Blogger: Rachel Kent
I don’t know about you, but I struggle each week with finding a blog topic. I am lucky to only be responsible for one blog a week on the Books & Such page. I know most of you run your own blogs and you need to post multiple times each week. I’ve found a few methods that help me to come up with topics and maybe these will help you, too.
1) Watch on loops and in groups, like ACFW or your critique group, for common questions or concerns that other writers are having. Use these topics and questions to spark a post.
2) Get personal. Connect something in your life to publishing or to your books. I did this recently with my house hunt. (We are still looking for the right one to buy, but have sold our place and are moved out.) A lot of readers would love to hear little details about their favorite authors so even if the personal story you are sharing doesn’t have much application to your story, it might still be a good idea to share it. (Just be careful to be safe with the details you are putting online.)
3) Read magazines to find articles about current events and respond to them in a way that connects to what you write about. Talk about the current event based on your worldview. That will usually overlap with your writing voice and style.
4) Think about what you do daily. Is there anything there that other people will connect with and enjoy reading about? What makes you interesting? As writers you are sure to have specific routines that you follow that other writers could be interested in. If you are a parent and a writer other writer parents might be interested to hear how you manage your days, etc.
5) Think about having a guest blogger, a contest, or blog a book review. You don’t want to have these too often because you want your blog to really be your own, but they are always good fillers for those days where you are swamped and can’t think of anything to write about.
What are some methods you use to find blog topics? I look forward to hearing your ideas because I need all the help I can get! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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Rachel,
Such a great, needed post, and I loved your suggestions. I have five recommendations that might help.
One of the resources I LOVE and recommend often is this weekly e-mail from idea guy Jonathan Malm: http://jonathanmalm.com/blogideas/
Every Sunday night, he sends an e-mail out with inventive, unique blog topic ideas. Fun and helpful.
Also, I’m a big fan of the interviews featured on How They Blog: http://howtheyblog.com/
On this site, popular bloggers share tools, strategies, and content ideas from their blogging experiences.
Another interesting place to get blog ideas in the Google Top Search Trends list for the day: http://www.google.com/trends/
Here they list the most searched/discussed topics, daily, which is a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of what people are interested in.
For mom bloggers, there’s the Top Mommy Blog Topic Generator: http://www.topmommyblogs.com/info/blog_topic_ideas.php
This site generates a new blog topic suggestion every time you hit the refresh button. All topics have been submitted by other bloggers.
Last, if you know the general topic you want to blog about, but can’t decide what approach to take, try a Google Blog Search on that topic: http://www.google.com/blogsearch
Since Halloween was a top trend in the Google Trends list, I typed that into the blog search, to see what others were saying. The result was everything from a post about oversensual costumes, to the fact Ellen DeGeneres dressed up as Nicki Minaj.
All these together can be a great arsenal when trying to break through the what-to-post block.
I don’t know if this will help you, Rachel, but it might help other writers with personal blogs. I thought about my brand and used it to come up with a blogging schedule. My books are set in Minnesota, so I have “Minnesota Mondays” where I blog about anything and everything to do with Minnesota. I might feature an author (present or past), I might talk about festivals (present or past), or I might talk about things my family has done that are unique to Minnesota. My genre is historical romance, so on Wednesdays I have “Way Back When-sdays” where my posts are all about history (this is one of my favorites!). I talk about my research, odd tools of the past, historical people and events, and so on. My writing is faith-based, so on Fridays I write “Faith-Filled Fridays.” These are posts that can be very random, and usually involve my personal life. I’m always open to guests, contests, reviews, and changing things up when the time calls for it (right now I’m hosting a six week author series). But I’ve found that having a schedule helps me come up with blog posts a little easier.
So smart, Gabrielle, and I like how your blog reflects the genre you write!
Great ideas. I especially like your “Way Back Whens-days” title. (Wish I had thought of that!)
Great idea Gabrielle. You have a focus and a rhythm…your followers must look forward to all the fun things you share with them!!
This is a great idea! I love that you have specific ideas for each of the days.
Yes, Rachel, I can totally relate! I’ve been blogging since 2008, so the well dries up now and then. 🙂
When that happens, I almost always try your #3–I’ll spend a few hours reading articles in Wall Street Journal or New York Times. Always sparks a post idea!
