Great posts are hard to do consistently on a day-to-day basis. Probloggers really have to work at it. I thought about all the different ways and angles a blogger can approach choosing posting topics. Here are 101 different ideas that I think are great to stimulate your mind and jumpstart your blogging.
[UPDATE: Make a Great Post from a category below and I'll link back to your post! See rules here.]Â
- Brainstorm by matching up your readers wants and needs using the Visitor Grid method of brainstorming.
- Write a post by examining the pros and cons of an issue.
- Write a tutorial.
- Do an interview with key people in your niche.
- Create a mock head-to-head competition like what Daniel did.
- Do a case study like what Read/Write Web did with the hot topics on Technorati 100.
- Take an alternate position.
- Write a long comment.
- Pick a topic by reading business book titles.
- Research a topic by doing research on Amazon.com.
- Drill down on a topic using Ask.com’s search feature.
- Do a post that answers your readers’ questions.
- Create a comprehensive list.
- Create flagship content.
- Interview controversial people in your niche.
- Post about current events in your niche.
- Invite your readers to submit articles.
- Instead of exchanging links, get together with other bloggers and review each others’ blogs.
- Connect with bloggers around your same level and share ideas.
- Do a “speedlinking� post.
- Post about posts made by others in your My Blog Log community.
- Be opinionated in your post.
- Turn off the nofollow attribute to encourage comments.
- Do a “tag” post and have other bloggers who are tagged add to a list.
- Do an “IM” PPC campaign and then post about the results.
- Be a guest blogger and share ideas with new readers.
- Review your statistics to see what keywords referred your visitors to your site and post about those.
- Answer your readers’ questions with more questions (i.e., have you thought about…?).
- Contrast two or more positions in a post.
- Make a post that solves a problem.
- Make a post that is inspirational.
- Make a satirical post.
- Write a series of posts.
- Post your research findings.
- Post an “advantages/disadvantages” post.
- Update an old post for new ideas/findings.
- Link ideas from different genres in your posts (e.g., Celebrities and the gadgets they own).
- Debunk a myth in your post.
- Make a post for beginners.
- Make a post for advanced readers.
- Invite experts to comment on your post.
- Ask your readers to Digg your best posts.
- Change up your posting style (e.g., tutorial, reviews, etc.).
- Write a funny post.
- Create a huge list of your best posts.
- Add to a list started by another blogger.
- Create a mission statement for your blog.
- Make a post simplifying a complex problem for your readers.
- Create a guide for your niche.
- Make a post turning a negative into a positive through humor ( e.g., tell a joke: “My parents tell me I’m autistic. I tell them they have an attitude problem.”).
- Browse through a thesaurus and see if synonyms help spark ideas for your posts.
- Respond to criticism in a post (e.g., respond to the Wall Street Journal’s criticism of bloggers).
- Write a post like you are telling a story.
- Spruce up your posts with pictures.
- Post about frequently asked questions in your niche.
- Pose a rhetorical question in your post.
- Post about what’s popular and why it’s beneficial ( e.g., “Twitter” for tech blogs).
- Pose a hypothesis and conclusion in your post.
- Support your post with related post links.
- Make a [blank] for dummies post.
- Post a picture that speaks a thousand words.
- Buy a how-to book from a bookstore and use some of the ideas from that book to generate ideas for posting (e.g., a book about Photoshop).
- Look at the archives of your niche competitors and see if any of their old posts can be expanded in an “update” post on your blog.
- Post with a personality (e.g., John Chow is evil).
- Write about how to do something more efficiently in your niche.
- Write about generally unknown secrets in your niche.
- Write about how to use a product in an unconventional way.
- Do a post transcribing live events (e.g., Macworld conference).
- Dissect an argument in a post.
- Make a post summarizing someone else’s post.
- Make a post about how things have changed from the past.
- Make a post that expands on someone else’s post.
- Create a post that incorporates the words, “desperate” and “futile”.
