21 blog post ideas- Danny Iny book review

Blog Post Ideas: 21 Proven Ways to Create Compelling Content and Kiss Writer's Block Goodbye (Business Reimagined Series)
-Danny Iny

Book can be found using any ebook link on BHW
Here’s my book review:
This book is just another typical fluff piece with only 10% actual and practical info. I copied important sections into a google doc that came out to pages. The entire book is 165 pages.
Most of it you will already know, and it will just be a refresher. There are some good examples I will discuss later such as content calendars for tech or food bloggers. Why do I say there 90% fluff and filler content? Because of the following;
Danny (Author) talks about journals and notepads and how you should sit down and brainstorm 10 ideas every day to strengthen your mind to see ideas everywhere.
Ex.: “When some people hear “notebook,” Moleskine is the first name they think of. Moleskines come in many sizes and varieties, lined or unlined.”
After actual notebooks, he discusses word/google docs/wordpad. We all know what a notebook is, and we should all know how to write things down.
Explaining what notepads are and pitching his newsletter and coupon code for his Udemy class are about 30 pages of the 165 page book.

Now onto the 21 “Proven” ways to get content.
# 1: Get Creative through Organization

• "What you have to do is try not to force words to come…. Just make a list of all the things you want to say in any old order. Then later we'll figure out the right order.” - Robert M. Pirsig”
• Have blog categories and fill out an editorial calendar
• Ex.
  • food blogger plans out meals around holidays- around thanksgiving post recipes for turkey and dessert
  • tech blog, pick a theme for the month

Examples:

January – New Year, Consumer Electronics Show
February – Super Bowl TVs, Virtual Reality
March – SXSW conference
April – Spring electronics preview
May – Summer camera roundup
June – Dads and Grads
July – Business Breakthrough Conference
August – Back-to-school computers and gadgets
September – Apple iPhone announcement
October – Best tablets and eBook readers
November – Holiday electronics preview
December – Gadgets of the year”

Break theme down into weeks

“January, Week 1
Year in Review/Best of Previous Year
Consumer Electronics Show teasers
January, Week 2
Flashback from previous year
Bold predictions
Consumer Electronics Show preview
January, Week 3
“Live” from the show
Video interviews
Breaking news and trends
January, Week 4
Consumer Electronics Show Highlights
Hits and misses; winners and losers
What this means moving forward”


Food blogger regular week posts

“Monday: Meatless Mondays, vegetarian/vegan topic
Tuesday: New kitchen products, cookbooks
Wednesday: Wordless Wednesday (Single photo or photo essay)
Thursday: New recipe
Friday: Fan Friday (Answer a reader’s question)
Saturday: Long form stories, step-by-step how-to’s
Sunday: Beverages, wines”

Food blogger planning her posts for 4th of July week;
Monday: Meatless Fourth of July barbecue ideas
Tuesday: Cookbook review
Wednesday: Photo essay of traditional Fourth of July dishes through the years
Thursday: Recipe: Fireworks Cake
Friday: Fan Friday: “What are the best picnic dishes that don’t go bad”“even when it’s hot out?”
Saturday: How to Decorate A Star Spangled Banner Cake
Sunday: 7 Best Fourth of July Drinks”


#2 Set your mind free;
Go for a walk + another ten pages about walkinG
#3 Change the Scenery
Write in a different location, Optimize writing space, Move from office to dining room
#4 Leave the country;

• First, he wrote an overarching post called, appropriately, “How to Work Remotely From Buenos Aires.”
• Then he took the questions he had before going on the trip, and answered those questions through blog posts, based on his experience on the road and how his decisions turned out. Here are the seven questions he started with and the posts that evolved from them:

1) Where am I going to stay? - “Review: Best Hotel in Buenos Aires”

2) How am I going to work there? - “Review: Urban Station Coworking Space”
3) What should I pack? - “Gadget Packing List for International Travel”
4) How will my new laptop perform on the road? - “Review: On the Road with the Macbook Air”
5) How will I make money while I’m there? - “How I Generated 9 Income Streams within 30 Days of Getting Laid Off”
6) How do I deal with international roaming charges? - “How to Set Your iPhone for International Travel”
7) What can I do for fun when I’m not working? - “Fun Things to Do in Buenos Aires while Working Remotely”


#5 Ask the Audience

1. Ask for ideas in a blog post or email.

1. Ask for ideas on social media
   1. Hi! I’m sitting down this weekend to brainstorm new blog topics. How can I help you? What do you want to learn more about?
2. Ask for ideas through a survey
3. Ask for input as soon as someone joins your tribe.
4. Set up your autoresponder to send a welcome email to each new subscriber.
   1. Conclude the welcome email by saying something like, “Hit reply and tell me what is the one thing you’re struggling with,” or “Reply to this email and let me know a topic you’d like to hear more about.