Hope you find a new house soon, but I’m glad you’re in your temporary digs!
Jill, I enjoy all your posts, but especially your vlogs! 😉
I love vlogs, too. Wish I understood technology better and could put together some of my own. It gives you a different perspective when you can hear an author’s voice and view her mannerisms.
I used to have WSJ Wednesdays on my blog, Jill. It was very popular, but I found it hard to keep going for time’s sake. I still hope to get back to it one day.
The vlogs are a very fun idea, too! I should try one for Books & Such someday.
It can definitely be tough coming up with fresh topics. But I typically just try to think about what God is teaching me and then write about it from a unique angle. I definitely talk a lot about how things affect me, which takes a bit of honesty and openness. But I find that can really open the floodgates for other people and help them feel like they are not alone! And I learn a lot just by writing down my thoughts. Sometimes I’m not sure exactly what I’ve even learned until I’ve written it out.
That’s a great way to process what God is teaching you, too! I think my failure to learn quickly would lead to many similar posts. Like patience. For some reason I lack that and God continually is teaching me!
Oh, me too, Rachel. Me too. 🙂
Rachel, I always enjoy your posts! Our Books and Such team does such an outstanding job, and I always come away with having learned something I can apply to life and writing. 🙂
I blog about life in the Ozarks (the setting for my books), slice-of-life stuff, a little dab of writing, and some personal posts infused with encouragement. I’m not fancy or pretentious–I’m just…well…me. I want folks to feel a little better after they’ve stopped by than when they first “knocked on the door.”
I share responsibly, but ironically–it’s my personal, “get real” posts that often have the most hits.
One thing I do that helps me tremendously, as far as thinking about blog topics, I carry a little notepad everywhere. I record ideas, snippets of conversation, and observations to use as future blog posts or in stories. And I clip magazine/newspaper articles to generate ideas.
Have a super weekend!
I love your notebook idea Cynthia…and clipping articles. I do that too. I always enjoy your posts.
This reminds me of one of my favorite childhood characters, Harriet the Spy! 🙂 I should try this notebook method!
My problem is never finding ideas, it’s finding time to write them all.
I have a notebook and a note in my phone full of post ideas. I have several categories on my blog, though, and I don’t write about writing, I write a blog for moms so maybe that’s why. I think I was limited to writing about one area, I’d have more trouble!
Jotting the ideas down as they come, or even making a quick audio memo in my phone helps, so when I sit down to blog I’m ready to go.
As a mom I know how hard it is to find time to do anything extra at all. I’m right there with you!
My blogging has undergone a distinct transition from writing about writing, through writing about life in general, and finally Christian apologetics and relationships.
That said, I’m beginning to realize that the blog itself can be treated as a coherent whole, with distinct thematic elements and even something of a ‘plot’. Kind of like a book that never ends.
It’s not hard finding topics, under these conditions, since each post leaves a thread which will be picked up later.
I like that way of thinking about blogging!
I’m thinking about getting back into blogging just one day a week–and it makes me nervous!
I like Gabrielle’s idea of connecting it to what you write, and that’s what I plan to do. I write women’s fiction, so I plan to blog about things we women deal with. It might be more devotional or thoughtful than my fiction, but I want it to be a place where women can connect with me in reality instead of through fiction.
I love reading devotional blogs. Especially the ones where the author opens up about true-life struggles so it is obvious that the writer is a real person like me.
What helps me is to have a blog mission. I have a weekly schedule, too. On each day I blog about a specific thing that is tied to my blog’s mission. It helps to narrow down the topics big time. For example, Mondays I blog about autism/disabilities (because I include people with disabilities in my books), Tuesdays I blog about the writing biz, etc. Each day has its own slot so I’m not all over the place. It also helps me to attract a specific audience and helps me with collecting my flock. 🙂
I really like this idea. This kind of blogging helps with the focus of the blog.
My blog target title:(1) “Putting the Fun back in Funny” . . . for writers.
Alternate title: (2) “Putting the Fun back in Fungus” . . . for writers.
Which one do you like? (1) or (2)
This blog is a WIP (Coming soon to a *VCD – near you.
