I find that most people’s reluctance to include a blog on their website is because they don’t know how to come up with blog post ideas. After all, a blog represents some sort of obligation and “I’m a musician damn it Jim, not a writer.”
Topics are easy to find. You are surrounded by them. You just haven’t yet learned to recognize them.
Before giving you some ideas for your blog posts, I want to add that the your posts need not be long. You might feel stuck if you think you have to write a tome for every post. You don’t.
Your posts are as long as you wish to make them. Try to avoid writing 2,000 words or more because for a lot of people, that seems intimidating to read. If you have that much to say, break it up into parts – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc.
Back to how to come up with blog post ideas, think about your audience and what they are interested in. When thinking about topics for this blog, I think about musicians who need help with their online presence. What will those musicians want help with?
Think about the things you know most about. Blog post ideas can come from a variety of sources and circumstances. As a musician, you have an expertise in several areas. Think about your expertise and the questions people have about it, the struggles they go through, and the aspects of it they just don’t know.
Here are some examples of topics:
- As a teacher, what was something a student asked you today?
- What is the most common confusion your students have about playing jazz?
- What was a topic you and another teacher talked about today that students should know about?
- What is one way in which university education is changing from just ten years ago?
- From a music conference you recently attended, what was your biggest takeaway?
- What was the weirdest thing that happened there?
- As a writer of music, what was the most valuable thing you learned early on that opened up your writing?
- What unique skill do you have as a writer that others can cultivate?
- What aspect of technology is important for musicians to master these days?
- What are some interesting stories you’ve heard from famous musicians?
- What are some mistakes you’ve seen musicians make that set their life back, and that others can learn from?
- If you either are or have spent a good amount of time on the road, what are some skills or habits one should develop to be at one’s best on the road?
- What are your favorite three books and why?
- What are your favorite (or least favorite) musician movies and why?
Are you getting the idea? You ave a unique perspective on music and life from which others can learn that will make for great blog post ideas. We all fall into the trap of thinking that if we know something, everyone else does.
The visual part of your post
One other aspect of your blog that requires your attention is the visual part – the image you attach to each post. Is a picture absolutely necessary? No, but color adds depth and interest to your blog, so you should have a photo for each post.
The stock photography site called Unsplash is a great source of freely licensed stock photography. Throughout the past few years it has grown significantly and now has photos for a wide range of categories.
But you can also use your own photos. Believe it or not, your phone has a built-in camera! Remember those topics I suggested above for conferences you attend? Take a photo of the standing logo outside the main conference entrance. Take one of musician standing with you. Take one of the show floor. Take a photo of your school if you plan to write about it.
Blog topics and easy to come by and your blog is an important element of getting Google’s attention and therefore, ranking you high up for the things you write about.
I’ll add one more tip: try to write around one broad area rather than scattered around a bunch of unrelated topics. For example, this blog will concentrate on how best to use a website and the market function it provides. I won’t write about food or reviews of exotic locations. I won’t even write about improvisation. That is covered in another of my blogs. I won’t write about trombone since that is covered in another of my blogs.
Come up with the area of music that you have the broadest knowledge, experience, and things to say. That way, subscribers will keep reading and your site will rank better and better for your particular expertise.
