Sometimes the hardest thing about being a blogger is coming up with blog post ideas. Blog ideas can sometimes be easy to think of, but other times a blogger can come down with a tough case of writer’s block and even a single post can be impossible to write.

Blog post ideas and prompts can help bloggers get back into the game after being sidelined by a lack of ideas. These 10 blog ideas should be able to help you come up with killer content the next time you get stuck.

1.) Top 10 Best Blogs – This blog idea is to write about other blogs that are related somewhat to your blog niche. Create a list of the top 10 best blogs, and give a sentence or three about what makes them so spiffy.

2.) How To – People love to learn how to do new things. A quick “how to” turns you into an expert and a resource by giving your readers a bit of useful instruction.

3.) A Review – If you are out of blog ideas, write a review. Folks love to get other’s opinions before they do or buy something, so speak up. Try to keep your review on point, but you could review anything from a local restaurant to another blog.

4.) A Worst of List – This blog post idea works best if you can keep it a little light and pertinent to the other things you post. You could make a list of the worst outfits you wore on first dates or which companies have the worst music when you are on hold with customer service.

5.) Steals and Deals – This blog idea is sure to be a winner. People love to get a discount, and they will love you if you can tell them where to find it.

6.) Free Stuff – One thing that folks like even more than a discount is something for nothing. For this blog idea, create a list of free resources or where to get free things. Just be sure that you don’t stray too far from your niche.

7.) 101 Places – People like to read lists, and these long lists are great blog post ideas if you make each point on the list short. A list of 101 places to get pizza in New York or a list of 101 places you want to visit before you die are just a couple of examples of how to make this work.

8.) Why? – You probably got into blogging because you have passion and knowledge in one particular area. You probably know why something does what it does, and you could explain that to your readers. You post could be about why the sky is blue or why your neighbor wears short shorts when he mows the lawn. These blog post ideas can be both helpful and popular if done right.

9.) Strategies – People want to be better and more effective, and this is why these blog ideas are often such big winners. If you can tell people something that will get them ahead and make their lives easier, not only have you succeeded in creating a post, you make a winner that will bring readers back again and again.

10.) Shortcuts – One of the top blog post ideas you could do is a list of shortcuts. These could be shortcuts for video games, for navigating an operating system or for getting through airport security faster. No matter what the shortcut is, if it is niche related, your readers should be in love! Shortcuts make people’s lives easier, and these blog ideas will make you a valuable resource to your visitors.

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This article is written by Kevin Moor who writes for online-virus-scan.org, a site reviewing and testing various online virus scan issues.

Lists – we’ve all used them at some point in our papers, plans, and other documents.  Lists are a great way to easily organize a multitude of information and can be a great relief to the eyes after reading paragraphs of small text.  However, most people don’t use lists effectively.

You probably don’t think lists can be super effective but I’d like for you to consider this:

You’re up for a promotion and the success of your latest report could give you edge over other candidates.  There is a part in the document where you note five key areas of improvement.  How do you want the information displayed?  Which would be more effective?  Which list would give you that edge?

Unfortunately, most people don’t know which list would be more effective.  Some would argue that the list on the left would give a more fancy and professional feel to the project, while others would say the list on the right is crisp, clean, and effective.

Although it might seem like a nuance or an insignificant part of your writing, effective lists can change a document and the perception it gives, thus impacting your customers and the choices they make.  It’s a series of chain reactions.  Here’s how it goes:

Effective lists = perceived experience = better reputation = more customers = more money

So, now that you understand how effective lists can work in your favor, what do you need to do in order to create them?

1.  Pick a readable font and an appropriate size.

The first step to creating an effective list is picking a readable font and a good size.  Choosing a readable font is critical because without an understandable font selection, your readers won’t know what you’ve written.  You can’t go wrong with standard fonts, such as Arial or Times New Roman.  Nothing fancy, though.  Go for readability over elegance.

As far as size is concerned, you want to stick to what you’re using already.  If your document is in 12 point font, keep that size.  Shifting sizes will cause the reader to be confused.  They won’t know which text is more important, your list or your paragraph.

2.  95% of the time, align to the left.

Most of the time, you’re going to want to align your list to the left.  Basically, it should look like this:

• One
• Two
• Three

Not this…

3.  Don’t mix-and-match font styles.

When you’re formatting the text of your list, don’t mix-and-match styles.  So, don’t make every other item bold so it can stand out.  If you’re going to bold text, make it all of the text.  Also, remember that applying different formatting options doesn’t always make your list more effective.  In fact, most style take away from the effectiveness of your list.  But, as I said before, if you’re like to add a little bit of emphasis here and there, create a bolded list.