*VCD = Visual Communications Device
Hope you don’t mind me putting an oar in, Donnie. I’m guessing you’ll be talking about humor writing. While the second one is catchy, I think the first one works better simply because it won’t need to be explained.
. . .thanks for your input Cheryl but I hope you personally don’t have anything against a good: “There’s a fungus among us” joke. ha ha
Maybe a compromise, Donnie?
“Put the Fun Back” . . . for writers
or
“Put the Fun Back in _________”
I’m always up for more fun!
Shirlee:
Great comment. In fact – every time I see a “_________”, I laugh a lot.
🙂 I think using both titles is a good idea. It could be two posts! Haha!
Rachel,
What do you think?
A friend of mine suggested this blog title: “Put the Fun back in Funeral.”
I guess you can tell, my fried Gabe is 12 and really into Zombies.
I’ve taken a little break from blogging. I don’t usually have an issue with ideas…but finding time has been a bit overwhelming right now. I like the idea of having a scheduled theme for posting at least one day a week.
Have to go now…NaNoWriMo time!!
Enjoy Nanoing! 🙂
I tend to blog about what’s going on in my lie at the time.
That seems to be what my reader (Hi Mom) likes. I don’t exactly have a set way of doing things…no kidding…but it seems to work all right for me.
🙂 Some people don’t struggle with finding topics. You must be one of these people. Michelle and Rachelle are blessed with this gift too.
LIFE…my LIFE…not my LIE!
Rachel, back in 2007 when I started blogging, it was nowhere near the social media animal it is now. Facebook and Twitter weren’t even used that much. This is how I ended up hosting virtual book tours and then getting into the business; I was looking for fresh content for my blog at a time when I was unpublished.
In the years since then, I’ve realized focusing too much on other writers can be detrimental to building your fan base. For next year, I’ve set new goals to blog more about my own writing and on topics that might be of interest to my readers. I’m talking about my upcoming virtual book tour, the site I contribute to twice a month, favorite hymns, and participating in Picture Book Idea Month, and hopefully will draw on my 25 years as a Sunday school teacher for new posts.
You are right, Cheryl. It’s very important to figure out who your audience is. Mine is mostly authors while an author’s audience is mostly readers with some author-friends mixed in.
My blog is still a baby–just a few weeks old. I have a weekly topic with very short daily posts. Thus far, inspiration came from the season (Halloween), a prayer partner, politics, Bible study and a movie. Like Gabrielle’s, there’s a pattern to it. I hope it will resonate with readers, but really, just the discipline of it all is worth the effort–honing my craft.
Shirlee, thank you for pointing out how important it is to discipline ourselves to self imposed deadlines. Great practice for when our work is under contract. 🙂
I’ve recently started using the Day One app on my phone (also available for the mac in the app store and the 2 will sync) to keep track of ideas and jot down quick thoughts to expand later. What I love about this app is it will record the location, the weather, you can attach a picture, and I can tag each post with categories.
While on a run, I saw a telephone pole covered in nails and staples. I snapped a quick picture of it, because I knew there was at least one great story in that telephone pole. By the time I got home, I had two great ideas. I quick tapped out my thoughts into the app and attached the photo, all while standing in my driveway.
Thank you Rachel, for taking the time to invest in us, and to listen.
I don’t blog often even though I know I’m supposed to (just being honest). I want my posts to be relevant and unique, as we all do, so at present I’m trying to better define my audience. Music, memories, even moments we’d rather forget can be great writing prompts.
For too long, I wrote only for myself. I held selfishly to the gift the Lord had given me. In this social media saturated society we live in, I get nervous to put the vulnerable bits of me out there for the world to gape at.
So, I’m moving forward and continuing the process of prying my fingers away from the stories inside. The Lord is faithful to imbue my ideas with his presence, and speak when I don’t have the words.
When I started blogging, about four and a half years ago, I wondered if I’d be able to keep doing it for six months, but I’ve never run out of things to say about words, books, and kids. Perhaps you might consider reviewing some books that became best sellers and telling us why and how that happened. You could also walk us step by step through the process it took for you to get some specific books you represented accepted and published. I’m also curious about the line between personal and professional relationships between authors and agents. I hope these suggestions are helpful.