“Content Week: Come Join the ProBlogger Twitter Chat” plus 1 more

Content Week: Come Join the ProBlogger Twitter Chat

Posted: 02 Feb 2014 11:31 PM PST

This week is all about content, and we will be featuring a post a day for six days giving you insight into content-creating from many different angles.

We’d love for this to be collaborative, so Darren will be hosting a Twitter chat this Wednesday 5th February from noon – 1pm Melbourne, Australia time (8pm US Eastern). Come armed with questions you’d like answers to, and to have a content conversation with like-minded people. Use the hashtag #PBchat and get involved!

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Content Week: Come Join the ProBlogger Twitter Chat

Content Week: how to consistently come up with great post ideas for your blog.

Posted: 02 Feb 2014 08:44 AM PST

Content. Where to find it, how to get it, what's going to resonate with our readers? They are questions most bloggers ask ourselves pretty regularly. Some of us have ideas coming out our ears with not enough hours in the day to turn them all into posts, and some of us have times where we're scratching around the bottom of the barrel trying to come up with useful, interesting, engaging content on our blogs day after day, year after year.

This week we're going to focus on all the ways you can be inspired to write great posts for your readers. Today we start with some ideas on generating content, and across the week, we will be chatting to bloggers who consistently come up with great ideas. We’ll have a bit of inspiration, and some discussion points to get you all thinking. There will also be a “homework” challenge at the end of the week to take you from all talk to total action.

So content – where can we look for inspiration?

Other bloggers

If you're a blogger, it's likely you read other blogs. While there are millions out there, we tend to return to a handful that we know and love and always enjoy reading. Have a look at why that is – what keeps you coming back? And how can you write similarly for your own readers? Maybe it's their tone, their sense of humour, the way they provide interesting information in an easy-to-read fashion. Could this work for you too? What are the topics that resonate with you? What are the topics that garner the most engagement? How can you put your own spin on something similar?

Social media

Social media is a one-stop shop for finding what people are talking about online. Search the Facebook and Twitter hashtags, watch the trending topics, and use them to inspire what you write about. Then you can promote your posts using the trends and hashtags while they're still popular. Join LinkedIn groups if you haven't already and see what are the hot topics being discussed. Scroll your Facebook newsfeed and see what jumps out at you – strike while the iron is hot!

Your own content

Every month, Darren does a "deep dive" into his analytics to see what posts did well and what might be useful to revisit. It can be a goldmine of content ideas, particularly as you know that your readers will already be interested in those topics because they have been before. What can you update, repackage, or build on?

The news/current affairs

You're sure to have a reaction to some kind of news or current affairs issue – why not capitalise on that? It's a issue already in the media, so there's interest there. Post your take on the topic, your opinion, or where people might be able to find more information on your blog about the issue. There's always something happening somewhere, and if it's relevant to your audience, you can add to the conversation.

Ask your readers

Who best to ask for content inspiration than the people who will actually be reading it? What do they want to see more of? What are they interested in? What do they wish you would cover? You can ask in a blog post, on social media, host a Google Plus hangout, a Twitter chat, or even run a reader survey. Can you help answer their questions? Or maybe even run a series? Darren uses this technique with great effect, and a bonus is that it helps to increase community engagement around your blog.

Brainstorm

Grab a cup of coffee and find a nice place to sit. Bring a notepad and pen, or your laptop. Sit for five minutes and write down all the ideas that come into your mind. Don't worry about editing them, or being clever, just write. You're guaranteed to come up with a couple of gold nuggets that you can turn into posts.

Check your comment section

One of the best pieces of advice I ever read was to "hang out in your comments section". It was initially advice to help grow readership, but it is useful for so much more than that. What are the stories your readers share with you? What questions are they asking? What do their comments make you think of that you can then expand upon? Do they have a blog? What do they write about? Is that interesting to you, and can you be inspired by what they do?

Mine your idea lists

Sit down and go through all of the places you've written down ideas. Workshop what might be useful to you now, and get a few intros or ideas jotted down for a handful of the topics you want to explore.

