Author Alert: Has Your Blog Fallen Down and Needs Help?

Hey Authors … Has Your Blog Gone Limp?

Are you ready to keep your blogs ALIVE for an entire year? Yup … I mean, not to have to wonder WHAT you are going to be writing this week … or next?

Have you ever had one of those days when you just couldn’t think what your blog was going to be? Can’t think of a thing … not a single thing … to blog about? Ideas just don’t gel. The words are stuck. Your creativity spark is on dim. Your fingers can’t move. Are you thinking:

Help! My Blog Has Fallen and It Can’t Get Up!

Is that your problem dear author? Would you like 52 plus blog ideas … one for each week for the next year … and maybe, a few extras? Ideas that will get you and your blog a new life?

Okay … let’s noodle a bit. Look around. Look inside. Look on your shelves. Scan the headlines. Google something, anything. Add the words “weird” “unbelievable” “rip-off” “fun” etc. in front of your keyword(s) and see what surfaces.

Get ready to move from pause to play. The key to building a successful blog is to provide content and being consistent. Here are 52 other ideas to get the creative juices flowing:
Whatever the next phrase/sentence that comes out of your mouth and is thought … insert “what if” in front of it … write it down: tweak it and see what evolves and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Reveal your biggest aha … write it/them down: where did it come from and what happened and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Divulge an epiphany … write it/them down: who, what, when, where, why and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Expose a fear or two … write it/them down: what seeded it and how do you deal with it and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What happened when the GOYT Factor entered your life … the get off your tush goose; write it/them down and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Any embarrassing incidents that you can share publicly? … write it/them down: what happened, what was the outcome and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Any belly laugh times out there? … write it/them down: what happened and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Any failures you can share publicly? … people connect with overcoming disasters. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Problems make the world go round … make a laundry list of common problems you identify in your book, and one by one. Write them down; create a blog on each one, synching with a theme in your book or subject expertise—that’s got be worth at least 10 blog ideas!
Turn on the news … what’s the lead? Write it/them down and make a comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Watch your favorite TV show(s) … what’s the theme? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
TV again and your show(s) … whose the favorite character and why; write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
And TV once again … what show can’t you stand or have you abandoned? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Back to the news … what celebrity is the jerk of the day/week? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
YouTube is a terrific resource … what is on the Home page? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Check out Twitter, what is the leading hashtag trending … read a few of them. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Pull a few books off your shelves and read the dust jackets or back cover copy … what motivated you to buy them? Write down your immediate reaction and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Create a Cheat Sheet of tips … add a quick story of why you created the Cheat Sheet and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Fess up to something … reveal your snafu(s) and “oh-oh” moments. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
How-tos are always helpful … go through each chapter in your book and create a list of one-sentence statements. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise—that too, has got to be worth at least 10 blog ideas.
There’s some type of holiday/celebration every month … some months have multiple … what is it/are they? Pull a memory from the past; write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Holidays again … what don’t you like—a memory, commercialism, bad date night, what? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What delightful, an unexpected event has happened in the past? … tell it and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What not so delightful, an unexpected event happened in the past? … reveal it and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Vacations count … they create events and memories. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Vacations again … what was the worst one ever and why? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Embarrassing incidents … who hasn’t had one, a few, maybe too many? Write it/them down, what happened, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
OPB-other people’s blogs are loaded with the material and fair game (and oh so public!) … any that you thought rocked? Start writing, comment, link to the source blog and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
More OPB … any that you thought gave awful info? Fair game, too! Start writing, counter it, link to the source blog and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Go to the movies … what did you see? Share, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What TV talking head pushes your buttons … what and why? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Think of something silly … what amuses you and why? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Back to YouTube.com, put in the search box: “fun” and your topic … whatever pops up—watch a few videos (“fun” delivers both fun and funny themes). Write the title and immediate reactions down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Fantasy time … a combo of “what if” and pure “oh my” and let your fingers move into the creation mode. Write it/them all down, add comments and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Weird holidays are a great leaping point … Google the month and day with “weird holiday” after it. Read the background, comment, and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Awards are for anything and everything … what have you won (or longed to win), comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Create your own Top 10 list … if it worked for David Letterman, it will work for you. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What are common myths in your industry or field? … debunk them, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise (if there are lots, this idea alone could be worth 10 blogs).
Do a Q & A with yourself … all those questions you want people to ask/ items you want them to know about your book and topic. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What is the #1 question(s) you wished people would ask and they don’t? … ID, write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Do a review of a book, theater production, movie, concert or any event … what worked, what didn’t? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Do a Q & A with another expert in your field … Tie in their expertise with yours. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Never under-rate sex, sin, birth, and death … there’s always something in the news or in the buzz that has one or the other tied to it. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Pick up a copy of the National Enquirer and just read the headlines … what tickles your fancy, is appalling or just makes you think “You’ve got to be freak ‘in kidding …” Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise. My all-time favorite was: I gave birth in a snake-infested tree! My immediate thoughts were: Whoa … really? How did she get up that tree with her big belly? What were all those snakes doing in it? Why was she in the tree in the first place? What happened? Etc., etc., etc. Great headlines stir up questions.
Use a major event (personal or historical) … Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
What’s taboo? … agree, disagree, hedge whatever it is. Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Become the source, excerpt your own book … Copy/paste key phrase, paragraph, small section. Comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Invite guest bloggers to sub in … do an Intro and Final comment that sandwiches the guest blog and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise (if there are lots, this idea alone could be worth 10 more blogs).
Mentors—do you have any? … create a blog around the three most important lessons ingrained, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Questions beg for answers … create a list of provocative ones and let your subscribers supply the answers. You comment back with each one, always synched with a theme in your book or subject expertise (guaranteed, the answers will breed another 10 blogs).
Fads and trends in your field yield a viable starting point … what are then? Write it/them down, comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Bonus #1: Get out your magic wand and make some predictions … perfect for the year-end, comment, and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise.
Bonus #2: Pick me, choose me! Look at the variety of Blogs that’ I’ve posted on my sites. Feel free to re-post any of my blog post links and share them with others.

