If you have a blog or you’ve ever considered opening one, you’d surely have wondered what you should be writing about on your blog.
Even after you’ve chosen a niche, you probably still find that you aren’t sure what exactly the source of motivation or ideas for your posts should be. If your niche is entrepreneurship, you might wonder what you’ll be writing about entrepreneurship at regular interval (say once a week) for years without running dry of ideas.
It’s a question that bewildered me for a long time and one that I get asked often.
I’ve read some bloggers give a one-size-fits-all answer to the question but that only confuse many people they seek to guide.
“Write about what you know,” they would counsel. This is good advice, but the problem is many would-be or newbie bloggers don’t believe they know anything enough to be writing about it. They see themselves not as experts who should share “what they know” but as learners.
Photo Credit: Fortimbras via Compfight cc
So instead of the impracticable, one-size-fits-all answer of “write what you know,” I’m suggesting a three-pronged approach that has worked well for me:
- Write about what you know
- Write about what you love
- Write about what you’re learning
Write about what you know
This is the conventional advice and it works to a large extent. Once you know a thing or two, it’s easy to take it for granted and assume everyone else knows it.
Wrong!
Believe me, many things you know, do effortlessly and take for granted in your niche are puzzles some other folks wish someone would help them demystify. So you could be that person. I know this because I often get asked some questions I had thought everyone should have an answer for.
So anything you know in your niche, however simple it appears to you, is a good topic to write about.
Write about what you love
In your niche, there would be some topics you’re super passionate about. Write about them. Put your relevant experiences and personality into the writing. It would resonate with like minds. I love simplicity, being vulnerable, showing up and daring one’s fears, and each time I’ve written about them, it’s been well received.
We all have some crafts and interests we’re passionate about. Study yourself and find yours. Relate them to your niche and write about them.
Let’s say you blog about technology and you love persistence, hardwork and not dreading mistakes, write about them and show how they brought about many technological breakthroughs.
Do you love cooking, swimming, watching movies, lifting weight, making beads or travelling? You could easily relate these to your niche and write dozens of valuable posts from them.
Write about what you’re learning
This is probably the best approach for everyone. If you aren’t confident you know or are passionate about anything so well as to write about it, you surely have one or two things you’re learning in relation to your niche. So write about it.
Get books and follow blogs on your niche or lateral to your niche. Consume the valuable contents, ponder over them and see how they relate to your own life and environment practically.
If what you’ve learnt is valuable and will help your readers, share it. I did this when I learnt valuable lessons in the movie, 3 Idiots; the book, Steal Like An Artist; my CIPMN contest defense; my TMC essay contest triumph, and many others.
And here’s the decisive factor
Your blog might bear your name and headshot, but it’s not for you. It’s for your readers.
Before you write any post on it, ask yourself if it would help them. What you know, or love, or are learning, has no business on your blog or in your book unless it would create value for your readers and help them solve at least one challenge they have.
So live by that!
Question: Which of these three (or other) approaches do you use to come up with blog post ideas? You can share your thoughts by clicking here.
If your dream is to be a writer and influence the world, the theoretical and practical insights the author provides have the power to convert your dream to reality.
-- Dr. Mahfouz A. Adedimeji | Fulbright scholar | Senior Lecturer, Unilorin | newspaper columnist
About Muhammed Abdullahi Tosin
This is actually a problem most bloggers are obsessed with, because you might have a topic aforehand but doubt if it will resonate with your readers.
Sometimes, I had to change topics or what I want to write overnight because of this same issue.
Another way of knowing what t your readers want is through the comments, questions, suggestions etc.
Thanks Abdullah for bringing this up.
I can definitely relate to your experience, Shehu.
Thanks for adding the fourth approach – which is also very instructive: write about what readers ask.
Hmmm. Apt observations there, Abdullahi. Your voice in this post hit me well! I have no doubt I was being counselled. Thumbs up.
And I absolutely agree with you on that last one being the most potent when you want to be consistent with your contents. The reason is simple. Even as you write about what you have passion for, you still find yourself learning along the line. It’s an unending process – writing about one learns. To quote Wale Adenuga’s Production, ”Life is a teacher. The more we live the more we learn”
Bottom line: there will always be ideas to write about, but it takes creativity to realise and implement this.
Thanks, Coach.
I’m glad the piece resonates with you, Sodiq. Writing about what one is learning is a sure way to always have something to say, since learning is a lifelong process.
I love that slogan of WAP, too.
Yeah, it all resonate with me.
I write on what I know, what I love and what I’m learning or what I learnt. And as a matter of fact, it works stupendously.
Thanks for the mind-refreshing post.
I’m here just to help, Taofeek. I’m glad to see you now fully chase your dream 😉
I agree with all the points. But i think writing about what you learn is easier to implement. If you keep writing about what you learn, you will get to know it better and soon you will learn to love it. Thats my candid opinion tho. Thanks for the lesson bro. I am in day 10 already and havnt skipped a class
Well said, Frank!
I’m glad you’re keenly following the course.
Awesome post as usual.
I can’t imagine how improved I am until I checked my beginners article. I felt like tearing the paper and wouldn’t believe I wrote them. I’ll surely write about it on my blog when I have one.
Abdullahi,frankLY,I’m in a dilemma. Am thinking of sharecropping but that makes me feel am selling my birthright. Just tired of consuming the books at home – they say I write 24/7 and consume paper at the same speed that I write.
But,am promising that before this year runs out,I’ll surely build my blog and guest post for you.
KUDOS BRO!
Go after your dream on your two feet, Abraham 🙂 . Sharecropping is a self-imposed servitude.
its the fear factor actually that deters me especially, i always think that my writing would not make sense but knw i knw better
Good to hear that, Mike 😉
Another fired grammar: “SERVITUDE”. I have heard it until now. Please, please, abdul, limited vocabulary fights many of us and we’re looking forward to your help. Or maybe you could… You know, per week, post like 20 new words we can learn. I bet I would be dancing round our parlour if you can grant the request.
Sorry, I mean I have never heard the word: “SERVITUDE”.
Now you know, Abraham. That’s the power of reading.
I know there are some mobile dictionary applications that alert you of a new word to learn everyday. I suggest you Google it and put one of them to test.
Ya. those days when our teacher drops a new one we will shout *CHEI!!. @ Abraham, I suggest you download a dictionary on your phone and any time you come across a new word, you just search and save. It helped me.
Its better on phone where you can just immediately check it up than when you get home you might just forget.
Thanks @donfrank & abdullahi. I would definitely do that.
I am passionate about hand made cards. As a matter of fact, its was funded my OND back in Federal Poly Ede. I was so good in the craft that some of my clients do order from abroad. I intend creating a blog on this. Writing on what you love is what I will suggest. At a point, I knew I had to learn an aspect of the craft and I approached a man who had been in the craft a long time. When he saw samples of all I had done and still capable of, he insist am a master myself. Then I came to appreciate my work. The beauty of this is – I never learnt it from anyone!
That’s great. By all means, do what you love and love what you do!
Hello Tosin,
There are some question bothering my mind for so long and I want you to help with the answers to the best of your ability.
1. Does the name of my site matters, and
2. Talking about affiliate marketing, does it have to be in the same line as your niche?
Hello Adebayo, sure the name of your blog matters. It could be reflective of your niche or your personal identity.
It depends. Some affiliate products sell well in almost any niche.
I think I find the second suggstion to be very helpful….. Write about what u love and relate it to ur niche. Whatadvice can be better than this. Tnks a lot boss