How to Find Engaging Blog Post Topics?
Reading time 9 min
- Ask yourself the right questions
- Write the outline of your article
- Topic ideas and how to address them
- A tutorial available on CollecOnline’s Blog
Do you wish to write your own article on CollecOnline’s blog? You already have a theme in mind but you are looking for an exciting topic to talk about?
If the answer is yes but you don't know how to go about it, we are here to help. First, before you write a draft version and publish your article on CollecOnline, you need to find the right topic for your readers: something intriguing, exciting, fascinating! Ideally, you should choose a topic that is out of the ordinary, with your specialist or collector‘s point of view. Is there a particular object that inspires you or a collection of objects that deserves to be written about? Sometimes, you just have to start writing a few lines on a subject you like or a theme you are familiar with and you are off and running! Other times, it is as simple as participating in discussion groups, sharing funny anecdotes and unique stories about past events, or even sharing your personal experience, often a source of ideas.
Ask yourself the right questions
Before writing, ask yourself the right questions: Who will read my article? For what purpose? Should I write about a subject I know a lot about? Is my article informative or will it start a debate in the comments section?
When writing an article, you should also consider the overall tone of voice and try to stick to it. If you are writing in the past tense, keep it up all the way through. Don't jump from the present to the past tense or vice versa as this can be very confusing for your readers.
Moreover... Is your text structured as a funnel starting from the most general information to a very peculiar detail? Will you write a chronological article that relates events point by point to set the context for a long saga?
It is now time for big decisions. Grab your pen and paper, or your fingers and keyboard, and jot down the big points that pop into your head. Remember, you are writing for your readers, not just for yourself! Keep your future reader in the back of your mind; he or she should be your absolute reference point every step of the way.
Write the outline of your article
Gather all the relevant information that will give body to your article. Once you have put your ideas together, you will see the bigger picture. You now know what the main subjects of your paper are. Also, remember to write down any reference or article that has inspired you. Simply place these links at the end of your document in a "references and sources" section. Now that you have your big ideas it is time to structure them. Reading an article must be fluid and coherent.
Topic ideas and how to address them
What is a theme? Well, it is a term that briefly presents the subject of a text. Very often it is determined by an abstract name: it corresponds to the dominant thought that an author develops in a work. We will share with you some ideas of themes that usually appeal to most people and that can be chosen from, in order to write your next article.
Historical theme
Since we are advocates of the preservation of historical and artistic heritage, it is logical that this theme speaks to us. When the reader is taken on a historical journey, she or he is traveling through time on a path full of small discoveries.
For this type of article we recommend that you write in a specific way: start with the most general context and gradually move on to more specific events and details. To illustrate this funnel chronology text method, let's take the example of Mr. Robert who owns a very distinctive old coin. Mr. Robert gets into writing his article, without even sharing any context, date of manufacture or provenance of his coin... The reader might not understand a thing! If the reader is not a collector of ancient coins, we guarantee you will lose them along the way.
Let's take a concrete example NOT to be duplicated:
"In this article, we are going to talk about the denarius I acquired as part of my collection in 2001. This coin was used at the time to facilitate trade in goods."
Here is a better example of writing, incorporating information crucial to understanding the topic:
"In this article, we will focus on the creation of metal coins, the history of their creation, the primary functions of these coins, and what they represent today.
First of all, metal coins were minted in Anatolia around 650 BC, then in ancient Greece where all the cities had a coin struck in its effigy. It is the Romans who will extend the use of the currency to all their empire. Towards the end of the 3rd century BC, the Romans invented the first coins with a value written on their reverse side (an "X" to represent the number 10 in Roman script). These coins, symbols of power, were called "denarii" (denarius or coin of ten in French).
I added a denarius to my collection in 2001, see the picture below. This currency allowed, like all other currencies at the time, to facilitate the exchange of goods between citizens."
To summarise, we have below a list to follow, starting from the broad context, to the smallest bits of details:
1- Define the subject of your article.
Example: the creation of metal coins.
2- Contextualisation (date/what period/geographical location of the facts)
Example: in Anatolia in 650 BC.
3- Description of the subject and definition of the terms used.
Example : these coins, symbols of power, were called "deniers" (denarius or ten coins in French).
4- Talk about your collectible.
Example : I acquired a denarius in my collection in 2001.
5-Illustrate your object with one or more images.
Example : I acquired in my collection in 2001 a denarius, see the image below.
