Many people may be interested in setting up a blog but struggle enormously to come up with a subject matter or theme.
The approach to establishing blogs can be undertaken in several ways but a generic starting point is to establish what interests you.
Think about your interests, passions and knowledge on particular subjects. This is because one of the worst things you can do is to start bloging about something that you have absolutely no idea about. Your energy and time will be absorbed in developing that knowledge sufficiently to be creative enough to actually write about it.
So ask yourself:
- Do you have a passion for the subject matter? Whilst the temptation may be write about topical subjects or issues that are of little or no interest to you, don’t, as your readers will soon realise and you will lose respect and interest
- Do you think you have sufficient knowledge to write about it with confidence?
- Do you have particular feelings or opinions on the subject matter which can generate comment and discussion?
- Can you be objective and not be too blinkered into thinking that your opinion is the only one that is of any real consequence?
- Can you still see yourself writing on this subject in at least 12 months time? Blogs without any real passion and commitment tend to fizzle out so it is probably better to find an alternative subject matter
- Is it too topical? Will the blog still be of interest and valid in 12 months time. Avoid subjects with a limited lifespan
- Will you be able to come up with enough posts to maintain the blog over a sustained period?
Finally, don’t be too blinkered in your thinking. You have a worldwide audience with the internet and just because the subject is not particularly popular in your area or country does not mean the same thing will apply everywhere else. Choosing a blog topic should be personal to you.
For further ideas on writing your blog see my previous article Your titles could be the key to your blog’s fortune
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
All very valid points indeed. I have not yet embarked on my blog as I have been determined to ensure it is going to be the right blog. I.E not one that will fizzle out or be one of a million similar blogs out there. I realise it needs to be niche, but have also wondered how niche I should go. Topics certainly need to be chosen carefully and then researched to see if the topic is of interest to anyone else – and if you’re going to have any chance of standing out. However I’m also in danger of being over-cautious and not starting anything at all!
I think the best advice from above is that of choosing a subject that is also a passion. It’s easy to spot blogs where the writer has a real love of their subject – and not just the hope of making a fast buck. Even if they’re not the best writer in the world, the copy seems to jump out from the page.
Okay, back to thinking about blog subjects!
LOL the hardest part is most certainly getting started, once you’ve chosen your topic you have to chose a template design and that can take just as long!!!
You could try doing some keyword research around your subject ideas to find out if other people are interested in your topic – I use Wordtracker (click the ad top right of this page to claim your free 7 day trial of their keyword researcher tool) to do all my keyword analysis – they even have a nifty Firefox add-on to use when you’re writing posts which is really useful :)