4.  Keep each item short and to the point.

If you need to say a lot, a list isn’t the way to do it.  Lists are intended to be short and concise.  Typically, each item on a bulleted list should only have a maximum of four or five words.  If you can’t say it in a few words, don’t create a list.

5.  Don’t create more than five or six rows.

One of the biggest mistakes writers make when creating lists is that they include too many vertical items, or rows.  A reader doesn’t want to linger their eyes for a long period of time and, if your content is being viewed online, they don’t want to scroll up and down a page to read listed content.  If your list includes more than five or six items, extend your list horizontally instead of vertically.  Go across the page instead of down the page.  This will keep the reader’s eyes in one area but will clearly separate your items.

6.  Use a consistent structure.

When you are writing your list, use consistent word structure.  Don’t do this:

• Cats
• The dogs
• The loud geese
• The soft, yet dangerous, bears

Keep a specific word structure.  If you’re going to use only nouns, use solely nouns for each of your items.  If you’re going to be a little more detailed and add in adjectives and adverbs, do it for every item.  This will keep the reader on track and will not cause them to feel overwhelmed.

7.  Choose professional, not fancy, bullets or numbers.

Bullet selection is critical, mainly because it’s the first thing a reader sees when scanning your list.  They don’t read your content first and then look at the bullet.  They see the bullet first and they immediately form a perception about your list and your credibility.  Stick with professional bullets and shy away from using playful or fancy bullets.  It really can make a difference in your list.

Lists are an efficient way to organize content for easy readability and reference.  However, if your list does not facilitate effectiveness, it might cost your company in the end.  Keep your lists professional and succinct.  If you do, you’ll be sure to make an impact no matter what type of document you are creating.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by bizior

This post was written by guest author Chris Tompkins.

As we have all seen over the past few years, blogs are popping up everywhere! Everyone from the famous Hilton Hotel chain to the cat lover around the corner from you are launching their own piece of the blogosphere.

Why are they doing it? Well for many reasons but the ones you are probably interested are:

• they are top credibility and customer relationship builders for businesses
• they create many new opportunities to grow your business

So, let’s get down to basics…and I do mean basics (anyone familiar with the blogging platform – avert your eyes now).

A blog is basically an online diary where you can share your opinions, expertise, favorite videos, relevant pictures.  Basically, anything that you want to communicate to your target market of readers. What makes it different from your commerce website is that the language is more conversational and should inspire comments and conversation with your readers.

As a business person, think about a blog as a conversation starter with your customer. Every time you write to your customer (by posting a note or article on your blog) you are blogging. As you are the author of your blog postings, you are considered a blogger. I share this with you because sometimes the above “blogging lingo” can over complicate such a simple concept, so it is best to understand these terms before you dive in.

Blogs allow your customers and prospective customers to learn more about you and your business and to interact with you. The by-product is that when you share your expertise with the masses, you build your credibility in your industry. And best of all, it can work as a direct funnel of pre-qualified leads directly to your website.

These are the steps to get started:

• Sign up for a free blog on either Wordpress or Blogger (the two most used FREE blog sites….I prefer Wordpress)
• Using their ready-made design templates, choose a suitable layout for your blog (make sure to use one that fits your message and topic. No puppies spilling out of baskets if you are a chain of funeral homes)
• And then start posting!

OK, simple enough. But what the heck do you write about? The simple answer: anything that is related to your business or area of expertise. If you are an economist, write about some of the recent advances in economic policy. If you own a computer software company, share ten tips to a faster desktop computer.

A great way to easily generate activity on your blog is to look at every piece of information that you have written in the past (articles, ebooks, marketing materials, brochures, company bios, etc.) and see if you can recycle it. Post it on your blog and you have instant content!

Now that you have a site, design and content…it is time to let people know it exists. Let everyone know about your little piece of heaven on:

• Your email signature
• Your company website
• Social Media Networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing)
• Digg and Technorati
• Email newsletters

Also, anytime you write an article online, make sure to add the link to your blog including discussion rooms and message boards.

Now that you have people coming, make sure that you write new blog postings packed with useful information at LEAST twice a week. The trick to effective blogging is not to do 100 posts a week, but to pick a number and hit it consistently. If once a week is all you can spare, that’s fine as long as you make sure to do it every week.

Blogging does not create instant results but as your followers grow, so will the number of business opportunities. In my opinion, blogging is one of the crucial marketing mediums that every company and individual should not ignore. (Plus, it can be a lot of fun!)

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Chris is the CEO of Go! Media International, LLC – an integrated marketing firm specializing in cutting edge social media strategy and online marketing campaigns. Chris is a fundamental supporter of education in the online marketing technology sector (for companies and individuals) and speaks at national and international conferences alike. If you’d like to find out more, visit his blog or follow him on Twitter.

*Photo by laruth