11 Different Ways To Blog

I just read a great post by Jon Zolsky, What To Blog About...And How.  In it Jon shared some great basics and he got me to thinking about all the different variety of ways to format a blog post.  As I read some of the blogs on Active Rain, I'm amazed at the quality of writing and formatting that I see here and the level of creativity that goes into many of these "Works of Blart" (I think I just made that up).

Here's a few creative ideas that I've seen where writers stepped outside the box to convey information in a different way.

1. The Interview- I love the interview.  It gives your blog an injection of flavor in the form of someone else's thoughts and opinions.  It's a great way to network and build good will with those that you respect.  Who wouldn't be flattered to be interviewed about their business, their charitable cause, or their event?  Find someone who interests you and "pop the question"!  Mary McKnight gives a good example of an interview blog HERE.

2. The Review - So many things can be reviewed.  Introduce us to your inner critic.  How did you like the latest book you read?  Go to any good restaurants lately?  What stood out at the last event you attended?  In addition to reviewing items, events, and experiences, you can review blocks of time.  What happened to you today, this week, this month, this year?  What changes have transpired?  What insights do you have?  Russel Ray blew my mind with his recent ActiveRain Week in Review.  I know it's a lot to aspire to, but why not try to be that good?

3. The List - When I need some inspiration I always turn to the list.  You're reading a list blog right now!  Sometimes I feel like the characters in High Fidelity (Top 5 songs about death - Go!)  But seriously there's always more than one way to do things well, most people find a list to be helpful.  Castellum Realty put together an awesome list of Active Rain bloggers who also use Twitter.  Check it out HERE.

4. The Rant - If you're fired up, passionate, and need to set the record straight, the rant might be the right blog for you.  Rants can be controversial, so be prepared for a hot and fiery comment stream.  Make sure you cool down and double check you aren't violating the Terms of Service before you hit the publish button.  Remember sometimes you say things in the heat of the moment that you may regret later, cooling down before publishing will ensure that the rant is in the right spirit and that you don't damage your reputation.  Check out what Elizabeth Ramsey is ranting about HERE.

5. The Motivational- I think this is my favorite type of blog.  The motivational blog gives its readers perspective, enthusiasm, energy and strength.  If you've got something positive and inspirational to say, please share it with us!  My favorite Motivational blogger is Gary Woltal.  If you're not subscribing to his blog, you must not want to have a good day.  Check it out HERE.

6. The Prediction- Many times this blog is based around current events.  Do you have have some insight into where policy decisions or changes in society could take us?  These lines of thought often make for interesting blog posts.  Matt Heaton made some pretty bold predictions about 2008 HERE.  But was he right??  I was on the edge of my seat!!  Check out the results HERE!  And he's at it again this year!  The suspense continues!!  Check out the latest predictions HERE.

7. The Hypothetical- Otherwise known as the "What If".  It can be fun and mind expanding to take a possible scenario and disect all of the potential implications of that scenario.  What would it mean for your business if gas went to $5.00 per gallon?  What if the Govt Actually taxes those AIG scoundrels 100% on their hefty bonuses....what could that possibly mean for you and me?  Bob Stewart asked the question What if we could license ActiveRain out......  It's a great whimsical read, check it out!

8. The Debate - Every issue has 2 sides.  It can be fun to tackle a issue and air out both sides of the argument, or perhaps just one side and encourage your readers to provide "counter point".  There's nothing wrong with a spirited exchange of ideas, as long as the exchange is respectful.  Michael Tarabotto presents two opposing arguments on Credit Default Swaps HERE.

9. The Satirical- Ok, sometimes people and situations just present too big of a target.  As the folks on Comedy Central demonstrate nightly, there is no shortage of material for this brand of blog.  If your parody and satire is well written and gets people to double over in laughter, don't be surprised if you get a lot of subscribers and back links to your blog.  Moving Careers put together this Video Parody.  It's pretty funny, check it out!

10. The Poll/Survey - The key to this type of blog is to pick a highly publicized and controversial piece of news and present it in such a way that people feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings.  If there's not enough controversy, there won't be much interest in participating, so keep it hot!  Steve Loynd shares a poll he developed to measure consumer confidence HERE.  Ooooo is it up or down?

11. The Contest - It's a human weakness, we can't resist free stuff!  If you can offer a prize to your readers, don't be surprised if your flooded with traffic, comments, and entries.  The key to this is to provide a compelling prize and carefully evaluate the entry criteria.  If you make it too challenging, people might shy away - again human nature.  Pat and Wayne Harriman are hosting an awesome contest where anyone who doesn't already have an Outside Blog can win a FREE one for 1 year.  Stop by HERE and tell them why you should win!

This of course is in no way a thorough or complete list of every creative type of post, but it may be a starting point for you to incorporate some new ideas into your blog.  Keeping ourselves interested in blogging in turns keeps our readers interested in what we have to say and makes blogging sustainable, so change it up every now and then, have fun and keep blogging!

Jason Sanders