What Do You Blog About?
How do you come up with ideas for what to blog about?
How many different topics do you blog about?
I know, you probably have a specific niche and topic that sets the tone for your blog.
But within the scope of that niche and topic, how many different things do you really blog about.
What category should you put your next blog post in?
You organize your blog into categories, right?
There’s a reason for that.
It helps you develop blog posts for each of the main categories that define your blog, right?
But you can’t just keep putting up blog posts that repeat things you’ve written about before… maybe several times, maybe many times before.
You want to give your readers something new and exciting, something they haven’t heard from you before.
You feel like, “wow, I can’t write about that again.”
Short Case Study
If your niche is dog training (I always like to use dog training as an example, put a smile on my face 🙂 – you keep talking about it over and over.
Your readers must be getting tired of hearing the same old things.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
You want to write about new topics, new exciting things that they haven’t heard about before.
So you do some research you see what other people are talking about.
You find experts from related areas, maybe “dog re-homing and adoption,” or “breed discrimination legislation.”
You bring diverse information from these experts to your blog.
That’s called content curation.
Or you learn about these things yourself, and create your own original material on a wider variety of topics and in many different categories.
You want your readers to learn everything possible about dog training, right?
Not So Fast
Well, here’s the thing.
You can’t bring every aspect of your niche to your blog.
Your personal brand, your authority, has to be related to just one thing… like “dog training” as opposed to “everything in the world about dogs.”
The more narrow you can make your blog’s purpose, then the more people will see you as an expert on that specific segment of your niche.
The more diverse and different things you blog about, the more diluted your authority will be on your main topic.
And the less targeted your audience will be.
Target audience
Who is your target audience?
You must get clear on that because you need to focus sharply on what kind of content they are looking for.
These are the things that you need to develop in your next blog post.
Don’t tell yourself you can’t write on a topic because ‘I already wrote about that before.’
It’s okay that you already wrote about it.
Do it again.
And then a few blog posts later, return to the same topic.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
Deliver Your “Stump Speech”
As a blogger, you want to think like an author on a book tour.
Think like a politician.
Think of your favorite inspirational speaker.
All these people use what, in politics, is called a “stump speech.”
That means they basically have one speech that they deliver over and over everywhere they go.
The words might be a little different, the examples and stories they use may vary, but basically it’s the same old speech… over and over and over.
How Effective Can The “Stump Speech” Be?
Most people think the “stump speech” sounds like a bad method for bloggers to use.
But it’s not.
That’s because “fans” of the author, politician and inspirational speaker really don’t want to learn something new from their favorite speaker.
They anticipate what they’ll hear.
And that’s exactly what they want to hear.
They’ve heard it before.
Many times probably.
They seen it in print, heard it on audio, seen the video…Â Now they want to hear it again.
What Do You Blog About?
You see, if you’re a well respected authority in your niche, your blog post is not intended to deliver unique content and new ideas.
Your purpose should be finding new and innovative ways to present the same kind of material that is your signature focus.
It’s your brand, it’s what gets your message inside the hearts and minds of your readers.
You should be finding new ways to engage and build relationships with them.
Don’t stray from what you always do.
Stick To Your Personal Brand
Your readers follow you because they know what you’re going to say and they expect it.
When you go to hear your favorite inspirational speaker you’re going to be very disappointed if he/she talks about something different than you thought you would.
If your favorite politician is doing a stump speech in your town, you pretty much know what you’ll hear.
If it deviates significantly from that, you will probably be disappointed.
True enough, there’s a chance that it will really grab you and you’ll see or hear something new.
But as a blogger, that’s not really what you’re trying to accomplish when you write your next blog post.
You want to give your readers an experience more than information.
Do everything you can to build an experience with your audience in your next blog post.
If you can accomplish that, you are on the right path.
So, what do you blog about?
Do you ever think you need to come up with new material because you’ve already written enough about your signature topic or theme?
I’d love to hear your comments below.
And don’t forget to share this article on your social sites.
-Donna Merrill
**SHARE & RETWEET, Pin It, Like It, Google+ It…And Comment Below!**
PAC
Powered By Bloggers, Member Driven
Hi Donna,
This is the first time I m visiting your blog great to see posts.
Great post thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks
Raj
Hi Raj,
So good to connect with you here. Good to know you found this post “great”
-Donna
I blog about Blogging, WordPress and Seo. Sometimes i get a feeling to change niche, because i won’t get new ideas. But after reading this article, i decided to stick with my blog and my niche. Donna, i appreciate your efforts, because it is a good inspiration for me.
Hi Samba,
It is great to know that after you have read this article you have decided to stick to the niche you are already in.
When you love to write about a specific topic, you will never be at loss for words.
-Donna
Hey Donna,
This was really a great article. We often get stuck what to write next. Researching is always the key for a successful blogger.
Thanks
Hi Andrew,
Researching does help whenever we get stuck on what to write about.
-Donna
Hi Donna
Yeah I like the idea of the ” Stump Speech”. I see politicians and speakers use this concept all the time and It seems to go well with the fans so it is great to see how this is used in blogging.
Thanks so much for this post. Take Care
Hi Ikechi,
He He He…If we follow what those politicians do, we could be successful Hugh? I see it too all the time.
-Donna
Thats great post! Thanks for sharing. Content is always the king during blog posting. I appreciate that !
Thanks so much Arvind,
Indeed, Content is ALWAYS king!
