It used to be that you could just vomit out your thoughts to paper (or keyboard) and people cared about you (or your thoughts) enough to read it. Those were blogging pioneers and those days are over…
Social media and the mass consumption of information online in our society today has changed everything.
It’s probably a good thing because while some people vomit out some great thoughts, a lot more people don’t…
Now, if you want people to read what you have to say, you have to create your content with a purpose. One way to do this is through keyword research — aka creating content centered around keywords that people are actively searching for.
You can read more about how that works in our article on keyword research tools.
But that’s not the kind of content we’re talking about in this article. Today, we’re going to talk about the other 20%.
The 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule is something that we made up but we very much believe in its importance based on our own experiences as professional bloggers.
80% of the content that you write should be based on keyword research and searchable content. The remaining 20% should be created with the sole purpose of connecting with your audience.
Why is it skewed so much?
Well, the majority of your content should be focused on keyword research because that’s what brings in your initial visitors. It’s what drives the traffic in because it’s what helps your content get found on search platforms.
But the 20%… The content that connects… That’s what turns your readers into subscribers. And subscribers into buyers.
It’s what makes your audience connect with you and trust you and hang on your every word. And maybe you’re thinking… Well, why can’t all of my content be like that?
It’s great if you can create perfectly keyworded content that also connects and some of the blog ideas that we provide below may be able to be used in that way.
But it doesn’t always work out that way.
In order for content to be found in search, it often has to be written in a certain way with a pretty specific set of secondary keywords and topics. It becomes a little technical.
The 20% is where you have more freedom to write it exactly the way that you want it — however, that will best serve your readers.
And we’re going to give you our best blog ideas and topics for the 20% in this article. Below, we’ve given examples of these blog post ideas and topics from our blog as well as our first health and wellness blog.
1. How-To Guides
One of our favorite types of content to create is how-to guides.
These are usually very instructional in nature and can come in the following forms:
- Beginner guides — Very basic. Intended to start from square 1 and teach a complete beginner on a topic.
- Ultimate guides — Similar to the above but are often more comprehensive (or just differ in title)
- Tutorials — Because you are explaining “how to” do something, you can also structure these more like a tutorial with detailed instructions.
These posts can also be related to the following topics or ideas:
- Solving a problem — How to lose weight fast
- Achieving a goal — How to build an email list
The best place to get these blog post ideas is straight from your audience.
What kind of problems are they struggling with? What kind of goals are they looking to achieve? These are perfect topics for how-to guides.
One of the best examples of a how-to post that is also more like an ultimate guide is our post on how to make money blogging.
2. Experiences And Stories
This one is my personal favorite.
Personal experiences and stories are by far the best way you can connect with your audience because they serve as evidence that whatever problems your audience is dealing with, they CAN be overcome.
They are also what help your audience to see that you’re a normal person and not just some big influencer persona on the internet that just “got lucky.”
Following people on the internet is a little like watching people on TV. We tend to feel like they aren’t “normal” people with “normal” problems.
Sometimes you need to remind your audience that you were once living in their shoes. You KNOW how they feel because YOU have felt it before.
And then you tell them exactly how you overcame your struggle. Or achieved a goal. Or whatever else it is that you are writing about. Just remember to highlight the feelings that you believe they are experiencing right now (or have felt at some point).
THIS is what will begin to make them feel like you understand them and how you can begin building a relationship with your reader (one built on trust).
One of our most popular posts that falls into this category is our post on the phases of blogging success.
3. Trending Topics And News
These are great because there is always some new fad or craze in the headlines every month, week, etc.
This gives you new and “fresh” ideas to share with your audience while also giving you the opportunity to weigh in on the topic. Your audience wants to know your opinion!
If you’re talking about the hottest new topic in your blog niche, it will catch your readers’ attention because fewer people are talking about it.
Rather than giving straight facts or a general overview of a particular topic, consider being a little more polarizing if you have a strong opinion. Your audience wants (and deserves) your honesty!
