here?
Paul, all good ideas. Another suggestion: find, analyse and explain data. People often want numbers. Assembling it and making sense of it is a useful service and the chances are people will come back for it.
I think it’s fine to do some of the more “parasitic” things; but unless you add something permanently to the conversation people won’t come back.
>Pick a fight: many bloggers attempt to generate traffic by loudly criticising another (popular) blogger in the hope that they’ll respond and generate traffic from their readers. This sort of tactic is often referred to as ‘link-baiting’ – in other words, if the criticised blogger responds (takes the bait) it generally means links to your blog.
I don’t agree there Paul – simply picking a fight is not linkbait: it is rather abuse. Linkbait should be useful, and people picking fights (the word Dolly currently comes to mind) should be ignored.
There’s a difference between ‘ideas for blog posts’ and ‘ideas on how to attract readers’. I don’t blog primarily to attract readers though I am glad when people do read and comment on my blog.The first point ‘Respond to something elsewhere on the web’ on something that is reasonably controversial and responding to it before the rest of the blogosphere does, is probably the best way to attract readers.
Further ideas for blog posts are, in my mind, being inspired right now by the comments here.
Actually that sounded a little harsh. I may have been blogging in pyjamas with a cup of wine.
Agree with most of the points but find myself aligning very strongly with THE WORST OF PERTH. There is just too much traffic, too much information and too many blogs out there already. Whilst all the points are relevant, I tend to think that readers will appreciate some originality and creativity. The readership figures on my blog always go up when the subject matter is useful and original.
It’s down to bloggers as much as everyone else in the online community to prevent it from beocoming ‘wallpaper’!
Perth/Kevin – remember this is a list for those just starting a blog and suggesting some easy ways in. This isn’t about traffic or quality, but just finding your feet in a new medium. Many bloggers – including me – start by just linking to good stuff, then as they gain confidence, contacts and knowledge, move on to more analysis, original work and so forth.
OK, I have my robe on again. (yes it’s closed.) I can’t believe this. Why find your feet doing something everyone else is doing? Seems a waste of time. I don’t see any problem with starting as you mean to continue and finding your feet there. You’re more likely to be discouraged when you find that no-one cares that you found someone else’s review of something. Make your mistakes doing the good stuff, that’s where the learning will take place. Much better to make a horrendous mistake with your first attempt at video liveblogging then to dip your toe in with with a link to someone else who’s done it first. Perhaps the first item, is what do you want to get out of blogging. Then, if you’re going to be mainly linking, then look at who does it best. 3 quarks is all links, but it is the mix that makes it still reasonably interesting. If you’re going to go how to, how are you going to be the best in a sea of how to’s? Do you do it funny? Do you do it on video? Do you do it in mandarin when you don’t even speak it?
I really think new bloggers should totally concentrate on 3, 4 and 8, and only use the rest sparingly if ever. (Actually never). Definitely don’t go linking to someone else’s quote first up, how pathetic is that? Start a blog and begin a comment war to get readers? C’mon!? No-one should do that. Be bold. Aim for the stars.
Hey, you’re persuading me… Perhaps we need a gold star system where some are worth more than others
?
Host a live chat or video chat with someone doing notable work.
Hold a themed photo contest and produce a slideshow with commentary.
In that case, let me go in for the kill. All these points are already clogging my feed reader from many sources in the how to blog/get traffic genre. I’m sure you see the same. Put it this way. Would I be interested in a Paul Bradshaw book that contained the same points that every one is advising when starting a blog? No. Would I be interested in a Paul Bradshaw book titled “When they zig – you zag” How concentrating on original content can make you number 1.” Yes, i would. Not that I’d pay for it, but I’d still be interested.
Thanks – I’m going to revisit this. But I think it worth pointing out that ‘linking to something interesting’ is more about establishing a conversation than attracting visitors in the traditional publishing sense. And I think that is important in getting comfortable in blogging when you begin.
Paul, I’ve really enjoyed the back and forth between you and “worst of perth,” and I have to chime in that I, too, agree with several of his points: – don’t pick fights as a tip for blogging. Does that generate goodwill? Instead, write about something you care about passionately. That could include busting on another company but only if it is furthering a broader point. The second point he brings up – original content – is king. I don’t want another rehash or list, I want an original point of view. That’s why I read novels and why I follow some bloggers.
Otherwise, I like your list and I found it refreshing to view even after blogging for a while. Good reminders. Here is my one addition to the list:
- Use your unique persona and make it your online identity . Do you have a snarky sense of humor, a love of the absurd or an over-analytical mind? Figure out how to incorporate it into your blogging, which will attract readers looking for a strong sensibility. If you approach your blogging with your online eyes, you’ll find material will jump out at you.