#6: Use your friends

#7: Let Others Talk

• Interviews with one person or compile list from several influencers/peers on the same question and compile their answers in one guest post

#8: Welcome Guests

• Receive guest posts without approaching bloggers, put up a “Write for Us” page on your blog. Include writing guidelines, even a simple one, for your guest authors
• Your guidelines should cover:
  • The type of content you’re looking for
  • Length of posts
  • Number and types of links writers can include
  • Format for the byline
  • If you pay contributors
  • Photo and image requirements
  • What you expect the guest blogger to do in terms of responding to comments on their posts and promoting to their audience
• Do your due diligence and be selective about who you allow to guest post on your blog. Write an introduction for the guest post, to encourage your visitors to read it.

#9: Become a Curator

• Round-up post
  • Here’s the simplest way to make a roundup post:

Step 1) Make a list of your 10 favorite websites in your niche.
Step 2) Go to each of them and choose your absolute favorite post.
Step 3) Publish a post listing these top 10 posts, and explain why you like them.

Ex. Tommy tech blogger puts on ten pounds from always sitting
“12 Best Apps to Help You Cut Down on Calories,” or “10 Ways to Lose Weight With the Help of Your Smartphone.”
Another way to curate content is around products. Tommy Tech Blogger could write a post on “7 Upcoming Wearable Devices That Will Soon Become A Part of Your Daily Life,” or “My Picks for the Top Online Coding Courses of All”

• People
  • The next approach is to highlight the people in your industry. Possible headlines include “7 Tech Bloggers You’ll Actually Learn From,” or “Meet the Owners of the Most Promising Startups in Silicon Valley.”
• Social
  • Expanding on the people in your industry, you can direct readers to their social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, or whatever the app du jour is. For example, “22 Tech Geeks You Need to Follow on Instagram,” or “The 10 Most Interesting Developers to Follow on Twitter.” When Elena Verlee published “20 Men Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter”
• Resources
  • Think about resources as a master list of things your reader needs to accomplish a goal. For example, “Everything You Need to Start a Freelance Web Development Business” could point people to resources such as certifications, training, website development, business strategy, marketing materials, and so forth.”

#10: Mine the Mass Media

• Jim saw comedian Louis CK on the Conan O’Brien show doing a hysterical bit called “Everything Is Amazing and Nobody Is Happy.” He talked about how he was on a plane and the passenger next to him got angry when the new, high-speed, in-flight Wi-Fi broke down. CK grew angry. He felt we should all be constantly amazed at the miracle of flight, noting, “You’re sitting in a chair, in the sky!”
• This inspired Jim to write a post about the economics of traveling, which was perfect for his blog since it mixed business and pop culture. His post? “Business Class at 30,000 Feet.

#11: Make a Media Mashup

• “The idea is to take two unrelated things, and force them together into a really interesting post. You’re creating a mashup of two unconnected ideas—which makes your post original and interesting.”
• “Copyblogger is particularly good at this approach. Some of their most popular posts are “5 Things Depeche Mode Can Teach You About Effective Online Marketing,” “The Grateful Dead 4-Step Guide to the Magical Influence of Content Marketing,” and “The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine.”

#12: Please the crowds

• take a cue from what they’re already talking about, looking for, and sharing online and in real life.
• Experts call this “newsjacking” or riding piggyback on already popular stories
• Dig into Google Trends, Twitter, and Facebook to discover popular topics.
• Look for a celebrity angle within your niche.
• Keep an eye out for people who are on the cusp of fame and influence,”“or are already celebrities in their own right within your niche.”

