This guest post is by Lindsey McCaffrey of Absolutely Write.
Business bloggers: do you consider every day Labour Day?
Take a breather: finding things to blog about doesn’t have to be hard work.
In light of the upcoming Labour Day weekend, I’m going to share a little tip I like to tell clients who blog: consider holidays, anniversaries and other observances.
By relating your blog post to an occasion, you can come up with some creative, timely and fun pieces.
Blog about holidays
Here’s one example of giving your writing a holiday spin: leading up to last year’s Christmas season, I compiled my PR pet peeves into an article, Dear Santa—a PR expert’s Christmas wish list.
Tip: Don’t just think about the holidays you celebrate: consider those of other cultures and countries. You just may find an interesting rite or ritual to write about.
Blog about milestone anniversaries and events
Mark a milestone anniversary or event such as:
- a birthday, birthday year, or death day/year of someone famous, infamous, or otherwise (it doesn’t have to be someone your readers would know, provided there is relevance to the article)
- the anniversary (day or annual) of a particular historical event
- the year of the release of a book, album, movie or otherwise—something that perhaps you have learned a lot from, or that resonates strongly with you.
Tip: For more impact, it’s best to mark a “milestone year” (think 5, 10, 15, 20…you get the picture) rather than something like the 53rd anniversary of X, Y or Z.
Blog about weird and wacky observances
There are also less-serious, not-at-all officially recognized days, months, and milestones observed worldwide. For example, in the United States:
- September 28 is Ask A Stupid Question Day
- February 27 is No Brainer Day
- July 28 is Talk In An Elevator Day
Tip: Before writing about a particular observance, you may wish to qualify it. Ensure it’s something that at least a few people actually acknowledge, and not something that Joe down the street conjured over beer with the guys.
Find an occasion to write about!
Here are just a few websites to use as resources:
- www.holidayinsights.com
- www.holidaysmart.com
- www.brownielocks.com
- www.daysoftheyear.com
- www.butlerwebs.com
What are some fun holidays, anniversaries and observances you have written or read about?
Lindsey McCaffrey is a writer, editor, blogger and communications consultant based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Visit her Absolutely Write blog at www.lindseymccaffrey.com/blog.
With as many holidays and observances as there are these days, one could probably write a blog a day. But, I am going to keep this in mind on those days when that little cursor is mocking me, blinking over and over as I stare at it. :)
Thanks for the ideas!
That’s a bunch of great ideas. Actually writing a more fun themed articles in blog is far easier. And normally the ideas also can be generated more when we are in a happy mood.
Great ideas!
Thanks! This was a bit of a shot in the arm that provided inspiration at exactly the right time.
I hadn’t considered this type of approach to writing about what we do, but after a quick search the right context was available to apply it straight away…so I did http://www.samuelmorrisfoundation.org.au/latest-news/2011/09/the-water-lily-henry-lawson/
Glad to help, Michael!
Thanks for sharing these great ideas. I hope to be able to put these to action as the next few holidays roll around. I’m just always hesitant to blog about too many holidays since not all of them are International and such.
If it’s not a well-known holiday, consider this also a teaching opportunity – tell your readers a bit about the holiday…as part of your article. Good luck!
Lindsey, thanks for a great post. Absolutely agree that scientific, business-like, on-topic posts get boring over time for your readers and if you blog, you should do human, fun and celebratory posts every once in a while. Have you found the right proportion of those facts vs. fun posts? Please share.
Hi Alex – thanks for your comment. Blogging about holidays is really just one other idea in my own “arsenal” of article types (which also includes top-10 lists, how-to articles etc.). This is also a good source for new ideas!
I have a blog about living with creativity. I often blend creative approaches with everyday events. This last Valentine’s Day, I encouraged followers to link theoretically blog post about an arts based project showing self-love. Got a decent response. And even more followers checking out everyone’s art… of course linking back and forth to my site.
Just like people can have a sense of humor, it is good for a business blog to have its own personality and have a few “fun” posts thrown in every so often. By adding a fun element to your business blog it strengthens your connection to your readers and shows them you are personable and fun, not just strictly about business.
Well what a coincidence, just the other day I published an article on my blog about odd and unusual holidays.