So you want to blog, but you don’t know what to blog about. That’s rather interesting.

Why, you ask? Well, your predicament is a bit of a paradox. You want to blog, which means that you have some intrinsic motivation to do so. That motivation must be driven by something, which will probably give you the answer as to what you should blog about.

So, the first step to figuring out what you should blog about is to figure out what your motivation is.

You’ll probably agree with one or more of the following statements:

• I want to become a better writer
• I want to make money
• I want to teach and/or help others
• I want a creative outlet

In this post I am going to address each of those statements in turn, and by doing so inspire you into action.

I Want to Blog to Become a Better Writer

Have you read On Writing, by Stephen King? If not, head over to Amazon and buy it now. I’ll wait. You can thank me later 😉

Anyway, the reason I mention the book (other than because it should be required reading for all writers) is because King reveals the key to becoming a better writer on page 164:

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

That’s all there is to it. This advice pertains to any type of writing – from fiction, to nonfiction, to poetry, to whatever else takes your fancy.

If you want to blog to become a better writer, just start blogging! It doesn’t matter what you blog about, because the act of writing itself will improve you as a writer.

My advice is simple: grab a yourname.com domain, like joebloggs.com. If your ‘name domain’ dot com is taken, try domain extension variations like joebloggs.net and joebloggs.co, or naming variations like josephfrancisbloggs.com. (Click here for more advice on choosing a ‘your name domain’.)

With your name acting as the name of your blog, you’re free to write about whatever the hell you like. And believe me, you’ll have something to write; whether you believe me or not. Just sit down at your computer and start a flow of consciousness. You’ll be amazed at what comes out.

I Want to Blog to Make Money

Let’s get something out of the way upfront: generating substantial passive income streams with a blog is difficult. It takes a lot of time and deliberate effort.

More importantly, creating viable, long term passive income streams through blogging is even more difficult.

I don’t say this to discourage you from blogging (there is so much more to blogging than simply making money – trust me), but I do say it to discourage you from going down the passive income route. At least, at this point.

If you want to make money from blogging, the quickest and easiest way to do so (advertising aside) is to offer a service in return for a fee. If you’re already interested in blogging, your first port of call could be freelance blogging. I have a membership site – Paid to Blog Jobs – that can help you land clients.

Otherwise, you need to figure out where your value lies. And yes – you do have value to offer. To quote Bill Nye the science guy:

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.

The same applies to you – you know things that every person you meet doesn’t. Your knowledge and experience – and willingness to apply them – is what enables you to offer a service in exchange for money.

That being the case, you should blog for potential clients. If you want to get paid to write about finance, blog about finance. If you want to get paid to design websites, blog about web design. If you want to get paid to organize people’s homes, blog about organizing. If you want to get paid to offer business management advice, blog about business management.

I Want to Blog to Teach and/or Help Others

This is an interesting one. If you want to teach and/or help others, in most cases, you’ll already know what you want to teach, or how you want to help. In which case, you don’t need me to tell you what to blog about!

It’s more likely that you don’t value your ability to teach and/or help. In which case I ask you this simple question: What’s the worst that can happen? You might find that no one finds your advice useful, in which case you need to adapt your teaching methods. You might even get criticized.

But seriously, to adapt an old schoolyard phrase, sticks and stones may break your bones but words on the Internet usually aren’t worth the bytes they take up. If you feel passionate about teaching and/or helping others, don’t let the fear of what people might say (or not say) stop you from utilizing that passion.

Life is too short, and you have too much to offer to let it go to waste.

I Want My Blog to Serve as a Creative Outlet

My advice to you can be adapted from the advice I gave to the writers above: If you want to use a blog as a creative outlet, just start blogging! Don’t fret over what to blog about or exactly how to showcase your creative side; just make a start and see where it takes you.

Grab a yourname.com domain, like joebloggs.com. If your ‘name domain’ dot com is taken, try domain extension variations like joebloggs.net and joebloggs.co, or naming variations like josephfrancisbloggs.com. (Click here for more advice on choosing a ‘your name domain’.)

With your name acting as the name of your blog, you’re free to publish whatever you like.

One Last Thing…

I’ve left the most important piece of advice to the end: You can always change what you blog about.

Many people feel like abandoning an old blog and starting a new one is a huge waste. It’s not. On the contrary, sticking with a blog when you’ve lost your passion for it is a huge waste.

After all, everything you learned from blog #1 can be adapted for blog #2. As such, you shouldn’t be afraid to make a change if you realize that the path you initially went down isn’t the path you’re destined to follow.

Your financial exposure here is tiny. The hosting package we recommend offers support for unlimited websites, and a new domain name is only going to cost you from about $10 per year.

So, even if you’re not sure what to blog about, just start blogging anyway. You’ll soon find that the act of blogging will help you find direction and ultimately show you where you need to go.

I hope you’re now ready to start blogging. If so, click here to get started! If not, scroll down to the comments section below and let me know what’s on your mind.

Photo Credit: “Caveman Chuck” Coker