If you aren’t keeping your home fires burning on your blog, then you are probably stoking the fire somewhere else – generally in the world of blogging this isn’t going to help you connect and/or grow your audience. However, when it comes to building a growing and dedicated audience there is one thing you can do – consistently produce superb content.
How do you create or produce a consistent stream of superb content? Simple, you just need to know where to look and be willing to think outside the box.
Starting today and for the next 9 day (10 in total folks) I’ll be sharing with you how to come up unique and interesting content for your blog. I will also be helping you by giving you 100 blog topics you can use either directly or as inspiration for your next blog post. If you have questions during this time (or if you find this after the challenge is over), please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask questions or share your thoughts, I love hearing from you.
Shall we get started? I think so!
3 Ways to Uncover Unique Blog Topics
Visit Other Blogs
If you aren’t visiting other blogs then you are missing out because you should be leaving comments on at least a few blogs every day. However, that being said, if you aren’t visiting blogs this is your opportunity to start. Do a online search for blogs with broad topics you are interested in such as “Blogs on crochet” or “Blogs about cooking.” You will get a variety of hits and then you can start looking at what people are posting, what gets the most comments, what is shared more, and so on. If something catches your eye, write down the topic or bookmark the article so you can use it as a reference later.
NOTE: A word to the wise about plagiarism. It isn’t acceptable either online or off. Please give credit where credit is due. If you are going to quote someone’s material, it is completely okay to do so but then make sure you provide a backlink to their site and reference them correctly. It is also good form to let them know you have mentioned them in your article.
Subscribe to Content Management Sites
Almost everyone who blogs has heard the words “content management” thrown around and frankly its just a fancy word for creating unique content. Don’t let the fancy word use scare you, just roll with it and learn to use the lexicon of online writing.
All of this being said, you can make it relatively easy on yourself and subscribe to content management sites that will feed you a daily dose of recently posted information from a subject/topic of your choice; there are several out there you can choose from – many of which have become very popular and some which are less so. Here are a two of my favorites.
- StumbleUpon
Free Write
Take 15 minutes and just write. It might sound simple or it might sound incredible hard – no matter how you see it, it is a very rewarding experience. The goal of your free writing sessions should be to write whatever comes to mind. Rules for free writing are the following: No erasing or deleting and no stopping – meaning even if you have to type the letter “J” 500 times, don’t stop. I find it best to set a timer during these sessions because then I don’t have to think about when I started and when I’m supposed to end – I can simply think about the task at hand.
When you are done, put your free written work away and leave it alone for a day. Come back to it later and reread what you wrote and make notes on anything that stands out. It’s good to keep your free writings because even if they don’t spark something the next day, they may spark something for you later on.
Day 1: 10 General Topics for Bloggers
- How to Host a Live Video Event On Your Blog
- 3 Apps Every Blogger Should Know About
- What do Your Blog Colors Say About You?
- Make Money with Your Blog: 5 Affiliate Programs that Bring in the $$
- Interview with (NAME: Fill in the Blank);My Favorite (Fill in the Blank: Blogger/Photographer/Artist/Etc.)
- 10 Fun Goldfish Cracker Snacks for Kids
- Eco-Friendly Cleaners Your Pocketbook with LOVE!
- Why I Shop at (Fill in the Blank: Costco/Whole Foods/Walmart/Amazon/or Your Favorite Shop)
- 3 Creative Projects for Leftover Styrofoam (Yes, the stuff leftover after you buy something!)
- Love Quotes? The Ultimate List of Quote Websites and Groups
I’d like to thank Thaleia Maher of Something2Offer for hosting this event. She has been the inspiration and driving force behind this collaborative challenge and it wouldn’t have happened without her. Please take a moment to visit other pages on her site as well as check out the other Hostesses helping out who have made this challenge possible. Thank you everyone! If you have questions or would like more help with your blog, please contact me directly.
See you tomorrow for Day 2,
Martiel
Martiel Beatty from Amazing Success Academy specializes in helping artists build online businesses and blogs. She is a fiber artist, expert blogger, author of Blog Notes, and GIMP Wizard. She is also the founder of Sewmantra and started the Academy because she couldn’t find an affordable, knowledgeable and effective program that supported handmade, indie-artists. Find out how she can help you build your business today. Learn More Now!
These tips should help get the creative juices flowing. I take the time to stop and write down ideas when they come to me. I’ll have to try the 15 minute trick.
I had never thought about writing each day for 15 minutes either! I’m sure just getting into the habit of writing each day would really help accomplish so much more writing when creativity does strike! #BB100
Free writing is a great idea! I find that if I don’t write every day, I’ll get into a funk where I just. can’t. write. It’s frustrating. Thanks for the motivation!
I went to a writer’s workshop this weekend. During the workshop we did a 5 minute free writing exercise. I came home and immediately implemented a daily 10 minute free writing exercise into our homeschool 🙂 I guess I need to up the time to 15 minutes for me!
I’ll have to explore the content management idea at Stumble Upon… Thanks for the ideas.
I’ve tried writing a little bit each day and it just doesn’t work for me….once I start I can’t stop so I need to put away a good amount of time for writing.
That’s a great problem to have!