Heh, heh. That’s funny. I have a confession. I don’t even wear a robe – OR pyjamas.
Yes sure of course that’s true, but as I say, all these points have been posted a million times by everyone else. A book chapter probably needs a step beyond the clutter? But hey, I have never written a book, so…
I have a policy which seems to work well. I only ever use strictly original (and strictly attributed) photos, and strictly original copy, either mine or submitters, but allow any outside links in the comment stream where it can illuminate the topic. It is a nice mix.
Despite being tempted, especially early on to use previously posted material, it has paid off insisting on all original. Now the blog is being archived by the state library as a historical document, because there are already over 1000 original photos of the city detail that wouldn’t have been taken otherwise. Without this I’d just be another blogger posting snide comments about Perth and the world of art design, architecture etc using stale photos which have already done the rounds. That’s the sort of niche I think new bloggers need to think of carving. Anyway…
Here’s a style of post that may not have been mentioned. The juxtaposition. Linking off, but pairing it with a jarring, shocking or bizarre photo or other material that complements in an interesting or disturbing way. You know New Shelton wet & Dry? That works. http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelton
Love yer work
Andrew The Worst of Perth.
I like the part about picking a fight
The rest of this post sucks (hope this works)
great article.
i have modified my site to let anyone post just about anything as long as it is not adult related content.
i am working on getting peoples profiles to merge with all their social and sharing sites so it will all be in one easy to find profile online
i thought the article was well written and touched on very good points
Guest post idea will really work
, thanks
@Timothy – thanks for your honesty! But why do the other points suck?
@Worst – juxtaposition is a great idea. Will add.
@Chrys – likewise for live chats and slideshows
@Debra – good way of putting it. Will try to crowbar that in with an attribution!
After doing this for a few years, I can confirm that “original” is the key to traffic. I do a mix of linking, aggregating and (sadly far to seldom, due to time contraints) original stuff. Everytime I post something original, I just know the traffic will spike – and sure thing, it does. Sometimes for days after the post went live.
So, I’m with “naked in Perth”: don’t even think of posting if it’s not original.
thanks good job
Nice article! I have tried to translate this into Japanese.
http://www.magicvox.net/archive/2009/02141831/
Great article, thanks!
I just started a Small Business Advertising blog at http://www.uticalounge.com
Thanks for the tips!
Wow, what a great post. Many of your suggestions I think I will try implement in the future on my blog. There are so many great blogs out there that sometimes you feel insignificant within the realms of the blogsphere. Also, it can sometimes seem disheartening when you don’t get the comments and traffic you so desire. I will take your advice and keep persisting. Thanks again for a great post.
I love the one about picking a fight! Below the belt tactics work…almost every time!!
Hi,
I tried to add image but I don’t know how to do this
Can anyone be kind to tell me how?
thanks a lot
If you’re using WordPress there should be a ‘media’ button along the top where you type in your entry. Click on this to open a new window where you can add images etc.
A great many good ideas > I am particularly fond of the link baiting.
While I totally agree with the ‘write original’ point of view, I think you’re missing the point here. This is a blog aimed at people starting a blog. People sitting behind their laptop, drumming their fingers on the table: “sooo.. something original…”. People (like me) with a load of half-formed ideas in their heads, and no idea how to turn these into 500 words that actually say something relevant. You can’t just grap a great idea out of thin air. In linking to other sites, you can get a clear view of what your own, original ideas are. Thus you can learn to write original posts using links as a stepping stone. Or so I hope;).
Just for the record, I agree with the idea that it’s best to write original posts. The only question is: how?
Wow, I’m just starting out, so this has helped me out alot! Thanks for writing this!
I currently have a few posts on http://alex.piechowski.org souly because you’ve wrote this.
Thanks for saving my day, Alex
i liked the picking the fight idea ….i want to start with me phone company verizion ..they are thieves any one with dirt on them send me an email
shawn2411@gmail.com
Write in English!
Otherwise your audience is mostly limited to your nation…
Check out my blog @ Capespoint FM
Thank you for posting these tips. I think that for beginning bloggers, these will help very nicely to get their blog going.
Some tips:
-try to have a definite idea that people can relate to
-offer different downloads, like templates or videos, so that people will recommend the site to others
A very reliable post. Thanks.
Some great advice there. Especially the reference to reviews.
Great Article, can I pick a fight with you to get my 1st visitor?
WARNING: Under Construction
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!
Some great info in this post and the subsequent comments. My partner recently wrote a blog post with 9 great content creation ideas for real estate websites (but they could be applicable to other niches as well):
http://retechulous.com/2010/07/19/niche-biche/
Some good blog ideas here. Personally I write about what I am interested in and read up on it for ideas.
