This post includes the following:

• Ideas for a variety of blog posts
• Types of media to use in your author blog
• Special items for your author blog and/or website

The following are the topics I’ll be covering more indepth in separate posts in this series; I’ll add links as I post them:

1. Is Author Blogging Dead?
2. Blog or Website or Both?
3. Social Media
4. Author Blogs
5. Connections and Audience
6. Content Tips
7. Goals
8. Layout
9. Types of Posts
10. Specific Pages
11. Promoting Your Blog
12. SEO
13. Ideas for Posts
14. E-Mail Newsletters
15. Author Blogs: my personal conclusions – and series resource list

TYPES OF BLOG POSTS

IDEAS FOR A VARIETY OF BLOG POSTS

• Social media conversations made into more in-depth blog posts
• Interviews with experts: written transcripts, or audio or video. You can interview experts by email or live (in person or on Skype or similar software). Start by asking questions: brief bio, what they have been doing, their books, etc. Generally, limit the interview to 10 questions or less. Ask for a head shot and preferred bio, along with relevant links. Give the person the URL of the blog post interview so their can also share it with their contacts.
• Guest posts: by another blogger, or by someone with expertise/experience related to your blog’s subject area. If you are contacting other bloggers to request the opportunity to supply a guest blog post for their blog, let them know (by email) that you are familiar with their blog. Ideally, comment on several actual posts on their blog over a period of time first; watch for topics that are related to your blog’s topic(s); or think of a way to answer one of their post’s questions in depth. Propose a specific question or two you could answer. For each idea in your query, provide a summary in a concise paragraph (be specific, but don’t list every detail). Include your name, email, blog/website URL, other contact information, and possibly your social media links. Once you are accepted, make sure you write an excellent post. Once it has gone live, promote it. You might include a link or two to successful posts you have written in the past on a closely related topic so the blogger can get an idea of your writing skill and approach. If you want others to guest post on your blog, consider creating a page (linked from your blog menu) on which you explain what topics you are looking for, and what kinds of things you need to know from them (see above in this paragraph).
• List posts: These tend to be popular and get good traffic. In the blog post title, write something like “8 Ways to ….” so the readers know instantly that it is a list post and the topic. List posts are easily scannable, succinct, and digestible, yet comprehensive. Make your list look neat and orderly. Use headings for each item in the list, with white space between. Break complicated material into simple steps. Use short paragraphs. Examples of 3 kinds of lists:
  • A headline introduces an idea and is followed by short, concise bullet points
  • After an introduction of up to 2 or 3 short paragraphs, list the points (with sub-headings) in short paragraphs or sub-lists
  • An essay-style post may contain bullet point lists within it
• Poetry: If you write poetry, include some of your poems in various posts.
• Stories: Write short stories or flash fiction in your posts from time to time to give readers a taste of your fiction writing skills. The stories may, or may not, be directly related to your book. You can also write creative non-fiction stories such as short memoir type posts. You can also experiment with various approaches to writing, such as humorous or scary writing.
• How-to’s/ Tutorials: How-to’s are always appreciated. They can be directly related to your books (“How to do research travel” or “How to write dialogue”) or they can be more indirectly related; for example, if a character in your book likes a certain kind of food, you could post a recipe and a photo.
• Questions and Answers (Qs & As or FAQs): These can be done as posts from time to time, but you might also want to make a static “page” with FAQs (frequently asked questions)
• Arguments, pro and con: If your book takes a particular point of view on a certain topic (politics, religion, or whatever) or you even use a certain writing approach (formal, casual, humorous, etc.), you could write about the pros and cons of those kinds of things.
• Compare and contrast: Consider comparing characters in your different books, or compare your writing approach to that of another author writing on the same topic, or compare two different books in your genre, and explain which you prefer and why.
• Persuasive: If your book takes a certain viewpoint on a topic, explain why you chose that, and why you think it was the best approach. Or perhaps you wrote a how-to book, and you want to persuade potential readers why it would be good for them to purchase the book and do whatever it teaches them.
• Exposition/Explanatory: This is particularly useful for nonfiction, in which you are explaining something related to your book. But you could also take an item from your fiction story and explain in more detail, for example, how one of your characters managed to do something. Or you could explain about the historical background or the location of your book’s story.
• Opinion posts: Readers are looking for more than just news or information; they want to know how that impacts their situation. Your opinion, based on your expertise and experience/story makes your posts distinct, and also draws readers into commenting and conversation. Opinion posts can include reviews, rants, comparison of products, and so on. A bit of controversy can bring life to your blog, but make sure your viewpoint is constructive (don’t be arrogant!). Give readers permission to have their own opinion and experience and encourage them to share in the comments what they think.
• Personal posts: are usually casual and entertaining. You might talk about something you’ve done recently. It could be related to your book, but it could also be personal, like travels or your pet or an activity or hobby. Include enough information to provide some interesting detail (save very short snippets for social media posts).
• Articles: short-form or long-form. These can be on any topic related to something in your book (whether the book is fiction or non-fiction). Or it could even be something you are exploring at the moment—especially if it is related to writing in some way.
• Infographics: Infographics are a great alternative to any kind of informational writing—and they are very popular in today’s graphics-oriented world. They are also very “shareable.” There are lots of different software programs to create infographics, so even if you don’t consider yourself a designer or artistic, you’ll likely find one that can help you. Here’s a review of some of the best software: https://piktochart.com/blog/best-infographic-makers/
• Photo essays: If you enjoy photography, you could create interesting photo essays, for example, of a trip you took to research your book, or a conference you recently attended.
• Maps and illustrations related to your book.
• Data visualizations: are graphical representations of whatever your blog post is about. They could be tables, maps, graphs, charts, etc. Often a good data graphic can quickly and accurately portray what would take many words to explain. And they are colorful and attractive. Like infographics, there are lots of software programs that can help you.
• Series on a topic: like this series on author blogs! For other examples of topics, see some of the ones I’ve included in this blog. You’ll find the series topics, with links to the posts, here: https://normajhill.com/writing-and-editing-articles/ 
• Quizzes, polls, forms, etc.: These are usually short and often entertaining. Use them with a particular post, or make them the entire subject of a post. You could create a quiz based on events or characters in your book, or a poll on what readers think the title of your next book will be, or a form about what readers like in your blog or a workshop you’ve given, or whatever. Again, lots of useful software out there!
• Reviews: Don’t just focus on your own book. Write reviews of other books (or movies, or plays, or TV shows, or radio programs or podcasts, etc.) that you think your target audience would be interested in.

