2 Interesting ideas for blog posts

Apr 11, 2016 | Better Blogging

Creating interesting blog posts is constant challenge, so I’m always excited when I spot something new (at least to me) out there in the wild. Here are two kinds of posts that you can adapt from two of my favorite bloggers.

Chic MacGregor’s “Ask an Agent”

Chip MacGregor is a literary agent and an insightful observer of the publishing scene. On April 1, 2016, he restarted his “Ask An Agent” feature.

People who want to write and publish books always have questions for agents like Chip. He answers many of them in this series. Lots of people use their blog posts as a way to answer common questions. There are two things that Chip does differently here.

“Ask an Agent” is intended as a series of blog posts.

Lots of us answer a single question in a single blog post. Some of us have done short series of two or three posts on the same question(s). This is a much more open-ended process. Check out the posts from early April, like the April 5 post on “The Role of Agents.

Comments as conversation

Lots of bloggers say that the comment section is a conversation with their readers. Most of us don’t deliver on that promise. Chip does.

Read the comments for either of the posts I linked to above. You observe people asking more questions. Chip either answers in a quick, conversational reply or he tells the commenter that he’ll answer the question in a future post.

Jesse Lyn Stoner’s “Is vision relevant in 2016?”

Jesse titled her April 5, 2016 post “Is vision relevant in 2016?” “Vision” is something Jesse writes about a lot and thinks about more. Most bloggers with an issue they care about that much would share their latest thinking on the subject and be done with it for now.

How can you do it better?

Jesse is one of those bloggers who’s always looking for a better way. In 2013, I interviewed her about the innovative way she approached a vision series. Then she rounded up a bunch of experts and asked them to share their thoughts as guest posts. This time she tried something different.

Comments as guest posts

In her 2016 post, Jesse uses the comments from her 2011 post, almost like a collection of brief guest posts. Here’s how she introduced those comments.

“Often the comments are better than my blog post, and that’s the case with my 2011 post. I have shared some of the comments below so you can benefit from their insights.”

Now it’s your turn

Check out the posts I mentioned. Mine them for insight and ideas.

What other innovative and effective blog posts have you read?