All these are useful tips. These tips will not only increase your traffic over time, but increase your page views also. Keeping your users interested is just as important as your general traffic.
Beginning bloggers will definitely get a lot of helpful information from this post.
Hi Paul,
The list of ideas you have for potential Blog posts, most of them are great others a couple not so great. One os which is No.6 ‘Pick a Fight:Simply starting an argument is not a good idea as it shows that you are in a negative state of mind, putting peoples back up,as some of the comments have mentioned that you are baiting others to reply and disagree.
It is best to do a more of a creative blog giving readers valuable and informative information.
No. 11 Write a how-to: This is a good idea as it gives readers info on how to do things in whatever subject you decide to write about.
A few ideas I think would be to start as a new blogger are:
1/do a my profile blog: (doing your profile as a blog)
2/advertise useful products:(only do this one if you are selling stuff-not really recommended)
3/talk about a subject(any subject and ping it to search engines, to get people to know about it and respond)
Apart from what I have mentioned you’re ideas are spot on.
Take Care
Phil T
Hi! Thank you for the great info. Actually, I don’t have a blog right now, but am thinking about it, maybe I’ll have one in the near future.
Yes, “picking a fight” is a good tactic, especially for me. I see posts all the time that I can pick a fight over and I do! I’m very opinionated, so I’d be able to do that one well and enjoy it. #1, “Link Journalism” is good too. Both of those would be a “natural fit” for me to use in my blog. Thanks for the food for thought! It’s certainly worth my time reading it. Bobby
I am in the real estate business, and I find it easy to write about real estate topics. You can pick a topic such as homes sold in the past 30 days, and start writing about it. The next time you can still write about homes sold in the last 30 days, just pick a city or area or zip in that city. The possibilities are endless.
James Michael Swartz
If you have a blog, you need to write about three to five different fields. One of them will come in searches and you’ll have traffic.
No matter how interesting your topic, it should be well written also. Faulty grammar and misspellings are a turn off.
Thanks for compiling this list. I handle a lot of small business clients and I often have them start out their blogging experience by making a list of tips that they can give to their readers. One step of a process or recipe can become a tip, some key point to check for during an activity is a tip. Some of these are longer or can be fleshed out to a full blog posting. Others are shorter and can be used for fb, twitter, etc, as well as blog commenting. Clients of the Social Media Rose almost always start out by sitting down and writing 101 tips. From these we can then construct numerous blogs, articles, tweets, etc. I especially like this one because you give your readers something interesting to read but not the whole story so that they have to keep coming back to get more tips!
Lallah – The Social Media Rose
I’ve been thinking of starting a blog for a while now, so your tips are going to prove quite helpful in the enterprise. “Link-baiting” in particular seems like it could be fun.
I have a food blog but I think I can make a lot of these work. link-baiting sounds interesting but wrong in some way.
Thanks for the great starting tips! I’ve actually been inspired by your tips to start up a second blog where I can post advice on things I love to help others with. I mean I do I.T support for a job so I’m used to helping others. Keep it up, I’ll be checking back here for sure.
Hey Paul,
Thank you for the 12 great ideas ,,, I think i am gong to go write one post on each of them : )
Thank you for the 12 great ideas ,,, I think i am gong to go write one post on each of them : )
Great ideas! Thanks!
awesome tips , I am just a starter in this blogging field , start because I find it interesting =) ….. don’t forget to visit my blog =) hope you ppl like it
Interesting ideas, not sure about the Pick a fight but still a good list. Bookmarked. Thanks!
Great post. I am new to the blogging world and I’m struggling with what topics to write about. This helps quite a bit.
Very helpful tips. I started blogging last year and didnt have much success as far as visitors are concerned. So I will try applying most of the tips here. Thanks
Really great ideas here.. Picking a fight is interesting and we see that on television commercials. But to actually do it on a blog could get a bit personal. I don’t think I could pull it off but for those who do, more power to them
Thanks! These are really useful; I would never have thought of ‘link baiting’, but I notice it a lot now that I know what it is.
I am starting a blog for Freelance Journalist I would be very grateful if anyone could give me top advice on how to improve my blog. I also looking for advice on wheather to get a website or not?
Hi Darren,
Well you’re doing great first of all with a nice clear niche focus which other people are likely to have a passion for and search for. I’d look for any other blogs or forums on the subject and engage with those too, using your blog as a place to talk about what you find or publish useful information for and from those sites.
You need to publish regularly about your subject – even simple links can get you in a good habit and you can build from there. The one post so far is about you, not the subject, and that should probably go on a separate ‘About’ page. You should also take your mobile number off. More generally, edit your work as tightly as you can to remove typos, grammatical errors, etc.