32 OF THE MOST-POPULAR BLOG-POST IDEAS
Stuck for something to blog about? Tired of writing the same sort of blog posts over and over?
Here are 32 types of blog posts you can use for inspiration. Keep this list in yourfaves for a rainy day. With this many ideas, you’ll never be short on a post idea again!1. A LIST POST
Suggestion: Write a bucket list, a must-see or must-do list, a list of 10 reasons to (or not to…), a list of your top 15 fave places/movies/travel destinations, a list of lessons you could learn from Celebrity X.
2. A PROS AND CONS POST
Suggestion: Pick a topic/subject/object and research it the best you can. Write down its qualities and present this information to your readers under two headings: its pros and its cons. Ask your readers which is the stronger argument.
3. AN A-Z POST
Suggestion: Write an A-Z on your blog’s niche. For example: An A to Z of cleaning tips, make-up tips, travel tips, cooking tips, photography tips (or in this blog’s case: the A-Z of the best blog tools & resources!)
4. A PROFILE
Suggestion: Write a profile post on someone you know, a blogger you admire, a public figure who’s caught your interest or even the type of reader your blog is aimed at. Make it detailed and discuss why you chose that person or people.
5. A TUTORIAL OR HOW-TO POST
Suggestion: Are you skilled in carrying out a particular task? Or, is there a task you want to learn (that others would likely want to know how to do too?). Turn it into a step-by-step tutorial using video, photos or screen casts. Example: How to set up WordPress.
6. A COMPARISON
Suggestion: Compare two topics, subjects or objects (workout videos, writing courses, fashion books etc) and write the key features of each side-by-side. The exercise will not only prove interesting for your readers, but may help you finally choose between two things you’ve been debating over!
7. A REVIEW OR CRITIQUE POST
Suggestion: Document your experience and thoughts on a particular hotel, restaurant, plane ride, car you’ve test-driven, new website, cosmetic or cleaning product, new film or TV show, e-book, adventure or game.
8. A MAKEOVER OR BEFORE-AND-AFTER POST
Suggestion: Show the before and after images of your haircut, wardrobe tidy-up, bedroom wallpaper, kitchen makeover, diet or exercise results and more! Readers LOVE the power of these images! They give hope and inspiration!
9. A GUIDE-TO… POST
Suggestion: Write your tips, tricks and hints readers would find useful for experiencing a place (a country or city), trying something new (an exercise regime), using a product or service, or attempting something you may be skilled in (writing short stories or purchasing the right camera).
10. A DIARY ENTRY
Suggestion: For the blogger who’s open to revealing their more honest side, a diary-style post will do just that! Talk freely about an experience, what’s on your mind, your hopes or plans for the future or a funny story from your past.
11. A QUIZ
Suggestion: Use a quiz to entertain your readers or to help them understand a topic (How much do you know about colour?). Try Free Online Surveys for a quiz tool or the WordPress Quiz Me plugin.
12. A NEWS STORY
Suggestion: Scour the news headlines or press releases you’ve received to write a post on a current topic that your readers will be interested in. Bloggers who are quick to jump on news stories may be well-rewarded traffic-wise.
13. A GLOSSARY
Suggestion: Write a post defining the popular words used by bloggers in your niche (such as this site’s glossary!). Promote it as a go-to, must-book mark resources for those new to the topic, emphasising how hand it is for them to refer to often. Use The Alphabetizer to quickly put the words in order.
14. A LIVE-BLOGGING POST
Suggestion: Live blogging a conference event can be a very quick and easy way to grow your audience and gain new Twitter followers fast! Not going to an event? Try doing the same with a popular TV show – choose one that “everyone’s talking about” and make use of its hashtag to attract traffic.
15. A CASE STUDY
Suggestion: Case studies are great ways to convey information (statistics, results, data and so on) in an interesting way. For example, if you blog about ways to save money, you could experiment with switching off certain appliances for a month and comparing the electricity usage and costs with the previous month.
16. A VLOG
Suggestion: If you want to mix things up a bit, try making a video of yourself for your blog. Some readers like words, some like sound and some like video. Give them all three and you’re sure to please! Here are some vlogging tools.
