Say It For You Issues Magazine Challenge to All Blog Content Writers

Sitting in the Minneapolis airport during a two hour layover between flights, I decided to challenge myself to find at least one week’s worth of ideas for Say It For You blog posts in a single magazine issue.  I planned to use this idea for myself as a freelance blog writer, and then for corporate blogging training sessions. After browsing the shelves, I chose the August issue of Self.

Why that choice? Well, one idea-generating technique I like to recommend to novice blog content writers in Indianapolis is lists. Lists are often overused, yet they represent a good way to organize content, and the cover of Self caught my attention with no fewer than five examples of the technique:

• 1,007 freebies for you inside
• 1 easy move to slim all over
• 7 new ways to wear your hair
• Showy summer cocktails – 97 calories. Yum!
• 10 tips from The Biggest Loser Show Alison Sweeney

(What series of helpful hints can YOU offer online visitors in your corporate blogging for business?  Think “Ways to…”, “Tips for…”, “New ideas for….”  “Things to avoid…”.)

For example, on Page 114 of the Self magazine, I found an interesting article called “Pretty Your Way”.  “Let’s face it.  What looks gorgeous on the runway doesn’t always work in real life,” the article begins. As a professional ghost blogger offering business blogging assistance, reading that article made me think there’s a parallel to be drawn with traditional websites and blogs. Not every bit of content appropriate for a company’s website is necessarily the kind of content most appropriate for their SEO marketing blog.

Writing for business in blog posts is more conversational and less formal.  Those providing blog writing services need to include more usable advice, with more about the core beliefs of the business owners, more “how to” and less “we do” than the website might include. Of course, the content for both website and blog posts musts be in a style best suited to the target audience and comfort level.

What magazine will you choose as a source of blogging ideas? I challenge you to let me know which and why… Remember: the challenge is to choose at least three articles from the same magazine and use each article as an idea "trigger" for business blog writing.