25 more ideas for daily blog posts

Blogging every day isn’t as tough as it sounds. You just need a plan.

You definitely need a plan if you’re participating in the better-late-than-never, DIY 2014 Freelance Success/WordCount Blogathon, which challenges you to post every day for a month, starting June 1.

To help everyone who’s signed up for the Blogathon, last week I shared 25 ideas for daily blog posts. Today I’m sharing 25 more ideas for posts and ways to fit blogging into an already-overburdened work schedule. BTW, we’re still taking sign ups. Register here and don’t forget to like the 2014 Freelance Success/WordCount Blogathon Facebook page. [UPDATE – Registration for the 2014 event is now CLOSED.]

But you don’t have to be in a month-long challenge to benefit from bringing more discipline to your blogging efforts. Upping how often you post can bring more readers, boost page views and improve your writing. If you freelance for a living, blogging is a great way to learn social media skills, explore subjects you might want to write about elsewhere.

Without further ado, here are 25 more ideas for daily blogging:

Write When You’re On

26. Pre-write posts. Pick a time during the week when you can pound out most or all of that week’s posts.

27. Write from a different location. Take your laptop, tablet or smartphone to a cafe, library or your backyard and write from there. A different location could lead to a different perspective.

28. Write first thing in the morning. Get blogging out of the way early so you don’t spend the rest of the day worrying about it.

29. Write last thing at night – for the next day. Pound out a post before you log off.

30. Jot ideas for posts down as you get them. Carry a notepad with you or use an app like Evernote so you’re prepared when inspiration strikes. Better yet, carry an iPad or smartphone and use WordPress’ QuickPress feature or Mobile Pack plug in to capture your thoughts directly into a post draft.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

31. Re-read old posts and write them better. You probably know more now than you did then and can improve upon it.

32. Write about other bloggers’ posts. Instead of leaving a comment, respond in your own post and link to the original, then let the other blogger know about it.

33. Write about your other work. If you write, point readers to recent stories. If you do something else, share what you’ve been up to.

34. Adopt a secret identity or alter ego. One of the most intriguing bloggers in one previous blogathon was a woman who used a pen name to share intimate musings on relationships, sex and love.

35. Give yourself a deadline. Use an old writer’s trick – set a timer for 30 minutes and force yourself finish a post before it rings.

36. Study your blog’s traffic stats. Analyze which posts draw the most traffic and write more like them.

37. Look at what topics other bloggers are writing about and post accordingly. If all the other parenting bloggers are all weighing in on the chocolate milk controversy, shouldn’t you too?

38. Write about a well-known person. Tag the post with their name and the name of their company, website, movie, book, etc. You never know what could happen. After I blogged about Millennials, Penelope Trunk commented on my blog. Since then I’ve interviewed her several times for paid assignments.

39. Follow up. If a post gets so many comments you find yourself adding information in your replies, bundle up all that new material and write a follow up.

40. Run “Point” and “Counterpoint” posts. Two of the most popular WordCount posts ever debated the pros and cons of writing for content farms.

Wrap It Up

41. Write a year-end wrap up. Look through the year’s posts and pick out trends you can encapsulate in a list. Link back to older posts to support your points.

42. Write a New Year’s forecast. Go through the same process as No. 41, and instead of looking back, project what those trends could hold in coming months. Support your forecasts with link to older posts on the subject or similar forecasts from other bloggers.

43. Teach beginners what you know. Share advice or tips from your area of expertise.

44. Thank somebody. Lisa Carter, a Spanish translator who blogs at Intralingo and participated in a previous year’s blogathon runs a weekly post called Thankful Thursdays. Who could you thank – mentors, colleagues, friends, family support system?

Be Creative

45. Share a favorite. It could be a recipe, app, song, TV show, movie, lunch spot, travel destination, inspirational saying – don’t forget to include a photo.

46. Write a book review. Include the author’s head shot and image of the book jacket, which you may be able to grab for free from Wikimedia.

47. Write a poem. By the third week of the first blogathon back in 2007, people were burning out on posting every day and looking for something to turn into a quick and easy post. I came up with writing haiku, the popular three-line Japanese poem form. It turned out to be one of the most popular days of the event, so popular it’s been a fixture of blogathons ever since.

48. Decipher a technical journal article or medical study. Scholarly journals are packed with material that’s crying out for someone to translate it into plain English. Bonus points: get proficient enough at doing this and you could parlay it into assignments writing about health care, science, academia or similar fields for consumer or business publications.

49. Live blog a meeting. Use Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to cover a meeting, conference or seminar in real time. Don’t forget to include pictures with tweets.

50. Share some link love. Fridays are popular days for sharing lists of links to posts you happened upon during that week that were especially interesting, outstanding or profound.

[Flickr photo by Brian]