What to blog about

I had a revelation today about blogging when I picked up a copy of National Geographic, a good old-fashioned real life magazine. I wish I had made the connection between online and offline publishing when I first started to blog

I have never written a magazine or published anything in print, so the whole concept of publishing on-line (blogging) was a bit of a mystery. And to be honest, when I started to read up on blogging, it was like a trip back to schooldays, studying a topic you don’t quite have an affinity for. All the thousands of words and articles I read about how to set up a blog, how to market it, how often to publish etc etc, it was a bit like gobbledeygook that I sort of understood, but didn’t.

But picking up the National Geographic magazine today, I had one of those moments where lots of things became clear. Suddenly I could literally see how easy it should be to decide on the content and direction of a blog.

A good title

What can be more telling about what is inside than what is on the outside? On the cover, the name National Geographic speaks volumes. A blog title and ideally a blog’s URL should speak volumes too

A homepage that reinforces the title

Just reading the titles of 4 articles advertised on the cover of National Geographic, it was obvious that the writers are focussed on environmental topics and situations going on in exotic places around the globe. A blog homepage should quickly convey a clear message of material related to the blog title.

Choose a field that excites you

When you read an article in National Geographic, you can tell the authors are passionate about what they write. Bloggers need to convey the same excitement. Also, there should be no shortage of ideas for further material. It is hard to imagine National Geographic not being published because “our writers have run out of ideas!”

Be an expert in your field

The material in National Geographic is researched. Sometimes it is too indepth for casual readers, but there is always a variety of articles for all levels of expertise, attention span and interest in minutiae.Just because your topic is complicated, no reason not to make it easy to read or follow.

Clean theme

The material in National Geographic is presented in a clear format that young and old eyes alike can appreciate. There is white space, little fuss, the font is readable black on white, there are headings, blockquotes, beautiful images with tags, titles… This all applies in a blog too.

Publish regularly

National Geographic publish articles on a regular basis. Once a month isn’t once a day, but you know that every 15th of the month, or whatever deal you have, that magazine is going to arrive at your house.

What more do potential bloggers need to know about the theory behind blogging?

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