In the early days of writing on my first blog, I would sometimes have a difficult time coming up with blog topics. The first several posts were easy to write, but it wasn’t long before the looming deadline to have another post up started to give me anxiety.
But I learned a simple way to get blog topics that are not only easy to write about, but are the kinds of posts that bring your reader closer to you and build loyalty.
When you decide to start a blog, you open yourself up to a whole new world. You inevitably share so much of yourself with the world wide web which is both an exciting and frightening experience all at once.
You purchase a domain name that you love, pick a lovely WordPress theme that suits your taste, and decide on your blogging niche.
There’s nothing left to do but get writing!
But sometimes, that’s the hardest part. How do you decide which topics you should be covering within your niche?
You probably have a million ideas, and that’s great! But it is important to remember that your blog should also be showcasing a great bit of your personality.
In addition to informational and how-to posts, you need to be sharing information about yourself.
Remember, your niche topics might be bringing your readers there, but it is YOU who will keep them there.
You don’t want all of your posts to be about you, and you don’t even have to dedicate a whole blog post to any of these topics. But your blog should feature enough about your real life to allow readers to know and love you.
Your readers are most likely your peers within your niche. They want to know that you live the life you talk about. So use your own life as inspiration for blog posts.
For You Should Grow, I was excited about my first broccoli harvest so I wrote what I’d learned about growing broccoli. When I was overloaded with our tomato harvest, I wrote about how to preserve tomatoes. When I lost my job, I wrote about my mega-life-changing career decision.
Chances are that whatever you are going through or doing, your readers can relate.
Here are seven blog topics that give your readers more of what they want: you!
Your everyday life
Part of getting to know someone is knowing a bit of what their life is like on a daily basis. If you’ve chosen your niche well, you can easily show your readers a snapshot of your life while staying on topic.
Are you blogging about chronic illness? Tell your readers about a day when you can’t get out of bed.
Is gardening your niche? Write a post about a funny thing that happened while you were purchasing fertilizer.
It isn’t always about being an authority when you are blogging.
If you want to really bond with your readers, you have to be willing to show people your humanity.
Your emotions
What are you passionate about? Did you have an incredible day? Are you saddened by some bad news?
Nobody is saying that you have to share every detail of your life with your readers, but you shouldn’t hesitate to give them a taste. If there is an experience that leaves you feeling emotional, your readers will be able to relate.
When people find you relatable, it humanizes you.
Honest and emotional blog posts make readers bond to you, and that bond is blogging gold.
Your triumphs
Imagine you have been trying to learn to knit for a year and you finally perfect your stitches after months of frustration. That’s a small but serious triumph (have you ever tried to knit? It really IS a triumph).
When you share your triumphs with your audience, they will celebrate along with you. And often they’ll share their own triumphs with you.
Let your readers get to know you.
You’re a real person with real struggles and real happiness. Share your joy with your readers, it’s infectious.
Successes related to the blog
This seems really similar to triumphs, but it is a little bit different. When you’re sharing a triumph, you’re talking about conquering a struggle that has been plaguing you for a while.
Sharing a success is more about the blog itself and the attention it receives.
Did you get a shout out from a big blogger? That’s a success!
Have you won a blogging award or been featured on a podcast? That too is a success!
If you’re uncomfortable talking about your successes, first of all, just stop it. Maybe some people will be jealous, but most people are happy for you and it might surprise you to learn that people are inspired by your success.
If you’ve been sharing your emotions and your triumphs, your readers are sure to feel very happy to know you are getting good results.
Success for your blog is also proof to your readers that you are an authority on your subject. If it’s really far out of your niche to write a post about your blog’s success, you might consider adding a few lines in your ‘About Me’ page or a brief mention in your newsletter.
Projects
Most bloggers have a few projects going on behind the scenes…usually related to something we plan on writing about on the blog. Make sure you are documenting your projects so you can share them when you are done.
If it’s a long project or it’s taking longer than you thought, write a post about your project in process. Make it series! Projects that show your progress are awesome.
Are you building a new set of shelves and want to share the process with your renovation blog? Do it!
Are you getting ready for a set of speaking engagements within your niche? Take your audience along with you for the preparation process.
Not only will they get to enjoy along with you, the ‘in process posts’ will be an additional driver of traffic when the project comes to fruition.
Your pictures
Once you become a blogger, every part of your life as related to your niche should be carefully documented in photos.
Photos will bring your audience into the fun and gives you a chance to help your audience put a face to the name on your blog.
Show your readers exactly what is going on in your life so they know you’re real.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so don’t be afraid to share your images on your blog.
Blogging is all about becoming a relatable person who people go to for advice in your niche.
It isn’t at all about being perfect.
You want to show your readers your real self, and that will help you to attract the people who are meant to become lifelong readers.
Have you experienced amazing reader feedback after putting one of these topics on your blog?
I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below.
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