Here are some examples from various blog topics:
- Health: new fad diet
- Travel: latest news on carbon emissions
- Politics: election news (there’s always SOMETHING here)
- Pets: latest news on pets traveling on airplanes
- Beauty: anything on anti-aging technologies is always a hot topic to discuss
- Business: taxes and legal are topics that are always being updated
You get the idea!
This isn’t an area that we post often in but here’s an example of a blog post idea in which we provide a rather polarizing opinion on the topic of Google Adsense.
4. Lists And Round-Ups
Numbered lists are great because they give your content some organization and people love lists!
There seems to be something about knowing that there is some defined ending to your content. Something psychological there…
There has been a lot of testing on clickthrough rates of headlines and lists are without a doubt super popular and often more likely to get you clicks!
You can put anything you want into a list, including some of the types of content we are discussing in these articles.
Here are some popular types of lists for blog post ideas:
- 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make When…
- 7 Most Popular Myths About…
- 17 Best Tools For…
- 6 Ways to Use…
- 12 Reasons Why…
You can also do round-up posts in a list format.
A round-up post is a list that you put together of other resources (i.e. recipes, websites, products, etc.). You feature other people’s content with a link to the resource.
Our article on successful bloggers is a good example of a round-up post that is formatted as a list. This post on healthy dinner recipes is another great example of a round-up post.
5. Product Reviews
Product/service review articles are great because they serve two purposes:
- Provide helpful information for your audience
- Potential to make a few extra bucks on the side
You can earn a commission from certain products and services that you recommend on your blog when people click on your links to purchase that product or service.
This is called affiliate marketing, and it’s a major way that many bloggers monetize their content.
BUT remember that you are still essentially asking for a sale here…
In order for product reviews to be successful in creating a connection with your audience, you really need to include personal experiences with the product you’re discussing.
Linking products with descriptions isn’t generally enough to get people to buy your product.
Any article on the internet can do that much. You need to form that connection with them by discussing your personal experience with the product.
THAT is what will make them want to learn more about the product or service.
And remember that it isn’t just about making a sale. You need to provide the right kind of information that helps them make a decision about the product.
For example, we recommend ConvertKit as the best email service for our new bloggers. But a lot of them aren’t sure and want to try a free service first.
So, we created an entire review on ConvertKit with our experiences to help them make a decision about what is right in their business.
A couple of other examples:
6. Interviews And Testimonials
Interviews and testimonial posts are great because it gives your audience a chance to hear from someone else, which can further add credibility to what you are teaching.
This type of post can be structured in a variety of ways, including…
- An interview — with a client, student, reader, another authority figure in your niche, or anyone else that can provide relevant insight for your audience
- A testimonial — with a client or student (this can help to sell your products)
Interviews and testimonials can be written, in video format, or in podcast format.
When you are interviewing someone or asking for a testimonial for your blog, these are some helpful questions to consider:
- What is their background? How is their story relevant to your audience?
- What questions can you ask that would provide the best insight for your audience?
- What problems did they struggle with in the beginning?
- How did they overcome these problems?
If their story is transformational in nature (i.e. reached a big goal), remember the points we discussed above in the blog post idea of personal experiences and stories.
Our best example is from one of our blogging students, Ramona. She took our blogging course and explains how she started her fitness blog and made money in the first few months.
Her story provides inspiration for our audience while also providing proof that our course works. We also allow her to add a link back to her blog, which helps her out as well.
It’s a win-win for everyone.
7. Guest Posts
Guest posts can be similar to interviews and testimonials, but the main difference is that someone else is generally writing the entire guest post for you.
People generally offer to write guest posts for the following reasons:
- Backlinks — Getting a link back to their blog can help with Google SEO
- Brand awareness — Being featured on bigger blogs can help you get more recognition and traffic back to your own blog
- Sell products — That awareness can also be related to promoting a relevant product or service to someone else’s audience
The point is that people who write guest posts for you generally only take the time to do so because there is some type of gain in it for them.
But there should also be some benefit(s) in it for you, which could include:
- Great content for your audience to read (that you don’t have to take the time to write!)
- Selling products — you can earn a commission by selling the products as an affiliate
The best relationship you can hope for here is one in which both parties benefit from the exchange.
A great example is a guest post written by one of our blogging students, Amira Law, on how to protect your blog with legal pages.
In this post, Amira first provides a ton of helpful information on WHY bloggers need legal pages on their blogs, including what types are needed and where you can get them.
Then, at the end of the article, she briefly discusses the legal page templates that she sells. We are an affiliate for the templates, so we receive a commission if our readers purchase them from the article.
It provides helpful information for our audience, potential revenue for both of us, and a backlink to her blog and her products. Win-win-win.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Wouldn’t it be great if you could write the EXACT content you knew your audience was the most interested in?
Well, you can! You just need to LISTEN.
What are the most frequently discussed topics you hear from your readers?
Are there any common questions that get asked more often than others?
There are a few ways that you can get blog post ideas from the questions your audience is answering, including:
- Comments on your posts
- Email responses
The other thing you can do to get ideas is to simply ASK your audience what they want to hear more about!
You can end your articles or emails with a question that will help get the conversation started. Some of our favorite questions to ask include:
- What is the #1 thing you’re struggling with when it comes to (insert topic here?
- Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any questions about (insert topic here)? If so, please leave us a comment below! We’d love to hear from you!
When you answer your audience’s most important questions, it helps to build more trust in your relationship with them and make them more likely to purchase something from you.
An example of this in our business is the article that we wrote comparing two email marketing services: MailChimp and ConvertKit
A lot of our new bloggers on a budget are curious about MailChimp because it’s a free service and we get that question a LOT in our support groups for our course.
So, we wrote an entire article to direct them to when we get the question.
It also helps to have a resource like this to direct your readers to so that you don’t have to answer the same question over and over again!
On our health and wellness blog, one question that we got asked a LOT related to our weight loss program was about how to lose weight with hypothyroidism.
So, we wrote an article about it to help our readers that face that problem. And it also helped to well our weight loss program!
9. Myths
Last up on our list of blog post ideas is busting through the top myths surrounding some of the most common topics you are writing about.
People are skeptical of information and products online because they don’t generally know or trust you.
Busting common myths and misconceptions can help educate your audience and sell your products!
These posts can also provide a “shock” factor to your audience because you’re delivering information that is generally contrary to their belief.
The best example that we have on this blog about busting through myths is our article on how much bloggers make.
There is a common misconception that bloggers don’t make much… Or a common perception that they don’t make enough to earn a full-time income. A lot of people believe that bloggers are just running their blog as a side project or hobby rather than as a full-time business.
Okay, that’s it for our article on blog post ideas and topics!
We hope that creating this kind of content helps you better connect with your audience and build a more loyal and engaged list of fans and subscribers!
Which one was your favorite? Are you already using any of the above that you feel work really well?
We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below! We’re also here to answer any questions you might have!
hey Alex and Lauren I am from Pakistan and I need your help will you help me?
Please check out our course offerings from the “Courses” link in our menu.
I posted my query first in the general Search line on my smart?phone:
If I am interested and able to be informative (technical matters) or polarizing (political explanations) and also pain-in-ass regarding local town administration – should I have separate blogs? On the other hand, wouldn’t I look “realistic” as a person with various interests, as a professional engineer, but also having grandchildren and having stories on that topic? I may say that I am “multifaceted” ( which probably needs a link to Wikipedia). So even before starting, I think about strategizing – in order of making any later corrections minimal. There will be corrections, no doubt.
It depends on your goal for your blog. If you want to simply share your general knowledge with the world, you can have it all on a single website. If your plan is to build a blogging business, you need to keep unrelated topics on separate websites.
hello Alex , I am a dental professional and I want to start a blog . just because I just have a baby can’t come back to clinic . I want to make some little income to pay my bill . it look very complicated and I don’t know where to begin with . do you think that I am ok with blogging ?
Hey Sam, if you haven’t done so already, sign up for our free blogging course, linked at the top of the homepage. It will give you a high-level overview of blogging to see if it’s something you would like to pursue.
I need help coming up with ways to make money on my blog. It’s central idea is to get the word out there that mental health is okay to talk about and hopefully save some lives from suicide. But I cannot figure out what would be good that I could promote? I know I probably have a terrible topic, but I myself am bipolar, my bipolar husband committed suicide and my son is autistic and bipolar. So the topic is based on my experience. If you have any insight or suggestions, or if anyone else does I so would appreciate it. I was one of those procrastinators and it took me a year just to get my blog up and running (because it had to be perfect….lol, just like you’ve talked about). So I totally lost momentum and direction now that it’s been running for about a year. All I get is comments that are from some bazaar URL. Thank’s in advance for any advice you have to offer.
Hey Lynda, we don’t have specific experience in this niche, but have you researched other blogs in this niche to see how they are monetizing?
Create a Patreon account, this will allow people to donate money. Another way is to use teespring which I think has rebranded to just Spring and create your own t-shirts and sell through them this will not only aid in bringing awareness to your cause and your blog but also provide a source of income.
Excellent article! Your post is essential today. Thanks for sharing, by the way.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Alex,
It is an amazing post. I wanted to start blogging on How To guides. Can you pls give me some tips and tricks for the same.
Honestly, the tips and tricks are pretty much the same across all niches. Check out our article on “How to Write a Blog” under the Design tab in the menu. Other than that, choose a social media platform based on where your target audience hangs out to promote your articles. Also, for How-To content, consider starting a YouTube channel.
Extremely interested and need guidance to my ideas. All the above topics fit. Fired up and will do the boot camp.
Hey Brenda, we can guide you, but cannot choose a topic for you. If you have many niche possibilities, then I recommend brainstorming ways to monetize each niche and choose the one that will best help you reach your goals.
Really Helpful and
Thank you so much.
You are so welcome!
This is a Comprehensive and helpful article.
Great to hear!
Hi, this is an interesting article. One thing I have found when researching topics or ideas or recipes is that I usually get another blog. How do I make it my own content? For example, soap making I find recipes from a blog. What if I want to write an ebook on soap making? Is nothing original that you can find on line? Thanks
You are correct that nothing is original, EXCEPT your own personal experience and voice 🙂 Don’t let that scare you off though. As long as you put the knowledge you learn in your own words, adding in your own personality and story, you will find your own audience to connect with.
Good evening, Alex and Lauren.
Tomorrow is day 4 of the free blogging bootcamp for me. The information has been very helpful! Thank you! Looking forward to tomorrow’s lesson.
Lory
Great to hear! Thanks Lory!
Hi Alex.
Great Post!! As a newbie, it’s difficult to find the topic and once we found it, it’s difficult to find the content for it. Can you please suggest how can I stick to the topic and have useful content that user would love to read?
Hey Deepa, the best way to be able to stick to a topic is to choose something you are truly interested in. If you have a passion for learning about your topic, it will be much easier to share with your audience.
These are some great post ideas! Sometimes as bloggers we get stuck on what to write and it can be frustrating. Thanks a million.
You are so welcome!
I will definitely use these ideas
You are awesome ❤️
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful 🙂
Great suggestions and inputs . What should the introductory blogs be if you are starting a new blog .
Hey Sakshi! Your introductory blog posts should simply be introducing yourself to your audience and maybe letting them know what they can expect from you and what your goals are for the website. Honestly, most people will never read your first introductory post, so it’s really more for you. Plus, it’s fun to look back on after a year or so of blogging.
thanks, Alex i am a newbie and i am heading towards my achievements through your lessons and tips i hope to be in the best position. take care.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks Alex, I am very interested and I am thinking of buying your course
We’d love to have you in our student community!