Good Blog Topics

Good Blog Topics

Once you start blogging, one of your first concerns is going to be, “What do I blog about?”

Chances are you have plenty of possible topics. But what’s going to connect with your community? Once again, you’ll have to figure this out for yourself, but here’s a list of suggestions that may work.

• Create Top N Lists — Creating blog posts that offer top 10 (or whatever number) lists is a proven winner. It promises a quick, easily-digestible take on a subject. Google the phrase “Top 10”[1] and see 450 million great examples.

• Top People/Products — A variation of top n lists that adds the promise of celebrity

• Be Contrarian — Disagreeing with established opinion can be a draw. People often seek this type of alternative to accepted wisdom

• Be Controversial — But not too controversial. You’re looking to stir up debate, not trouble.

• Answer FAQs — FAQs are Frequently Asked Questions. Every field has them. If you promise to answer them, people will be likely to read.

• Ask Questions — One pastor we know uses this as an ice breaker: “What’s your favorite movie?”

If this short list doesn’t do it for you, there are lots of good blog posts that offer ideas for what to write about. Here’s a list of great recommendations:

• Social Media Content Creation Process[2] by Geoff Livingston of Now Is Gone

• Discover Hundreds of Post Ideas for Your Blog with Mind Mapping[3] by Darren Rowse of Problogger

• 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write[4] by Chris Brogan of ChrisBrogan.com

• 8 Must-Dos For Aspiring Writers[5] by Amber Naslund of Brass Tack Thinking

In addition to these bloggers and their sites, check out Dosh Dosh, Buzz Bin, Ittybiz, Copyblogger, Remarkable Communication, Remarkablogger, and Problogger. [6]

Other ways to find blog topics:

• Read something new every day
• Dedicate 20 minutes each day
• Follow Alltop[7] for ideas
• Ask people for ideas, especially your community
• Keep a log of potential ideas
• Bookmark sites you visit
• Use Delicious[8] or Digg[9]
• Read other bloggers
• Find interesting and relevant photos
• Use Flickr[10] — be sure to look for the Creative Commons license so you can reuse them
• Stuck? Try a “Best of” post
• Remember: Fast is better than perfect, and perfect is the enemy of good

Next up: Getting Your Blog Found