So, You Want to Write a Blog?

You may be thinking about starting a wordpress blog as a hobby, as a complement to your business or line of work, or in order to make passive income. The first question you have to ask yourself is, what should I write about?

This is exactly where many aspiring bloggers hit a dead end; they overthink their potential topics and cannot settle on one niche to file their future blog under. You may have loads of ideas, but when it comes to actually writing them, your mind goes blank and you cannot think of a single idea, interest, topic, or blog post. So, how do you decide what to write about?

First of all, you have to get your creativity flowing. This is an exercise you’re going to do yourself, so get out a piece of paper and something to write with.

Now start to think of every idea you’ve ever had. That may sound vague or daunting at first, but these ideas actually pass through your head on a daily basis. Is there something you think the world should know? Do you have an opinion on anything at all? Some ideas would be your thoughts on politics, law, or equality. Start writing everything that comes to mind. If you fill up your piece of paper, great! Get another one.

Once you’ve exhausted all of your ideas on that first exercise, I have another question for you to ponder.

Think about everything you’ve ever had an interest in, either now or sometime in your past. This can be anything at all, no matter how small, inconsequential, or weird it may sound to others. What do you have a lot of knowledge about? Are you extremely knowledgeable about different genres of video games? Did you work as a barista for several years and have a keen interest and knowledge about coffee? Do you know everything there is to know about a particular sports league? Remember, this can be anything.

Write down all of your interests without even thinking about it. Nothing is too big or too small; write it all down.

Next, after you’ve made sure you’ve gotten out every single idea, thought, opinion, and interest, I want you to read through your lists. Look through all of the convictions and hobbies that you wrote down. As you read them, you may notice that some of these ideas spark more interest or excitement– you’ll get kind of a “gut feeling” about it. When you get a good feeling about an item on the list, circle or highlight it.

It’s important not to think too hard about this; you don’t want to get caught up in overthinking because you’ll be right back at the dead end where you started. Keep the flow of creativity moving by going with your gut.

Now, look back at your list of highlighted ideas. By now, you may already have a good feeling of what you want your blog topic to be. Write down any ideas that come to mind.

If you don’t have any idea what you want your topic to be yet, a good way to figure it out is by writing. Pick a highlighted list item and just start writing about it. It doesn’t have to be good or make any sense yet– just get those ideas out.

Once you start, I’m positive you’ll stumble upon your golden blogging idea. Be creative, be free, and don’t censor yourself. People want to hear what you have to say!

Tom Parillo

I am interested in all things technology, especially automation, robotics and tech that helps change how society will live in the future.