17. A BEST-OF POST
Suggestion: Perfect for when you’re short on time or trying to prepare posts before heading on vacation, a best-of post highlights your top five, 10, 15 (up to you!) posts for the week, month or year. It also makes a great starting page for new readers who want to see what’s been popular on your site without trawling through archives. Example: Best feminine WordPress themes.
18. A SURVEY
Suggestion: A survey can be used for numerous reasons. Create one to find out what sort of content your readers enjoy or to get feedback on an issue that you can then turn into another post. Tools such as Wufoo can be used to create surveys you can embed into posts.
19. AN INTERVIEW
Suggestion: Interviews are great way to add interesting content to your blog. Find someone your readers will be interested in learning from, and share their info in Q&A format. Also? Try interviewing yourself to share your own thoughts on a particular topic.
20. A GIVEAWAY OR COMPETITION
Suggestion: Giveaways or competitions are popular with bloggers as they can really drive traffic. Make use of some of the many blog competition and giveaway tools to make running and drawing a winner easier!
21. AN OPEN LETTER
Suggestion: Open letters are another way you can produce content in an interesting way. Whether you’re a parenting blogger writing to your child (Dear Johnny…) or a fashion blogger writing to Anna Wintour, open letters are suited to all blog niches.
22. A WEBINAR OR LIVE BROADCAST
Suggestion: Host your own talk show! Use a platform such as Vokle to embed the video into your post and “take calls” from your readers. Lots of fun and a different way to interact with your audience right on your blog.
23. A TIMELINE POST
Suggestion: A timeline can be used to in many situations. You could try “A day in the life of…” listing how your subject’s day starts and ends, and what happens at different points during the day. This format can also be used to cover, for example, the opening of a business, or the launch of a product.
24. A CARNIVAL
Suggestion: A blog carnival is a great way to connect with other bloggers, but also to drive traffic. Either start your own or participate in one that’s running. Check out the blog carnival tools and resources.
25. A LINK ROUND-UP
Suggestion: A link round-up is useful to create when you’re short on time (or suffering blog-writer’s block!). Simply write a list of links you think your audience would find interesting. Give it a theme to create interest such as 10 tutorials you discovered, 15 posts from other bloggers in your niche, or the five most-interesting news stories you’ve read.
26. A GUEST POST
Suggestion: Letting others guest post on your blog can be beneficial for so many reasons: it saves you time, it gives you the opportunity to network with others, you could receive traffic from the poster’s readers, and your audience gets to enjoy a different style of writing. Check out My Blog Guest for guest-posters.
27. A FAQ
Suggestion: If you find your readers are constantly asking you the same questions, turn your answers into a frequently-asked questions post! Link to it from your navigation or sidebar so that new readers can quickly and easily find it too.
28. AN AUDIO POST (PODCAST)
Suggestion: Tired of typing? Want to speak freely about a topic? Have recorded content (such as an interview) you could make use of? Offer your readers a podcast! Try AudioJungle for music.
29. FIRST PERSON STORY
Suggestion: No special tools or resources required for this one! Simply recount a story to your readers. Think of something that’s interesting that might educate, motivate, inspire or make your readers laugh. Easy!
30. A VISUAL (PICTORIAL) POST
Suggestion: Make a post entirely out of images from apps you may use such as Instagram. Try theming them (e.g.: “A day in my life…”, “What I pack for a weekend away”, “What I keep in my camera-gear bag”) or creating a collage.
31. A CHEAT SHEET
Suggestion: Think carefully about your blog’s topic. What would your readers love to read in the form of a cheat sheet or quick-reference guide? Think of creating something they can book mark for quick reference. For example: the HTML Cheat Sheet.
32. A COMMENTARY POST
Suggestion: Is there a piece of writing that has you incredibly fired up? Use snippits of it to provide the frame work for your post, and add your own thoughts to each paragraph. Explain why you do (or don’t) agree with the author.
Got any other suggestions? Which style of post works best for you?
No comments:
Post a Comment