What Should You Write About in Your Blog?
What should you write about in your blog? Again, there is no simple answer to this question.
Some people advocate you try to dream up “link bait” - short provocative articles that are likely to get links from other bloggers or article writers. This is easier said than done. If your objective is to get noticed by other bloggers, or to get Diggs from readers, then you might do well to study the kind of posts that are likely to get this kind of reaction. I wrote a blog post about this a while ago called “Making Social Sites Like Digg Work For You.”
Being a bit of a contrarian and a closet academic/elitist I find this idea of appealing to the sensational difficult to do and generally phoney. It’s not me… which brings me to a major point: try to be yourself. Express your opinion - but please, try to be a bit more original than going for self-indulgent “rants”.
Generally people appreciate useful information, so talk about things you know something about. You don’t have to be an “expert”, but it definitely helps to speak from experience. If there is some topic you know something about - it doesn’t really matter what it is - just remember there are probably many people out there who know a lot less than you do and will find your stuff interesting enough to read and perhaps comment on.
Look for other interesting blogs or websites that share your interests. Use articles or posts you find on these sites as a jumping off point for your own posts. But don’t just summarize them for your readers. Pick out interesting points and then add your own commentary.
Some self-proclaimed blogging “experts” claim they have discoverd the formula for writing effective blog posts. For instance, one such authority suggests you always open your blog post with a story to get your reader’s interest and attention.
Let’s say I want to write something about the recent Canadian election (yes, there was a Canadian federal election earlier this month). This formula would have me start with a story that might tweak my readers’ interest. For instance I might describe the time 30 years ago when I attended a Pierre Trudeau rally (he was then the Prime Minister of Canada) in the hotel ballroom where my son and new daughter-in-law just held their wedding reception.
Ok, that’s boring. Well maybe the story about how Robert Stanfield (also running for Prime Minister a few decades ago) was caught by a reporter’s camera missing a ceremonial kickoff at a football game, and that photo essentially lost the election for him.
Or how about some innane comment by Rush Limbaugh to illustrate how tame, rational and moderate we are in comparison, or perhaps a story about how the Canadian health care system saves people from the kind of health-care induced bankruptcy they suffered from just a few decades ago.
On second thought maybe stories like that might alienate half your readers. Better stay away from them unless you’re really sure they work. In other words, if you’re going to tell stories, express opinions, or try to be a bit controversial, make sure it accomplishes what you want it to accomplish.
