When it comes to blogging, many people are eager to start their own blog and even gain a degree of recognition online. Whether it brings in profit, or is purely written as a hobby, a blog is a great way to improve your writing skills, enhance creativity and even serve as a therapeutic experience. Nonetheless, many people find themselves stuck in a loop on what to blog about, what topics to write about and so on. If you feel like you are one of these people, let’s solve this problem together.
Why Start a Blog?
When we say “a blog is always a good idea,'' we really mean it. There are many things you can do with a blog, and starting your own blog can open many doors - both professional and personal. If your blog gets enough recognition, you can start a whole online community which is both profitable and just generally nice. So before we continue with our Top 8 Blog Ideas, let’s get motivated.
Share Your Thoughts
Sharing personal thoughts is both interesting for the public and therapeutic for the individual. This includes commenting on topics that matter to you, and giving your perspective on various issues, events and concepts. As human beings, we all have something we are passionate about, or even moderately interested in. Thankfully, living in the digital age gives us the opportunity to share our thoughts, perspectives and talents with the world in a matter of clicks. Think about it - you can influence the world from the comfort of your own home.
Make Money Writing
Blogs are not only fun to write, but you can actually make money from running a blog if the traffic is good and the number of visitors begins to grow. This is called blog monetization, and is a great way to make money on the side. And if your blog becomes relatively popular, this can turn into your main income stream. Popular methods of monetization include working with Google Adsense (people click on ads from your page and you get a percentage from it), affiliate programs, sponsorships, selling your own ad space and more.
As a Hobby
Aside from sharing your opinions and monetizing your blog, writing as a hobby can also be fun. Putting things down on paper (or in this case, the computer screen) can be very relaxing and serve as a nice break from daily annoyances. Even if you are having a bad day at work, at least you have something to look forward to when you come home. Likewise, if you are having a great day, knowing that you can transfer this positive energy to someone else via your writing is also a great feeling to have.
Plus, learning how to blog is a legitimate learning process, which means that you get to become a pro in a totally new field. There are many videos and articles available online that give writing tips, SEO advice and monetization tutorials. Overall, starting a blog can add a spark to your life, so why miss out?
Topics to Write About
Here, the age old question of “what should I write about?” arises. Many people assume that they need to be a pro at something in order to blog about it, but this assumption is pretty outdated. So, what to do when you don’t know what to do? In fact, there are a number of topics that you can literally start writing about today; not every blogger has to be a genius entrepreneur, award-winning psychologist or philosopher - regular people like you and me also have interests, ideas and talents that we can share with the world without doing extensive research. In this day and age, there is no shortage of things to write about.
Below, we give you 8 great blog ideas that you can instantly base your blog on.
1) Personal Blog
This choice is probably the easiest, since everyone has something going on in their lives and thoughts they would like to share. Think of it as a personal diary, where you can write about anything you wish; whether it’s your personal life, existential thoughts or just an account of what you do during the day, share it with the world and gain a following.
2) Lifestyle Blog
The best lifestyle blogs are the ones that have an element of originality to them. A lifestyle blog doesn’t have to be about the perfect diet, best exercise regime or the most entertaining activities; as long as you share the parts of your day that serve you and motivate you, the traffic will begin to come in. Share your hobbies and personal interests, introduce readers to your daily activities, give them an insight into your routine and voila! Lifestyle blog set.
3) How-To Blog
It is no secret that how to topics are on the rise and continue to grow in terms of demand. Everyone wants to know how to do something, and there is a niche out there for everyone. Pick something from your hobbies (e.g a musical instrument, art, sports), profession (e.g. marketing, growth hacking, SMM) or even talents (e.g. singing, acting, painting) and teach people how to become a pro like you. As mentioned above, there is literally a niche out there for everyone, regardless of how weird it may seem, so get teaching!
4) Reviews Blog
It’s safe to say that there is no lack of content when it comes to running a review blog. Our world is filled with things to try and test; films, music, literature, technology, restaurants and even events. Simply pick a category that you might be interested in reviewing, and give it a go.
For example, if you are a bit of a movie lover, you can share your thoughts the next time you see a film. Or if you enjoy trying out new restaurants and cafes, you can start a blog that focuses on reviewing dishes at different locations. The possibilities are endless.
5) Fashion Blog
The main thing to consider here is that fashion blogs are fun. Just like you don’t have to be the ideal human to start a lifestyle blog, you also don’t have to be the editor of Vogue to post about fashion. As long as you have your own unique sense of style, feel free to write about the kind of clothes and accessories you prefer, trends you like to keep up with and even “outfit of the day” pictures (OOTD). Not only is it fun, but writing and even doing research on the topic of fashion is likely to help you further develop your personal style.
6) Confessions Blog
Now this might sound slightly controversial, but have no fear - you can run a confessions blog and stay completely anonymous. Pick a pseudonym and share some juicy secrets with the world under a fake name. Some good ideas can be:
- Confessions of a shopaholic (yes, like the movie)
- Confessions of a service industry worker
- Confessions of a college student
Make sure to keep it light and funny, and don’t share anything that is far too personal. Blogs like these can be very entertaining to read, and bring in a good deal of traffic.
7) Fansite
Everyone has a bit of a nerdy side, and what better way to tap into that than to dedicate a blog to something that you love. Whether it’s an artist, actor, tv series or even a cartoon character (for our anime lovers out there), share your passion with the rest of the world. You are bound to find people who like the same thing as you, in spite of how avant-garde your topic of interest may seem, so go ahead and think of some cool blog website ideas.
8) Mental Health and Self Help
More people than you may think suffer from mental health issues, and you yourself may have some problems - minor or major - that blogging can help take the edge off. Although it’s a sensitive topic, a blog dedicated to mental health can help build a loyal community. Being honest about your mental health problems online is nothing to be worried about - not only can you choose to remain anonymous, but you may also find it helpful to speak about your feelings and find people to relate to (e.g others with anxiety, depression, ADHD and so on).
Likewise, you may have already gotten your problems under control, and now have the ability to share this knowledge with people who are suffering - i.e. starting a self-help blog. Either way, running a blog dedicated to your own experience with mental health is definitely a step in the right direction when looking for answers, so give it a go.
Blogging Tips
Now that you have an idea of what to write about, it’s time to do a quick run-through of the most important blogging tips:
- Write from the heart - don’t fake your personality or insert big fancy words where they are unnecessary. Remember, you are writing a blog to relate to people, not an academic journal article.
- Use spell check - although your posts shouldn’t be highly academic, correct spelling and grammar is a must.
- Include images - they are good for conveying a certain vibe, illustrating your words and prevent the post from being too text heavy.
- Be consistent - unless it’s a daily blog, you don’t have to write every day. However, aim to write at least two or three posts per week.
- Include SEO - search engine optimization is essential for bringing in traffic, helping you to monetize your blog in the future. For an introduction and some helpful tips, check out these articles:
- SEO 101: Killer tips for beginners
- My first SEO: How to cover the basics
- SEO: Make search engines love your website
That’s it! 8 great ideas that you can use as a basis to start a blog. Now for the technical stuff; make sure to pick a platform which is easy to use, has great templates, allows you to play around with the design and offers different pricing plans. With our Ucraft drag and drop website builder you can literally set up a blog in a number of minutes, and it’s totally free too. Good luck on your blogging journey, and remember - blogging is good for the soul, and can end up being pretty good for the bank account too.