#13 Disrupt the Media

• Then go beyond just adding a photo to your page. Why not try a photo essay so that 80% of your content is photos and 20% is text, instead of the other way around. For inspiration, check out “The Big Picture,” a fantastic photoblog on BostonGlobe.com, and see how even the most ordinary objects, events, and people can be captured in powerful photographs.”
• -tweets, screenshots, infographics

#14 Highlight the Good

• Case Studies
• “Think about a website, blogger, or company you hold in high esteem. Maybe a podcast you can’t wait to download every single week, a blogger who inspires you more than any other, or a company that always seems to do the right thing.
• Once you have one in mind, do a case study analyzing why it’s the best of the best and identifying lessons others can learn from your subject. The lessons make the post relevant and useful to your readers. Otherwise, you’d just be gushing without purpose.”
• Websites, Blogs, and Social Media, Solutions and companies
• Recipe for Success;
  • Make a list of your favorite bloggers, websites, social media profiles, companies, and solutions.
  • Pick one, and think of all the reasons you think it’s the best.
  • Draw lessons or best practices from the case study that your readers can learn from.
  • If you’re blogging about a solution, explain exactly what you used and how you used it.
  • Support your post with photos (before-and-after photos are particularly effective), videos, and links to other resources.”

#15: Feature the Bad and the Ugly
Step 1: Sure, start with your angry rant or frustration.
Step 2: Then, talk about why it makes you so angry.
Step 3: Next, offer a solution to the problem.
Bonus: Step back and look at the bigger picture.”

“Do you really want to be a business whose customers only stay when they have no other choice?”
With a rant post, you not only get something off your chest. You also spark a discussion. Sometimes your rant can even bring about positive change.”

“When you’re frustrated with a product or service, it just might be an opportunity for a great blog post.

Recipe for Success

Think of a product, service, or company that disappoints or frustrates you.
Write down all the ways you find the subject of your rant frustrating.
Propose solutions to create the change you want to see.”


#16 Make Predictions
Just remember that you can’t pull your predictions out of thin air. Your guess needs to be an educated one. And that’s possible only when you do your research, when you keep your ear to the ground, stay abreast of what’s happening in your niche, and keep track of the comings and goings.
The point isn’t to always make the correct predictions. The point is to be able to justify them.
So when you write your prediction post, state your case, and then back it up.”


#17: Be a Critic

1. Write a product review
2. Link back to and review previous articles
   1. Here’s a different kind of review you could do if you’ve been blogging for a while and have published numerous posts: revisit the oldies but goodies on your blog. Go through your archives, and make a list of favorite posts that newer readers probably haven’t read. These could be the posts you’re most proud of, or the ones that have gotten the most traffic (check your Google Analytics to find out). Either way, go back and update them with:
   2. New or updated information
   3. Fresh examples and case studies
   4. Rich media such as videos, images, and embedded tweets
   5. Insights you’ve gained since you wrote the post
   6. You could also deconstruct the post, and explain what you were thinking when you wrote the post, what worked, and what didn’t.
   7. As an example, Jim shared the milestone of 100 episodes on his blog and podcast with a post, “10 Lessons Learned From 100 Podcast Episodes.” Two years was the perfect time to sit back and review what he had learned.
   8. Reviewing a product or service and refreshing an older post are two of the easiest ways to create a good blog post. It’s definitely a tip for your most desperate blogging moments.

#18: Show Them How

• Teach reader how to do something
• I.E. Teach blogger; process for backing up all the data in his computers, tablets, and smartphones
• I.E. Food blogger; teach system for saving on grocery bills without using coupons

#19: Share your Successes

• “How I Created, Planned, and Got Sponsorship for a Successful Conference in Less than 60 Days.” In more than 1,300 words, Jim shares the details of a conference he and a friend launched from scratch, including what they did to make it a success.
• Your success post doesn’t have to be about a dramatic life-changer, just as long as it’s something your readers aspire for as well. For example, in “7 Ways to Find Freelancing Work: What’s Working Now,” Lexi talks about how she found freelancing work after two years of being employed full-time and completely neglecting her freelance writing practice.

#20: Turn Failures into Posts

• “Think of a time when things didn’t go as planned, you didn’t get the results you hoped for, and you failed.
• Analyze what happened: What went wrong? Why did you fail?
• Share the lessons you learned from the failure and what you would do differently if you could do it all over again.”

#21: Tell Your Story