Choosing a Topic for Your Blog - part 3
July 21, 2008 by Jeff White
I’m sure you’re ready to dive right in and get started with your blog but there’s a little planning that needs to be done first. The success of your blog could hinge on the thought you put in to these first steps. While not everyone intends to make money with their blog, for the purpose of this series I’m going to assume that is one of your goals. Who couldn’t use some extra money? Let’s start with a little brainstorming session.
Everyone has a passion about something. Take a minute and think about yours. Some people struggle with this. Fortunately, this isn’t a problem for me. I have too many passions for my own good, so I’m always trying to pick the theme about which I am most passionate.
Go ahead and write down a few topics. Once you have come up with a few then go back and write reasons why you would or would not be qualified to write about each one. My list would look something like this:
Photography - I enjoy sports photography. It’s a fun hobby, I’m fairly decent at it but I’m by no means an expert. I’m not sure I could add a unique perspective to the photography blogs that already exist.
Coaching Basketball - I coach a varsity girls homeschool basketball team. I certainly couldn’t offer much advice from an X’s and O’s standpoint but I have learned a lot about organizing a new team, fund raising, scheduling, etc. Could work if written from a homeschool standpoint with advice on creating new teams. But is there a large enough market?
Politics - I have plenty of opinions to offer and I’m right about every one of them
I love politics and there’s an endless supply of material in the news each day. There’s already a lot of political blogs, in fact that may be the single most popular blogging theme. To be successful I would need to find a unique slant to the site. This is a strong possibility.
Gadgets - I LOVE electronic gadgets. iPhones, PDAs, robots, USB thumb drives that hold 64 GB of data! But what could I say that would be unique? I have no inside scoop on the latest tech toys. I don’t have access to pre-release gadgets in order to write reviews. This would be fun but I’m not sure I could attract visitors.
After writing down some topics I’m passionate about and analyzing the pros and cons it looks like a political blog may be my best option. It’s something I naturally keep up with on a daily basis (I’m watching Bill O’Reilly as I type this) and I believe I could do something a little unique that would bring people to the site.
Spend some time on this process. Think it through and then let me know what you come up with by leaving a comment below.
Next, we’ll look at choosing a domain name, another very important factor in the success of your blog.
well ive never done this before,, have alot of conerns about even people getting my email..
as a christian , i love to help people somehow some way i guess..
most of my passions are being creative, animal crulety , senior abuse,
singing on a praise team.gardening, i love taking pics too,teaching young children
helping people that are down etc.
not sure where to go with any of these though,,
I need some ideas, some help on this…
As a Christian, my first passion is God, His Word, His Truth and Promises to us. It bothers me how some people can take one scripture and twist it around to something false. God says He is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever. I love helping people any way I possibly can. I am a member of the 700 Club, which allows me to help people even if I can’t be there in person. My second passion, of course, is my family. My third is poems. I like writing them and reading them, especially if it has to do with God. Finally, I love sports. My kids play any sport that the school offers and I play womens and Co-ed softball. I don’t know if you can, but any advice on starting a blog and website would be deeply appreciated.
I love to help people thru their problems, especially young adults. The transition between teenager and middle-aged often seems forgotten, especially in the area of web information. After I lost my job, I realized this and have developed a website specifically for Gen Y’ers, like myself, trying to survive on the rocky road called young adulthood. I hunt down a variety of articles and combine them all on one easy to decipher page. My favorite part, though, is being able to blog everyday about topics that affect me as well as the masses of young adults. I chose this area because I am passionate about helping others my age, and I love my job blogging. Think about what comes easy to you. Jane, since you like helping people and taking pics, you could blog about the ways you have helped others and combine unique pics of the people you helped. Personal stories of triumph & heartbreak always draw a crowd. Holly, you could consider blogging about how a life revolving around God holds together families even while your family is involved in a million different activities. Parents of children in sports often are frazzled, so your poems could be a source of calm and could help them connect with themselves and God again. People read about things that they relate to. Find out what you have in common with others and then work to inspire them with your words.