Find other bloggers' lists

You are not the first person to be stuck for content ideas – not by a long shot. Over the years, plenty of bloggers have found themselves in the same situation, written a bunch of ideas down, and shared them with the blogosphere. Google them, or see if your favourite bloggers have written similar lists and see if any of the topics resonate with you. You can get started with this list from The Blog Stylist, this one from Fat Mum Slim, or the one on this post Pip Lincolne wrote for JustB. If you've found others online, do please share them in the comment section.

Visit your favourite blogging resource site (like ProBlogger!) and search their archives

Chances are the blogging greats have touched on this topic before. They might have a list like the ones mentioned above, or general tips that will get you out of your slump and onto your keyboard. Content can be an elusive soul, and even the best of the best have still struggled with it from time to time. Learn from their lessons!

Your niche’s top Google searches

Head over to Google and check out what search terms people have been using and see if you can’t create a post based around some of the information you find. If you’ve got a food blog, maybe check out the top 10 most-searched-for recipes and put your own spin on them? You’re sure to come up with some inspiration for future posts (or even a series), and you have the value of it already being a hot topic.

What do YOU want to know?

Have you asked a question lately? Has there been something on your mind that you've Googled? Why not write that post yourself? Fill in knowledge gaps with what you want to know, and what you have found in your research. What do you think people want to know that isn't being written about? Don't wait for someone else to write it – do it yourself.

Think visual

Sometimes we have tunnel-vision when it comes to posts, and concentrate solely on the written word. Stretch your creative muscle with a short video or a slideshow. You might have a DIY or tutorial that will work a thousand times better in visual form than it would as a list of written steps, or something funny you want to share. Don’t forget to check out what's cool on YouTube and maybe try to make your own version.

Get outside

Get right out into the land of the living and take your inspiration from your environment. What are people doing? What are stores selling? What are the interactions you see? What’s changed since you were a kid? What great food have you eaten lately? The topics from this kind of observation are literally endless.

Your journey

Look back over a journey you have taken and use that as inspiration. It could be a literal journey, like a trip you’ve taken, or a metaphorical journey, like your experiences blogging over the years. How far have you come? What’s changed? Compare yourself now to your teenage self. Compare the start of your business to now. Where do you want to go from here? What kind of journey will you be taking in the future? Everyone has a story.

Write a cornerstone post

Have a think about the kinds of topics on which you write, and see if you can come up with some “evergreen” content. What is always going to be useful to your readers, no matter the current trend? Can you do a mega-post where you pull together all the posts you’ve written and all the resources you can find on a genre or niche that your readers want? Much like Darren’s “Sneeze Pages“, you can send your audience down the rabbit hole of your blog’s current content, or you can write a post of brand new information that will always provide value for the people who read your blog. Brainstorm some topics to use as a pillar post on your site, and you shouldn’t be stuck for ideas.

Curate content

Check out the internet as it is today – what are other people doing that you really like? What are some sites or articles you want to share with your readers? Put them all together in one post for them to read. You might want to do something like “five articles I’ve loved lately” or “15 new ideas for your kitchen”. Not only have you been inspired, but you’ve given your readers interesting content while also linking to sites and blogs you like (which is great karma in blogland!).

Write a list post

These may be abundant on the World Wide Web, but they are for good reason – they work. People are time-poor and they want useful info in bite-size chunks that they can skim if need be. Fulfil a need of theirs by providing a list of useful things, or just entertain them with a list of things you like/don’t like and why. Write a list of memories you have, or 10 tech tips you’ve used recently. There are a multitude of topics to choose from, you just need to funnel them into a coherent (and numbered!) order.

Write a post containing affiliate links

This is a post that does double duty of providing you with content while also helping you to make a little money. As Darren says, “contextual promoting is king” (in his post “The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program” – it’s PACKED with useful info!), so even if you have sidebar advertising or a banner/widget somewhere, you’re still more likely to make conversions if you write a post and have affiliate links in it (appropriately disclosed, of course). These sorts of posts pop up around Christmastime as “gift guides” or what have you, but there’s no reason you can’t do one at other times during the year. What products have you found useful lately? What’s a wishlist you have? Have a look through your affiliate programs and see what you can come up with.