-Donna
Sound advice Donna. I have several categories related to my main focus – emotional resilience – so I pretty much never run out of ideas. But one strategy I picked up last year from Hub Pages that has been awesome is periodically I go back through my early archives and update an old post with a new photo, maybe a different headline (URL has to stay the same of course!) and a little different twist on it, etc., and then I republish it as a new article.
I was concerned about Google when I first read about this but when I checked I learned that the key is my republished articles have anywhere from 20% to 50% new content so these articles have been doing exceptionally well. It’s great because now I have a smart way to recycle my content. 🙂
Hi Marquita,
Wow…thanks for sharing that because I was wondering about doing just what you mentioned, but never got the chance. Also I too was concerned about Google. Now I have the confidence to do it.
You are the BEST!
-Donna
I blog about Android Tips and tricks and it’s not easy to rank these days. When you start a blog on any niche, you need to be patient.
Hi Ronald,
That is the key….no matter what niche we blog in we have to be patient.
-Donna
Interesting concept. So many of the experts tell you to come up with fresh new content every week, but I like the idea of finding fresh ways to present the content you’re already an expert on. Thanks!
Hi Ruth,
I did try to find ways to present content I’ve already done, but by the time I redo this or that, it takes me longer than writing a new article lol.
-Donna
I know that you are a very influential blogger. It is always good to read and learn from your tips. It is really effective.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Gaurav,
Awww thank you so much for your kind words. I sincerely believe that as bloggers we all learn from each other.
-Donna
Hey Donna,
It’s good to see you here.
I used to think about the niche of my blog. Every blogger tries to find out something interesting and helpful.
You must always think about your readers. Try to maintain the quality. I like the example of “dogs”.
If someone likes to write about dogs then why not?
Even I am thinking about starting another blog.
Thanks for this wonderful article.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi,
You are so correct that we must ALWAYS think about our readers.
No matter what we write about, as long as we ourselves have an interest in it and can write for others, it is a win win.
If you start another blog…don’t forget to let me know!
-Donna
How would I do without your articles? thank you so much, I call anna me and I found your wonderful blog and completely.
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much for your kind words. It is good to know I can be of help to you.
-Donna
Hi Donna,
Great tips about blogging, very beneficial for every blogger.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Emi,
Thanks for stopping by this blog post! Nice to know that this would be beneficial to bloggers.
-Donna
Hi Donna,
I will share your article, it’s very helpful for other bloggers
I liked the “Stump Speech” idea. Basically, one speech that we deliver over and over everywhere we go.
“The words might be a little different, the examples and stories they use may vary, but basically it’s the same old speech… over and over and over.”
I have come to doing this and was surprised to see that yes I am doing it just as you say.
Most of my articles are about connecting your business to the net with social media as one of ways to do that. I thought maybe I was writing to many articles on that topic but now I see that this is my stump speech and people don’t want something that would be new – like articles on say – dog training. So what do you blog about, your target market topics.
Great article.
Hi Kathryn,
Oh that “Stump Speech” idea lol. It is so funny when we realize we are doing it isn’t it?
The words and examples vary but the message is the same. I used to hold back on that thinking “I said that already” but it is wise to keep on doing so. We can write an article one way and a certain amount of people will resonate with it. Then we can do it in another say and different people will resonate with it.
All I know is that it works! 🙂
-Donna
Hi Donna. I had never thought about a blog as being quite so narrowly focused. I have been building my blog based on ‘How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul’ by Ruth Soukup. I’m building it around 5 pillars of family preparedness. Don’t know if it will ever be wildly popular, but I’m enjoying what I do for the first time in years. But who knows? I may have to change course down the line. Thanks so much for your ideas.
Hi DeeDee,
I like that 5 pillars of family preparedness. That’s one topic all of us need. You are enjoying the process so I’m sure it will be popular. It is all about getting it out there over and over again lol. Once you do that, people will catch on.
-Donna
Being a holistic practitioner it is sometimes difficult to hone down into that one specific focus. You have, as always, given me something important to continue to think about.
Hi Elise,
Being a holistic practitioner the focus there would be wellness. Then there are thousands of articles to be written about that. If you choose that word, over and over again as an example, it will be specific. 🙂
-Donna
I’ve had some thoughts on how to take my blog into another direction of the niche. My goal has to be different from the other blogs in my niche I just wasn’t sure. The more I write light bulbs are going off. I hope to have it all clearly defined by the beginning of the year. It was the whole thing about categories that made me realize I did not want to be all over the place but I wanted to find more of the really unknown things about my niche. So I got rid of some categories and identified how some topics could all be under one theme. A work in progress that I am enjoying. Thanks for your post enjoyed it as always.
Hi Lydia,
You my friend have so much knowledge I could just imagine you going round in circles lol. But you are on your way by getting rid of some categories. That is a huge start of getting niche specific.
Your work in progress seems to be one that is going to be a huge success!
-Donna
It’s certainly important to stick to your main topic(s). I tend to write long posts and try to include as much as possible in each. So I haven’t repeated the same specific topic. However you’ve made me think. I can still take at least some of those topics and add a different slant and updated information. Thanks Donna
Hi Sue,
Absolutely! You can take one topic an spin it into something amazing.
I think if you look closely you can find that some messages are repeated in different ways. For example I am always telling my students to put out their work in a certain way without thinking of money. Now I must say that message a million times. But the meaning of it is go with passion, help others and money will follow. So the mindset needs to change in order for things to work out.
It may not be the exact same sentence, but the meaning is always there. 🙂
-Donna