- Make a post alleging a conspiracy (e.g., Is there a Digg Bury Brigade?).
- Make a post that encourages visitors to subscribe by offering a reward.
- Make a post that involves New York City, London, San Francisco or Sydney.
- Make a post that incorporates in the title the word “crossover”.
- Create a post that utilizes a bar chart or pie chart.
- Create a post that has a cliff hanger to be answered in a later post.
- Make a post about pitfalls in your niche.
- Participate in a reciprocal guest blogging scheme where you blog on someone else’s blog and that other person blogs on your blog.
- Do a paid posting targeted to your readers.
- Profile the competition in your niche.
- Post linkbait.
- Make a post about your fellow bloggers’ top posts.
- Make a post about your most popular posts.
- Read some sports (or other genre) magazines and incorporate some of the writing styles in your posts.
- Write a post that pinpoints similarities and differences.
- Write a post giving a free recommendation.
- Write a post about something that is merely “good� but not “great�.
- Write a post about a hack for your niche.
- Make a post that constructively criticizes someone else’s post.
- Run a poll and post the results of that poll.
- Ask your loyal readers to email you links to their best resources and make a post about what you found.
- Write only about a particular theme for a week.
- Designate each day of the week as a theme day where you will always post about a particular topic on that day.
- Review your blog’s (weekly, monthly, yearly) performance and post the results.
- Write an “attack� post by setting up an argument and then shooting it down.
- Combine some of your best posts from your archives into a new series.
- Hold a conference via blog posts.
- Make a “101 ideas� post.

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Excellent stuff, there is some inspiration in there for everybody.
And pat on my own head for reading every single one before commenting
Now I am wondering which of those I can tick of as already done …
Dugg
http://digg.com/offbeat_news/101_Article_Ideas_For_Your_Blog/
102. Write a post about writing a post
You forgot about memes! I recently tried one about Feed Counts and I learned a lot about the topic.
In fact, Philip.. can I tag you for the meme as well? Would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.
Nice list, got love 101 lists!ù
Here is something new for me:
“Look at the archives of your niche competitors and see if any of their old posts can be expanded in an “updateâ€? post on your blog.”
>23. # Turn off the nofollow attribute to encourage comments.
That’s going to encourage the spam bots to visit your site big time. I doubt it will take them long to figure it out either.
Thanks for the post…some nice ideas in there.
Jack:
Not necessarily. Use Akismet or other spam blocker, plus use comment moderation. Akismet catches all but a very few spam comments for me.
I love these ideas.
Great job Philip! A list to come back to…many many times
Hi Philip,
I started reading this post thinking, “Oh geez, another ridiculous list that should have stopped at five…” But wow — there are some really fabulous suggestions in there (and a whole lot more than just five!).
This is definitely a quality list; you’ve just made my next few months a whole lot easier. Thanks!
That’s a lot of great ideas. I have another one, write 102 great posting ideas.
Phillip, thanks for a great list! This helps bloggers eliminate the echo chamber effect.
I have to echo Adam’s comment… there is definitely more than just 5 useful tips in this post! I especially like #96 “Designate each day of the week as a theme day where you will always post about a particular topic on that day.”
This tactic helps bloggers by providing a “structure” and helps readers get oriented to your blog.
Cheers!
@Stephanie, Thanks for the heads up…I will check Akismet out.
Thanks for the feedback guys!
Maki, would love to make a post on my thoughts. Watch out for it. I guess I didn’t really understand how memes work so that’s why it didn’t make it onto the list.
Jack, Akismet is built into the latest version of Wordpress. I’ve turned off nofollow on this blog for about a month without really anything negative. However, it has increased comment participation a lot.
Wonderful list! I’m printing this out as a handy reference and bookmarking it as well. We’ve all run into a bit of writer’s block from time to time and this list is nothing short of gold. What I find truly great about the list is its applicability to any subject even a guitar blogger like me. Next stop - Digg! (Thanks for the link Chris.)
