A short guide for blog posts writers
When I began to write blog posts, finding ideas was my first problem.
These were the questions that kept me from starting: What should I write? Why should people care about what I write? Will anybody ever read this?
If you tried to write a post, you may have noticed that finding good ideas can be tough. And when you don’t find them, you feel less self-confident, and this can prevent you from starting writing at all.
Even if you are not a professional writer, writing a blog could be an opportunity to improve your business and enhance your marketing strategy. Compelling blog posts, to share in your social media pages, are a good way to talk to your potential clients or to your audience, and gain credibility.
If you wish to start your blog, or if you already have one and struggle to find topics for new posts, go ahead reading this article: I will share with you my 5 tips to find good ideas for blog posts.
- KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
- DO YOUR RESEARCHES
- READ
- SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE
- COLLECT IDEAS
1. KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
The first thing you should consider when running a blog is that you cannot talk to everyone. It’s just a basic fact. You may choose a topic you like, but you must be aware that not all internet users will be interested in reading that.
So, the most important question you need to answer is: who am I writing for? Who do I want to reach with this post?
For example, if you have a pet store, you could write posts addressed to pet owners or to people who love animals, right? If you sell organic food, your target audience will be people who care for the environment or looking for a healthier lifestyle.
Once you know who you want to talk to, you need to learn more about them. What are they interested in? What are their favorite topics? The internet can help you a lot with that. Find out forums, Facebook groups, Twitter trends, etc., involving your target audience, and read the topics and the conversations they have.
This is the best way to understand your audience and their needs.
2. DO YOUR RESEARCHES
Now that you know who you are talking to, your next step is research.
Take notes of the things you learned from the conversations of your target audience, then search on the internet all the information you can find on their favorite topic(s).
Let’s take an example: your target audience is pet owners, and you discovered from some online forum that a lot of them are dealing with the problem of leaving their pets home alone.
What can you do to help them? What can you write to have their attention?
Search on Google all the information, articles, posts, suggestions that you can find on this problem, collect the ideas you get and add your personal experience. The more you learn on a topic, the more confident you will feel in writing about it.
3. READ
Reading is the most powerful source of inspiration.
If you are looking for interesting topics, read as much as you can. Read when you are on the bus, read before sleeping, read books, essays, journals, articles, and everything that may interest your professional life.
One reason we don’t get the right ideas is that we are overwhelmed by things to do, and we can’t find time for thinking. If you take the habit of reading, your brain will be more reactive and you will have a number of inspirational topics to write about.
I have recognized the difference in my experience. When I don’t find the time to read, writing becomes much more difficult. That is why I always have a book on my nightstand and some copywriting blog open on my desktop.
4. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES
I know what you may think now: why should anybody care about my experience? I am not a V.I.P., I haven’t done great things, my experience is not interesting.
Wrong. You don’t need to walk the Red Carpet to be interesting. People love reading and hearing others’ experiences, even the little ones because they learn something. It is easier to empathize with someone like us than with famous or extremely successful individuals.
You can describe things that happen to you in your working routine, tell about a particular fact occurred, or share a problem you have and the solutions you are trying to find.
People are more likely to react when you share something personal, they will remember your post and share it with others.
5. COLLECT IDEAS
Inspiration is unpredictable. An idea may pop up in your mind anytime, even when you are sleeping.
I used to always have a diary and a pen with me, so if a brilliant thought would show up, I could write it at once before I forgot it.
Now we don’t need paper and pen anymore; we have laptops and smartphones with plenty of apps to collect notes. Take the habit of using them. An idea may come when you are talking to friends, watching TV, taking a nap or having a beer. If you don’t write it down when it comes, you will probably forget it.
There are many apps you can use for this purpose, besides the basic “note”. Specific apps can help you organize your ideas and develop them. I use Trello and I find it particularly suitable, but the choice is wide.
TIME TO WRITE!
I hope you find those tips useful and feel ready to launch your next post.
But remember, writing needs exercise, like any other activity. You will notice that the most you write the more ideas will come to your mind.
So, my best tip for today is: start writing, and let the good ideas for your blog posts find you!
How about you? Where do you find your good ideas? Share your comments!