Trust us, your article will have a longer reading time but it will be crystal clear! This way, you also allow the community to take a trip down memory lane, teaching them about a subject anchored in time, and that is priceless.
| Be careful with two things: first, check your sources, it would be a shame to communicate false information. Secondly, beware of duplicated content, text that is taken as is on the Internet. Google detects copy-pasted texts and will prevent your article from being put at the top of the search results. If this happens to you, you risk losing visibility on the Internet. To avoid shooting yourself in the foot, try to rephrase in your own words if it is really necessary. Authentic text is much more fun to read, even if you have to tell historical facts. |  |
Specific theme
You can write an article on a specific topic, such as talking about a particular stamp or piece of art. This type of focused article is usually a shorter format. However, one technique you can use to enhance your article is to explain the value, aesthetic and moral representation of a piece of art or your subject, while comparing it with other works on the same theme. Making parallelisms will make your text more interesting.
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Do you collect coins? Do you collect artworks? You are not a collector but you want to talk about a specific object that is dear to your heart? You are a philatelist and want to write an article about your stamp collection? If you are writing about coins, stamps or art, there are a few best practices to follow to make your article successful.
Tell the story behind the collection, the why and how. When did you start this collection? Briefly explain your method of inventorying and categorising your objects... Before we get into the description of your favorite object or collection, we want to know all about the history behind this practice. Do you have any anecdotes to share?
You can also give conservation tips, if you wrap and protect your collection in a certain way for example. Feel free to share photos of your objects to illustrate your article, add the name of the artwork, the country of origin and/or some additional public information as a subtitle.
After writing an introduction, body text and conclusion, it is also possible to compare your topic to similar topics; for example, do you have a rare coin and is it often duplicated? Show the community what a fake coin looks like and what details to look for when trying to acquire new coins before investing. This is just one example that may be of interest to readers, for the rest, we'll let your creativity do the rest.
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Technical theme
Are you a professional in a theme or a professional collector? This is your opportunity to write an article about a method, a craft or a subject that you are passionate about and that could be instructive for the community of collectors at CollecOnline.
Let's take the example of an artist who has inventoried his large collection of paintings hand painted with Chinese ink. This artist could probably, in a blog post, develop the process of making his paintings, explain his choices, talk about the method he used, reveal the type of paper used or the choice of brushes he chose. Of course, on CollecOnline there is the "description" section under an object or a collection that serves as an information sheet. But between a description and a complete article of 2000 words, there is a world! Writing allows you to talk about your project and, in this case, about paintings. It's another way to showcase your work, because sometimes a picture is not enough. Moreover, nothing beats an article painted by a master, on a subject he knows inside out.
News theme
Want to talk about a trendy subject that makes everyone vibrate on the web? Just look at the social media networks, read the newspapers, explore what's going on on earth, on TV... You'll see, lots of topics come up and it works in spurts of a few days or even weeks. Look, last month, everyone went crazy with the sale of NFTs: an artist named Beeple sold at Christie's a digital work at 69.3 million dollars or the first Tweet of Jack Dorsey sold at 2.9 million dollars! By the way, since this subject has a lot of fans, we wrote an article about it ourselves during this wave of madness.
To write about a current topic, you have to be both very alert about what's new and know how to talk about the right thing at the right time. It's all about timing. If pink stuffed animals are in fashion on Monday and it takes you a week to write an article about pink stuffed animals, you risk missing your chance and having no one interested... Be reactive and you will see that your article will hit the mark.
Among other things, the hot topics in the coming months are likely to revolve strongly around sports and the digital world. On June 7th, the European soccer championship starts and some matches will take place in France. It's the opportunity to surf on the craze of this international competition if you have a collection with a sports theme. You can also talk about computers or old Apple devices in an article. Why? Between June 7 and 11, 2021, Apple will have its annual press conference and the press will be on its feet so you can anticipate this event and plan a small article to come out at that time.
We ourselves ride these waves when we think these trendy topics are worthwhile.
A tutorial available on the CollecOnline’s Blog
In this article, you should have learned to come up with ideas for interesting topics so you can kickstart your writing project. The topic of your choice will hopefully trigger the curiosity of fellow collectors, or simply share valuable information with the community.
Writing an article allows you to be read and heard. This is your moment to express yourself! Within CollecOnline, we are especially excited when it comes to collections, history and/or art. We have to warn you though, avoid offensive topics, political matters and bad language.
You can also write a short note in the comments or at the end of the article if you want to address the readers: this is an opportunity for example to help people estimate their objects if their collection is in your area of expertise. In addition, you can exchange an object or simply ask for the opinion of the readers on a specific passage of your article. Our CollecOnline blog is open to all users; collectors, associations and organisations. It allows you to create links with new people and share about art, culture or collectibles.
Finally, we released a step-by-step guide to help you write your topic using our draft article editor and then publishing it on ColleConline’s blog! You will see, our "tips and tricks" will make your life easier.
Laetitia de CollecOnline.
