Reader Question: How To Choose What To Write About For Your Personal Blog

I received a reader question that basically relates to how to choose what to write about for your blog/book/etc. Here’s the full question I received –

“I’d be semi-interested in reading how you feel about writers asking “what do you want to read about from me?” But I won’t hold my breath… ’cause we both know that what moves you to write it is what I’d wanna read from you.”

This is a really interesting – very “meta” question. I chose to cover it in the audio blog post above. Just click play to hear my answer. Below are quick notes from the recording.

Answer from a reader’s perspective: You still want to read something that aligns with your own interests and preferences. You may be a huge fan of someone – but typically you’re a fan of someone because of what they produce. Example – the reception of John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas.

Answer from a writer’s perspective: You want people to read what you produced. That means understanding why your readers are big fan of you. And understanding what non-fans might be interested in (think an indie band producing a radio-friendly song – example here).

The Formula I Use

Create something that balances 3 elements:

1. What you can write about
2. What you want to write about
3. What your readers will be interested in

You have to have all 3 elements for something to actually be read, shared & searched for.

Bonus from reader GirlPie comments’ below: Writing what ONLY YOU can write will add even more magic to point #1

To get ideas on what your readers will be interested in, you can ask your current ones, look at competitors, use the Google Keyword Planner, use Google autocomplete or Google Trends (among other ideas).

If you have something you’d like for me to write on – contact me via this form!