Take #33: Back to YouTube.com, search for “fun” and your topic … whatever pops up—watch a few, then comment and synch with a theme in your book or subject expertise (“fun” delivers and fun and funny). I discovered a short video that revealed 10,000 iPhones lined up in a domino snake-type wall.

Three things hit me: where did all those phones come from; how long did it take to set up; and the two-minute video was awesome. And guess what, YouTube has a video on how they made it!

Did I know that I was going to write a blog on creativity that AM? No, I had no idea what I was going to write. Seeing the iPhone video changed that. I was diverted from the “What am I going to write about?” to escaping for less than two minutes to the video—in 15 minutes, I had written a blog on Nonsense or Creativity Starter?

For me, it was YouTube to the rescue that early AM.

The final touch on your blog is your headline. Does yours create a response or is it ho-hum? Here’s a trick: check out the “emotional” value of your headline at the Advanced Marketing Institute. Tweak your headline until you have one that pulls in the crowd. Or, have some fun: Tweak Your Biz may just deliver the perfect “pepper” to perk your title up.

You’ve got plenty of ideas to pull you out of the rut in my list above. Use them all or create your own. Have some fun in the process. Happy blogging!

Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and works directly with authors who want to be seriously successful and has been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the ’80s. Judith is the author of 37 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, and How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech. Her personal memoir When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present is a #1 bestseller on Amazon. Collectively, her books have earned over 45 book awards. Judith speaks throughout the year at publishing conferences.

Throughout the year, she holds Judith Briles Book Unplugged experiences: Publishing, Speaking, Marketing, and Social Media. All are two-day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. Join Judith live for the “AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing” podcast on the Toginet Radio Network HERE.

Follow @AuthorUYOUBooks and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU, and join the Facebook group Book Publishing with The Book Shepherd. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact me.