Blog

by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

Coming up with blogging topics on a regular basis can be difficult, even for those of us who are passionate about our chosen blog theme, whether it be writing, DIY, cooking, etc. Some days we just sit and stare at the screen, wondering what to post about.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”Suggestions via @AlyciaMorales #BRMCWC #Blogging”]Bloggers sometimes need to think outside the box.[/tweet_box]

You can only write so many DIY direction posts before your readers want more. So what do you write about?

Why did you choose that particular project? What fascinates you about that piece? How did you get started taking old things and making them new? Why do you even bother with DIY projects? (This works well for crafters too…)

Cooking blogger? How do you scrapbook a cookbook? What’s your favorite recipe and what’s the story behind it? How can you make Christmas cookies with the kids without making a huge mess? How do you package food to transport it successfully? Do you know how to can goods? What are your favorite kitchen products? How do you organize your pantry?

Faith blogger? What’s your favorite nonfiction read and why? Bible study? I love to blog through a book, sharing tidbits with my readers and explaining why that particular paragraph or sentence struck me. This is also a great way to share someone else’s book, so be sure to include a few links to the book at different booksellers. Memes go well with this concept, as well.

Young Adult blogger? Be sure to connect with the teens you’re focusing on. What’s your favorite video game or why don’t you play video games? Write a letter to your former teenage self. Where do you like to hang out and why? Why would they hang out there? What drives you absolutely nuts? Do you have poetry you wrote when you were a teen? Share some with them. Don’t be afraid to let them know you remember very clearly what being a teen is like.

A list of questions and suggestions for you to consider, no matter what your blogging theme may be:

• What is your favorite [fill in the blank] and why?
• What tool could you recommend? What do you love about it?
• What list of links could you share that would provide your reader with more expertise on a topic and would give you the opportunity to promote someone else?
• Who influenced you in the area of your chosen blog topic? What’s the most important thing you learned from them?
• What’s another category you could include on your blog under your chosen topic?
• What’s the biggest mistake you ever made? What did you learn from it? How can your reader avoid making the same mistake? (People love vulnerability.)
• What holiday is coming up this month that you could write a post around? Edie Melson has monthly lists of holidays on her blog, The Write Conversation. Check them out by clicking here.
• How do you sell [whatever your projects are]? Online? Craft fair? Neighborhood? What tips could you give your readers?
• What do you hate to do that is necessary for your project? (People will relate.) How do you handle it?
• How long does it take to [fill in the blank]? Is there a time management secret you’ve discovered to get it done efficiently?

What other suggestions do you have for thinking outside the blogger box? We’d love to hear them! [reminder]

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.