TYPES OF MEDIA TO USE IN YOUR AUTHOR BLOG:

• Written (with illustrations)
• Graphics and/or multi-media: Photographs (with captions), artwork, audio (interviews, podcasts, book readings, etc.—with transcripts if you wish), video, slide shows, and so on.
• Links to YouTube or other videos (or podcasts) you have posted elsewhere.

SPECIAL ITEMS FOR YOUR AUTHOR BLOG AND/OR WEBSITE

Note that many of these kinds of items can be free downloads for readers, or as a thank-you for signing up for an e-newsletter. Sometimes, bloggers even provide them for sale!

• Case studies (can also be included in regular blog posts as examples of the topic). A case study is an in-depth examination of a particular real-world case. For example, you could do a case study of how you (or someone else) decided what kind of publishing to do, how they went about it, and how it turned out (or didn’t)!
• Elevator pitch: prepare an elevator pitch to be used on your “about” page, in a box on the right margin of your posts and pages, for talking to people you meet, for the back of your business cards and/or pamphlets or bookmarks, etc., in your blog’s media kit, on your social media, in book blurbs, and so on. Create multiple versions: short pitches (1 or 2 sentences), plus longer ones you can use if people want more information: be prepared to expand if people ask. Memorize your pitch, but also be ready to adjust it a bit to fit a situation or question. Make it a bit intriguing so people want to do more.
• Webinars and online events: You can include live videos or audio of actual webinars, podcasts, classes, or other online events (or a videotape of an event like a workshop). Normally, these would be posted on a static page in your website, or a location like YouTube, but link to them from a blog post in which you explain about them or give further information.
• Gated content: Content available only to “members”—people who are really interested in your blog and sign up to become members of your site or sign up to be part of a forum on your site. This is usually more in-depth information, or sometimes may be excerpts from your book(s) etc., which is special for these honored followers.
• White papers: These are reports or guides that explain a complex issue concisely and present your philosophy on the matter (as well, possibly, as opposing viewpoints). White papers are meant to help your readers solve a problem, make a decision, or understand the issue.
• Offline events: Video-tape or make an audio recording of an event, take photos, interview people who attended—and post them on your blog.
• Product guides and manuals: for books, this could be “lesson plans” for books used in novel studies or informative books; it could also be a guide or workbook/manual for use in book clubs. It could even be a coloring book or puzzle-type book for children related to a children’s novel or storybook.
• Research reports: If you enjoy researching, and especially if you’ve done a lot of research related to your books, consider writing an in-depth post on your research topic as a blog post or a series of blog posts. Or, like many of the items in this list of special items, make it available as a free download or even an item for sale.
• Online magazines: Write articles for online magazines. Many of the magazines will allow you to reprint your articles on your blog or website after a period of time. In fact, you might even start your own e-zine … or think of your blog as an e-zine in which you include lots of guest posts and other magazine-type items. This could be a lot of fun! Go to the library and look through a variety of magazines. What kinds of material do they contain that you could use in your blog?
• E-books: Full length books aren’t the only kind of writing you can sell. Write a longer “short story” (up to 15,000 words or so), or a short book on a favorite topic, or a collection of your poems or stories or essays. Sell them on online bookstores and of course describe them and link to them from your blog and website. You can also offer free copies as prizes or to entice readers who enjoy your short e-books to purchase your full-length books. And, of course, you can sell your full-length books as e-books, as well.
• PDFs: downloadable information on a topic related to your blog, or perhaps a chapter from your next book, or a downloadable post that readers can print out and write on, workbook-style (see an example from my series for new writers: https://normajhill.com/2020/12/29/self-exploration-for-writers-muses-and-mentors/ ) Scroll to the bottom of the post for a link to the printable PDF (place the PDF in your blog’s media folder).

WHAT’S NEXT?

I’m sure with all these ideas, you’ll find some that work for your blog. Why not, right now, create a post using one or more of the ideas above, and post it on your blog. In fact, create 3 or 4, using different ideas/approaches, and have them handy for future blog posts.

If you don’t have a blog, and are just “thinking about” making one, create two or three potential posts to see how it goes for you. If you decide you don’t want to blog, you could offer the posts as guest posts on other blogs, or even develop them into a book. Or take them and read them at your local writers’ group feedback session for feedback on your writing skills.

Please share your thoughts in the comments (you’ll find the comments link in the top left corner). What kinds of posts can you add to this list? Which of the ideas in this post do you want to try out? If you decide not to blog, how can you still use the ideas above to help develop your writing, or submit it to anthologies or contests, or use the ideas for workshops, etc.?