Choosing a blog topic is the most important factor in having a successful, well-read blog post that attracts comments and attention. Here is how to choose a topic for your blog post.

The most basic way to choose a blog topic is to look for an attention-grabbing story in the news. This can then be used as part of the blog post and title. The title is the first thing that people read, and it’s the most important factor. As long as you grab their attention you will convince them to continue reading. Choosing a topic that is controversial will also help you to create a good blog post, as people love to read about controversy.

Create an angle on a popular blog topic. In order to do this, look for those topics in your marketplace that always get lots of comments and attract the attention of many blog owners in your market. You should then use the same broad theme but create an angle, in order to make it original. This is a very simple way to choose a blog topic and will ensure you have a market for your blog post.

Another solid approach to choosing a blog topic is to make it personal. People love to read about the lives of others, and are always interested if you reveal something about yourself. However, ensure that the blog topic is also related to the market and gives them information that can be put to use. You could offer a story of how you used a certain technique in order to improve your skills in something. Make it personal, reveal an unknown truth and then provide a solution.

If your market is one that enjoys humor then you can reveal a joke as part of the blog post. This will not work in all markets, but it is an effective method to choose a blog topic. The idea is to link something that your readers are interested in to a joke that they will enjoy. This has been done with great success and can be used to connect to your subscribers and readers.

One of the most popular blog topics is to make a list of seven secrets or tips. This is done every day and still works to generate attention and attract a lot of readers. When you create a blog post around seven tips, you will almost be guaranteed to have readers, comments and increased traffic.

Using the methods above to choose the topic for your blog post will make the process much easier and will ensure more readers to click and read your content.

About the Author

Pat Lindle is an avid writer and blogger for his metal deck / steel deck company in Phoenix AZ. When not writing and blogging about his passions, Pat enjoys scuba diving, mountain climbing, and vacationing with his family.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

In blogging, there are two elements that can transform a blog post into a masterpiece. The first one, it’s not a very exact thing. It differs from blogger to blogger, and that is passion. That you’re either born with, or you learn by experimenting and writing more and more.

The second, on the other way, is more precise, it is the quality of the information that you provide. Is that information appealing? Is it helpful? Does it offer real insight?

How do we improve the value of the information that we provide through our blogs? Through research.

For the dedicated blogger, topic research is probably the most time-consuming part of the whole publishing act. Ideas might come in a matter of seconds, words are written at a certain speed, but the information behind those words is gathered in what can extend to even days (if not more).

Sure, some articles are based on the blogger’s own experience and aptitudes, and can take a lot less to research, but for others, time can become a pretty serious issue. To shorten that time, here are a few tips and resources to help you in your research activity.

Topic Research Tips

Ask Google

Whenever one of my colleagues asked me a question to which I did not have an answer, I told them to search on Google. Sometimes, they said they couldn’t find the information through searches, but once I searched, there it was.

It’s all about the “query”. Just as you would think about which keywords to optimize your posts for. Going too complex will most likely give you no results, or too many unrelated results. Be very specific.

For example, a few days ago I need to find in which WordPress file is a function defined. Believe it or not, such information is quite hard to find at a quick search. But, in the end, and by using the right query ( function-name defined in .php ), the result I was looking for was right at the top.

Niche blogs and forums

It is almost impossible that at least a similar topic hasn’t been approach on other niche blogs or forums. Topic research on blogs has its own rules. Bloggers took time to create that information, so, it would be nice considering a link back if the post helped you with your research.

It’s just like writers do with books, adding “bibliography” at the end, mentioning their sources of inspiration.

While you’re on those blogs, do take a look at their comments. Usually, you can find valuable additions or related posts there.

When it comes to forums and blog comments, you have to be careful with the information you choose to use. Topics usually become debates between sides with different opinions, and it’s up to you to choose the right ones.

Wikipedia knows best

Or so they say. Of course, being a human edited project of such a big size, errors can appear, but still, chances are you’ll find what you’re looking for.

When doing topic research on Wikipedia, take a look at the related entries. You might find additional information that you did not even consider introducing the first time.

The selective process

After talking in so much information, the hardest part is to select the gold from the dirt, the information that would generate a unique and valuable post in the end.

In your searches, you have probably seen what other bloggers wrote about, which areas of the topic they covered. Those parts will definitely not generate an unique article, unless you’re sure you can add more unique personal views.

If not, instead of redeveloping them, rather limit yourself to a paragraph explaining what people can read about in the post/article you’re about to link to.

Also, compare and confront information gathered from all sources and make sure that you go with the ones widely accepted, or at least the ones that your experience trusts most.

Take out what does not pass the standards and there you have it, the perfect information, the result of you assiduous topic research!

Photo credits to Sergio Guidoux Kalil.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive