Choosing Your Topic
Choosing a successful topic is essential to the success of the overall blog [1][2]. A topic expresses one essential idea within writing and ties together each successive post [3]. Topics can seem to confine creativity, however focus within a blog topic opens creative possibilities. A focused topic encourages the audience to engage more actively and interact as a part of a blog community, ultimately enhancing the popularity of the blog. Creating a successful blog topic can take a significant amount of forethought and preparation through Brainstorming for Blogs, Focusing the Niche, Assessing the Idea and Finalizing the Topic.
Brainstorming for Blogs
Brainstorming transforms creativity into organizational thought. Individual brainstorming encourages writers to get out all of their ideas in order to focus and reorganize them into a cohesive concept through personalization and Brainstorming Methods[4].
Personalization
Begin brainstorming by writing down personal interests, dislikes, and topics that appeal to you. With a little introspection you can analyze and learn about yourself, your disciplines or “something that helps define your personality” [5] and your passions. In addition to personal interest, you must have experience in your topic ideas in order to establish a credibility in your writing. Consider your personal experiences and how they have shaped who you are and your writing style, as well as your qualifications. Most importantly, use your personal character to your advantage when brainstorming in order to allow the audience to understand a little more about you. This transparency will not only make you a relatable online personae, but will also help form a specific audience and blogging community.
Methods
With so many topic ideas, it may be beneficial to use Brainstorming Methods in order to produce an organized and manageable view of your ideas. These methods allow you to break down unmanageable and overwhelming ideas into effective parts.
Mind Mapping
The Mind Mapping Method encourages you to “get out of the realm of words alone and see how different spatial representations might help you see the relationships among your ideas" [6]. This method begins with a central idea and builds outward, incorporating all possible topic ideas.
Free Writing
Free Writing is another useful method, especially when facing the inevitable writer’s block, where writing starts and it does not stop. This method encourages continual thought, even through nonsensical ideas and pure imagination.
Thinking Outside the Box
Another great tool used in Brainstorming is Thinking Outside the Box, or a technique where you try to understand a concept from a different perspective and then relate it back to your initial idea. For example, imagine for a moment that you are writing about your own culture. Think of all the different possible meanings for culture, such as a bacteria culture or referring to a refined group of people, and try to relate those concepts back to your original topic. Often, this method gives you a different perspective than you may have originally identified.
Focusing the Niche
When a topic is narrowed and focused into a niche, the writer can express more expertise on the subject, reach out to more people and essentially connect with like-minded people. In order to find your blog niche, focus on your blog’s purpose, differentiation and inspiration.
Purpose
Your blog’s purpose will help focus the Writing Style and Audience for your blog. Your purpose for your blog could be to educate yourself, educate others, research a particular topic, or learn through communicative discussion and debate. Your purpose for your blog may be to help other people with similar problems, convince others to support a particular cause, or even promote a particular cause. Your purpose for your blog could also be to network and connect with like-minded people, establish your profession, make a type of portfolio for yourself, or even simply for profitability.
Differentiation
Another aspect that will help narrow your topic is to decide how you will differentiate it from other similar blogs through your personality, a different perspective or identifying an untouched idea. Use your personal experiences and personality traits to tailor the topic in a way that will allow you to express yourself. If you consider yourself a comedian, narrow your topic in a way that you can express your comedic side. If you are analytical, narrow your topic so that you can use that to your advantage. Using different perspectives can help narrow your topic greatly. This may include journalistic perspectives, such as Who? What? Where? When? Why? questions, or simply narrowing the topic through geographical topics[7]. If there are specific areas of interest that most similar blogs are deficient in or have not yet explored, use this information to narrow your topic and make your blog topic original.
Inspiration
Considering your inspirations for your blog topic can assist when further focusing the topic. These inspirations could include other blogs that discuss a similar topic, different articles and research resources related to your potential topic and most importantly your personal experiences.
Assessing the Idea
Once the blog topic idea is focused, assess the popularity and originality of the idea.
Popularity
When assessing the popularity of the topic idea, discover other blogs with similar ideas and view their popularity. Look up books or journal articles with similar topics in online stores, such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble and view comments and the popularity of the books. Another great tool to research the popularity of the topic is to use the “For Dummies” test. Try to find a book in the “For Dummies” book brand in your topic. If there is a Your Topic For Dummies, the topic is already popular and is a great idea to begin your blog topic.
Originality
Though the idea may be popular, ensuring the originality of the idea will ultimately set yourself up for success. Make sure that your topic idea is creative and unique from other blogs with similar topics. Finding an unexpected aspect of the topic idea will give you a fresh and energizing niche. In addition, presenting an intriguing viewpoint can reinvent a popular topic idea.
Finalizing the Topic
Once your blog topic is ensured for success through focus and assessment, the topic is ready for finalization of the topic title or subtitle.
Creating the Title
The topic title or subtitle should be explanatory and easily readable. The viewer should understand the topic idea simply through the title. The narrative of the topic is also essential to the title’s observable intent. A first person narrative suggests sharing your personal views while a third person narrative suggests a more educational and professional approach. For example, adding the first person –ing to the beginning of the title “Discovering a Passion” gives the reader the impression that the writer will incorporate personal experiences and viewpoints into the blog, while a third person “Discover a Passion” leads to the intention of education and expertise. Lastly, the title and subtitle should have an angle, whether this be something memorable, catchy or fun.
Get Started
The hardest part of choosing your blog topic is getting started. Topic ideas may not seem perfect until you begin brainstorming and expressing your ideas. Most importantly, use your first instinct to organize and focus your topic idea.
Notes
References
- Carroll, Brian. "Writing for Digital Media." Routledge; New York, 2010.
- Loos, Eugene E. What is a topic? 2004. Web. April 5, 2013.
- Lucas, Gerald. "Choosing a blog topic." 2013. Web. March 29, 2013.
- Mind Tools Ltd. Brainstorming." 2013. Web. March 31, 2013.
- Rehner, Amy. "Choosing Your Blog Topic." March 2013. Web. March 29, 2013.
- The Writing Center. "Brainstorming." 2013. Web. March 31, 2013.