Interviews

Who is someone you really admire? They don’t have to be another blogger, just anyone you’d like to get to know a little more. If you find them interesting, chances are others will too. Work in finance, but always wanted to be a chef? Hunt one down and peek inside their brain a little. Or find a mentor or someone you look up to and ask them about their road to where they are and what kind of advice they can give. Ask your mother for advice. Interview a musician. Whatever captures your attention.

So now you have a thousand brilliant ideas running through your mind, right? You might find this post useful on capturing ideas and keeping notes.

You might also like this post if you want to consistently get creative about your content, and break through blogger’s block for good with this one.

I bet you’ve come up with at least one blog post idea from this list – care to share it? You might help someone else!

Stacey Roberts is the content ninja at ProBlogger.net, and the blogger behind Veggie Mama. Can be found making play-dough, reading The Cat in the Hat for the eleventh time, and avoiding the laundry. See evidence on Instagram here, on Facebook here, and twitter @veggie_mama.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Content Week: how to consistently come up with great post ideas for your blog.

[Mistakes #9] Five Common Mistakes Bloggers Make With Headers - DailyBlogTips

[Mistakes #9] Five Common Mistakes Bloggers Make With Headers

Posted: 31 Jan 2014 07:25 AM PST

This is the ninth post in our "mistakes" series.

Your header runs along the top of your blog. It may be simply text showing your site's title and tagline, but some themes (including the default WordPress ones) allow you to upload a customised header image.

Since your header appears right at the top of every page of your site, it needs to make a great impression. Unfortunately, there are some easy (and pretty common) mistakes that bloggers make when it comes to headers.

Are you getting any of these wrong too?

Mistake #1: Not Changing the Default Site Title and Tagline Text

This is a really basic mistake – but an easy one to make when your blog is brand new. (And if you've got past this one successfully, well done!)

When you create a WordPress blog, you're prompted to enter the title as part of the setup process. Generally, bloggers get this one right – they use the title they want to appear on their blog. But your site's tagline defaults to "Just another WordPress blog." If readers see this tagline on your blog, it tells them you're a newbie.

Fix it: Go to Settings -> General, where you can edit your Site Title and Tagline. Set them to whatever you want to appear in your header.

Mistake #2: Having a Small or Stretched Header Image

Some bloggers have a scrunched up header – either because the design itself was too small, or because it's been weirdly stretched by their blog theme.

As well as looking amateur, this can be frustrating for readers who aren't able to easily read your tagline or even your title.

Fix it: Make sure you design your header to fit the correct dimensions on your blog. If you're using WordPress's Twenty Twelve or Twenty Thirteen themes, for instance, you can find these dimensions under Appearance –> Header.

Mistake #3: Using Times New Roman or Another "Default" Looking Font

If you design your header yourself – and most bloggers do, at least initially – then it's easy to type your title and/or tagline in a "default" font, perhaps Times New Roman or Arial.

While there's nothing terribly wrong with these fonts, they're so common that it's often obvious to readers that you've simply gone with a default – rather than choosing a typeface that complements your brand.

Fix it: Try out half-a-dozen or so different fonts and see what works best with your header. Choose one that's clear and easy to read, as well as attractive-looking.

Mistake #4: Having a Hard-to-Read Colour Combination

This is a subtler mistake than some of the others – but it's still off-putting to readers. If your header has yellow text on a white background, red text on a brown background, green text on a blue background or similar, it could be tough to read at a glance. (Some colour combinations look a bit ugly, too.)

Be especially wary if your text goes across a colourful image – you may find that while some letters show up fine (black on light grey), others don't (black on dark blue).

Fix it: Pull up your blog and take a big step back from your screen. Can you easily read your title and tagline? If the colours make it tough, try recreating your header with a variety of different text colours.

Mistake #5: Cluttering the Header with Multiple Images

Some bloggers have a tendency to cram a lot into their header, perhaps with photos of themselves, their dog, their kids…

A cluttered header sends a bad first impression, just like a cluttered front cover on a self-published ebook. It makes your blog look a bit amateur, even if the images you choose would work well on their own. One image in your header is usually plenty.

Fix it: Like sidebars, headers are best left uncluttered – I really like the Goins, Writer header, for instance. If you're not that confident about your design abilities, keeping things minimalist often means you can produce something that looks professional.

Does your blog's header need a refresh? Drop a comment below to tell us what you're going to change.

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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