How do you keep your blog 'fresh'?

[flora]

Im about to start writing a blog, i guess im a bit worried to run out of things to say. I would like to know how to other people who write blogs keep thinking of ideas and things to write about. What do you do to keep your blog fresh?

[Harold Mansfield]

For one blog I get press and information sent in for posting. In the beginning I contacted all of the industry companies and people that I knew about or could find and asked them to put me on their press list.
I haven't been at a loss for something to post ever since.

For my other blog, I just write when I have something to share. There is no schedule to it. I could post 3 days in a row, or not for 3 months.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum flora.

Blogging ideas can really come from anywhere. The trick eventually becomes recognizing things in your daily life that would make for a good blog post. That'll take some time, but if you keep at it you can get there. Early you have to find your own rhythm and style. As for where ideas can come from here are some things that have worked for me over the years.

1. Other blogs on your topic - Subscribe to a lot of blogs on your topic and see what they write about. You can write about the same things, but try to come up with your own take on things. You can also write follow ups to what other people write. Maybe some writes about something and you disagree. You can mention the other post, link to it, and then give your take on the subject.

2. Other blogs on different topics - Same idea as above. Sometimes you'll read something on a different topic and think about how it applies to you.

3. Books and magazines and any other reading material - Like blogs these can be a great source of ideas.

4. Ordinary daily occurrences - I've been walking down the street, seen something happen, and realized I could turn it into a blog post.

5. TV, movies, etc. - Again same idea as all of the above.

One of the things I do for my blog is to spend an hour or two every week brainstorming ideas. I write down anything that comes to mind that might make for an interesting topic. Most never become blog posts, but some do. When it's time to choose topics for the week I'll look through all the ideas I've brainstormed and pick one or two and start making notes.

Looking at your site here are some ideas that come to mind.

1. How to create a floral arrangement for (pick different occasions) - You can write about this over and over again for different occasions
2. Why artificial flowers are better than real flowers
3. How to choose which colored flowers work together - you could probably write some posts about color in general as well
4. Current trends - you should be able to write a post about current trends once or twice a year - You can also write about any specific trend you observe during the year.
5. How the right floral arrangement can make a room look (fill in with any adjective - brighter, roomier, livelier, etc)
6. Posts describing any of the things you design - show an image of anything you sell and tell how you designed and why you specifically designed it that way.
7. How to choose the right pot for your plants
8. How to create an outdoor artificial garden
9. Why artificial flowers are more environmentally friendly
10. How to care for your artificial flowers - do I need to do anything to take care of them or will they last forever?

You can also start talking about related things. One idea above is about being environmentally friendly. You can probably write some posts in generally about being environmentally friendly. You can write posts about interesting things that happen involving your customers. You can even invite customers to send you pictures of their rooms with your flowers or their own flower arrangements.

That can keep you busy for a few months and it's all stuff I came up with in a few minutes off the top of my head and by skimming your site. It takes practice to be able to do that, but it does get easier with practice.

Hope that helps.

[jamesray50]

Hi Flora, welcome. I think Vangough gave you enough ideas to last a year. Even thought I haven't written many yet, I have gotten the ideas for from experiences at work, newsletters, and other blogs from my industry. Sometimes I do draw a blank and wonder what I should write about. I don't take notes or anything, I just wait until something pops into my head. Usually doesn't take long. I try to write something at least once a week for my website.

[greenoak]

i think its hard too.....mainly i try to reflect the store and my issues of the day and lots of pictures...... i dont get many comments but lots of folks coming thru the store mention it,or even bug me for not posting like i used to....
pictures are big for me..
.some of the most popular ones for women seem totally boring, kids gardens peaceful moments cooking tips....i just dont get all that for a blog....but some of the top ones are like that....i cant imagine anyone being interested in me in the kitchen...i do a bit of prersonal but not a lot...

[qualitymaintenance]

It would really depend on the purpose of the blog. (I'll assume that you are writing this blog for a business.) I just recently started a blog for my company, mainly because it helps with SEO and because its a great way to communicate with current clients and and reach out to new clients. I get ideas to write about mainly from three basic areas:

1) What's going in my clients world. Knowing who your customer is is essential to having a blog that they will visit frequently, tell their friends about, share on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. That's ultimate goal. To do that I have to write about things that are relevant to them. I set my news feed to things that are going in their industry, new products, regulations, intereting tid-bits, etc. I also try to put myself in their shoes and think of what be meaningful to me if I were them. I'll then craft my blog posts around those topics.

2) What's going on in my world. I think that relationships are key. The internet has allowed us to be close friends with people that we've never met. And we all know that people buy from people they like. Your blog in conjunction with other social media outlets is a great way to let people "like" you without ever having met you. So I also focus on sharing silly things that happen in the office, birthday and anniversary celebrations, community events that the company is participating and other things that are going on in the company. Sharing, helps people feel comfortable around you....and starts to build a relationship.

3) The world around me. What's going on in the world? How and why does it matter to the company and clients/potential clients. Right now, its spring and everyone is suffering from allergies. How does that relate to my client's everyday life? What information can I give that would be useful in their work? There was a horrific earthquake in Japan. My clients and potentials should know that my company cares about that and how we are responding (and ask them to participate in the efforts).

So that is where I find topics to write about. You could also ask what they want to see posted, (after you get a good following). Best of luck to you!

[Jacoby]

@vangogh - wow, great job with the blog topics. You have a fantastic blogging product and you know how to write run a blog extremely well.

Flora - I always have writers blocks when writing. If I can't think of anything to write, I literally just start writing about anything... I mean anything.

This gets my brain moving and I eventually decide to write about something.

Hope this works for you.

[vangogh]

Thanks Jacoby. I've been blogging for a few years now so I've gotten better at coming up with ideas.

Writing about anything is a good trick to get you writing. Free writing may not lead to a finished post, but it does lead to writing and often it'll give you something you can shape into a post.

[Chris1812]

It definitely depends on what kind of blog you have, but I have a small notebook, and when any idea enters my head that I think might make a good blog post. I jot it down. I have had quite a few great articles come from this. If I had not written it down at that moment, it would have been lost forever.

[vangogh]

I have a small notebook, and when any idea enters my head that I think might make a good blog post.

That's really important. It doesn't have to be a notebook, but you have to have some way to collect ideas whenever they come to you. The more you make that a habit the more good ideas you'll find you have that can be turned into blog posts. Many of the ideas you collect you'll never use, but the process of collecting ideas is important and will lead to good ideas you will use.