Use School Lessons to Inspire Your Writing
Labor Day signals a return to school the inevitable “What I Did For My Summer Vacation” composition. Of course, this can be rather painful if you’ve got a bad case of Blank Blog Post Syndrome.
To help you, here are twelve classic topics for blogs and content marketing grounded in school-related themes to get your creative juices flowing.
- Do you know your ABCs? This is perennial favorite. It uses the alphabet as a means to show your readers how to better understand a specific topic. Here’s Marketing ABCs.
- What did you bring in for show and tell? Remember bringing in your favorite object to tell your classmates about? Unlike my friends, I brought my sister. How you can explain your product or related activities in a step-by-step way using photographs or video? Here’s an example of a Lions Brand knitting pattern where their content supports their product sales.
- Can you show me how? Think in terms of fun classes such as shop, home economics and driving where you learned by doing. For your content, use step-by-step instructions with pictures, graphics or videos so readers can readily visualize what they need to do.
- What’s in a word? Did you have to memorize vocabulary and spelling? Gather a variety of definitions of an important word in your field or provide a glossary of important terms in your niche to help your readers. Don’t forget to make it fun and educational! Here’s an example a definition related post.
- What can people of interest tell your audience? Remember when different speakers visited your class to give special presentations? My students loved it since it showed them how to apply theory in real life. Margie Clayman used this approach and creatively interviewed four historical greats on her blog. What can you do that your readers will find intriguing? Use this interview approach to cover a trade show or conference. Alternatively, gather input from writers in your field.
- What did you learn today? Here’s where you have to go beyond classic reading, writing and arithmetic. What can you teach your prospects and customers? What do they want to know related to your offering? Remember this isn’t dry teaching like you had in elementary school. You need to make it fun, relevant and useful! Break information into bite size pieces so that readers can consume it on the go.
- What did you learn from your reading? You can use this topic to review the latest books in your field or to put together a recommended reading list. Provide insights your audience will find useful. Don’t know where to start? Look at what’s on your bookshelf. Alternatively, show how classics can apply to your niche. Here’s an example of a reading list.
- What can great authors teach you? This topic’s like a puzzle—select an author and a topic. Use authors who are relevant to your audience or well-known classics. I showed how Harry Potter relates to social media.
- What you can learn from famous people in history? Use this topic to discuss an important figure in your category. (This doesn’t mean Snooki!) Alternatively, take an historical figure and show how their work can be applied to your topic. For example, here’s how Sun Tzu provides guidance regarding competitors.
- Who said that? Since quotes are well loved on social media platforms, why not use them as the basis of your article? Select quotes about a topic or from well-known person. Don’t stop there—add your commentary to enrich the post. Here’s an example from Leo Burnett, an advertising giant known for his branding prowess, or the Godfather.
- What did you make in art class? Display your customer’s creative use of your products, whether they’re wearing your clothes or making scrapbook memories. Mix up your presentation by using a variety of formats including photographs, videos, audio and presentations. For example, Fisk-a-teers shows off its customers’ handicrafts.
- What information did you find in the library? Remember studying in the library and doing research? Here’s your opportunity to curate information. What’s new and interesting in your niche? Don’t just republish a chart, explain it and add value for your readers. Here’s an example of how to collect a lot of relevant information on a topic and here’s how to use research as the core of your blog post.
You can learn a lot about creating strong content by putting yourself in a back-to-school state of mind. Remember your information needs to help your readers fulfill their needs and better use your offering, preferably by providing entertainment at the same time.
Are there any other related topics that you’d add to this list? If so, please include them in the comment section below.
Happy marketing,
Heidi Cohen
Here are some related articles with free blog topics.
Photo credit: Steven Depolo via Flickr