Philip - thanks for the great list. I’m building out a new blog and your list is super helpful to me. I found your site through Chris Garrett and I’m finding lots of great stuff here. The no-follow idea is an interesting one that I’ll be experimenting with too.
Take care,
-Don
Always great to have new visitors! Please visit often.
Thanks for these good ideas. Lot’s of useful food for thought in this list.
Wow, great ideas. I plan on printing it out and tacking it to the wall next to my computer. How often do I just sit there with nothing to write about. Just reading this post gave me too ideas to do something about. Thanks!
it is a collection of ideas that one can rotate and run a great blog for years.
good list. I keep thinking of a good header with the word crossover…thats interesting…
Great list and helpful to a podcaster that is just entering the world of blogging. It helps with podcast Ideas as well.
Thanks for the list
This is what I need, thanks a lot.
Make a [blank] for dummies post….I hope its not a spamm
Hey Philip just found this article on Del.icio.us popular, congratulations!!!
Thanks Collis! It was a fun article to write. I’m glad it was so well received.
Thanks for the list!
This is fantastic.
I’ve been trying to find a new angle into my material for months… and you’ve given me a hundred of them. Sometimes all it takes is a little oblique thinking about your topic to re-energize you.
Massive list, great material for new and old bloggers, specially my clients.
I’ve saved this for further reference
Really, excellent stuff that one can refer almost constantly. What I like about it is that even if you have a general idea for YAP (yet another post), this may give you a new and fresh angle/twist.
Fantastic post, I landed here through Maki’s referral and I decided to subscribe after reading this post
Well done, Well said even the comments. What else can I say but, “Hat’s Off!”
What a list!! Love it and got some great ideas.
Thank you
Thank you so much for this huge list! I would like to translate and publish it in my site. Can I?
Hi Estrategias,
I will email you on that separately. Thanks for visiting!
Nice! Informative and very useful!! Thanks a million, or a 101, at least…..
-NJ-
It will take me weeks to go through all these ideas. Thank you for the effort alone.
Thank you very much, your post is useful for novice bloggers (as me!), is a massive list! Good stuff!
Regards.
I just found this via chrisg.com and it is very impressive. This should help me get some content flowing.
thanks
greatï¼?
thanks
Is time I sit back and take some time doing same planning after reading your 101 Great Posting Ideas. I have to have a clear direction of what I want . next are you using work press blog?
thank for share the great info.
I think, that is interesting for all.
Some really helpful suggestions here. If could add anything I would say, one way of thinking about what material in a blog is to think about it can ‘do’ for the reader rather than simply what it ‘is’. You can do this by firstly tapping into one of 4 fundamental needs, the need to eat, the need for safety, the need for protection/ to fight, and the need to pro-create
With those in mind then see that its not that you ‘make hammers’ (for e.g.) you provide the ability to create ‘ great buildings’
Once you ’see’ what you do in these terms you can really begin to tap into peoples needs. I’ve tried to do this with my blog by tapping into our need for protecting our personal interests and having a useful advantage in social situations. Of course only you will be able to judge if I’ve done that!
I wrote a tutorial:
http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/05/26/more-on-making-windows-xp-work-better-with-older-hardware/
This post is wonderfull. I subscribed in a heartbeat.
I just launched three blogs today with various niches and then it struck me that I don’t know what I can type. After reading that list I am certain that I can keep these blogs going for atleast a year.
Thank you so much for your help
Thanks for all the great ideas!
http://money-ops.blogspot.com/2007/07/what-is-best-way-to-learn-how-to-write.html
102. Start a rumor for a tech related item… not necessarily on a person.
Wow, it’s a simply treasury for any blogger. Good work!
A little overwhelming, but I guess I can’t complain for being pampered with choices!
Great!, i like it so much, thanks to post it
This was awesome THNX
Billy
Great post, Great Ideas to help build network which pays for a long haul.
Thanks much!
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