If you're blogging, there's a reason why you write a blog post when you do. The reason you pick a certain topic when you write a blog post may be strategic and linked directly to your audience persona. Many times, though, the reasons aren't so well-aligned. They may be based on convenience, silliness, frustration, or simply running out of other ideas. Thinking about this got me wondering about why I write a blog post on any given day. Going back through the Brainzooming blog during the last few months, here are 28 reasons that have prompted me to write a blog post:
1. I have something to say.
2. Something occurs to me.
3. I made a commitment to publish every day, and I need to publish a post.
4. I'm hoping you'll be interested in the subject matter.
5. Enough tweets on one topic have built up to fill a blog post.
6. There aren't any guest blog posts to run.
7. I want to share an idea with you.
8. It's an attempt to attract new readers.
9. The topic interests me.
10. I'm trying to improve the blog's search engine optimization (SEO) strategy performance.
11. To create a new reference piece for you.
12. To create a new reference post for me so I can return to the information later.
13. Sharing what I learned at a conference or event.
14. It's a way to complain about something.
15. I'm inspired by a topic.
16. I'm uninspired creatively.
17. The topic doesn't require a long post.
18. The post is easily adapted from something I've already written.
19. It allows me to pass along advice to someone without having to say it directly.
20. It's an experiment.
21. To thank or show appreciation to someone publicly.
22. Because somebody asked me to write about it.
23. It's all I can come up with at the time.
24. I want to make sure a specific person sees the post because they need its lesson.
25. Somebody did some really cool work that needs to be shared.
26. There hasn't been a social media-related post for several days.
27. It's an opportunity to provide additional information related to a presentation I'm doing.
28. To see if I can twist an off-the-wall topic to be about strategy, creativity, or innovation.
So along with the idea that any subject can be a blog post, it's clear that there are scads of reasons for writing a blog post.
If you're on the fence about blogging or you write infrequently because you're not feeling the creative motivation, realize you don't have to have a single motivation to blog.
For those of you blogging already, what reasons spur you to take on the blog topics you write about? Let me know in the comments!
And for all the reasons TO WRITE, there are also reasons to NOT WRITE a blog post. One of them is that I don't run a post on Good Friday, so the next post will be Monday. – Mike Brown
The Brainzooming Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Email us at brainzooming@gmail.com or call 816-509-5320 to learn how we can help your organization make a successful first step into social media.
