In this example, I am going to look for ideas for a real estate blog post. Certainly, you could use any other phrase or industry phrase. Or, even your most popular keyword phrase or a keyword phrase that you want to “rank for” in the search engine results. Here are five places to look for blog post ideas.

1. Your Website Stats – Look at your website statistics from the last month. Look at the keyword phrases that people are using to find your web site. In this case, pay particular attention to the keyword phrases that people are using that have several words. In this case, people are really digging down deep to find something: and there might be a keyword phrase that contains 4 or 5 words that you could use as a title of the blog post. For example, if it’s a real estate blog, you might find something like, “How Do I Buy a Home in Dallas”, or even “How much do you have to pay for property taxes”. These are questions that your readers might be asking themselves. And in this case, you might find that if someone asked it in the past then they will ask it in the future: and if you write a blog post about it then it might bring in more traffic to your web site in the future.

2. Google News - I just love looking at Google news for recent news articles about your subject. Go to http://news.google.com and then try a search. Once you search for your keyword phrase, click on “past hour”, “past day” or “past week” or “past month” to get ideas. Don’t forget that you can also sort by date. The default is “sorted by relevance”. See the screen capture below for an example:

3. Yahoo News – While not as comprehensive as Google News, Yahoo News does have some sources that Google generally won’t, or it just might show you different results. Worth a shot to look at Yahoo! News, as well.

4. topix – Topix is an aggregator of news and information. It’s really great for local news, and if you have a local blog or you have a web site that’s related to local, then you might consider looking at Topix. I’m not a big fan of the popups on their site, but it will at least give you some great blog post ideas.

5. Wordtracker Questions Tool – This is a pretty interesting, cool tool from Wordtracker.com. They have put together an online tool where you can enter a keyword phrase: and you get a list of questions that people have asked in the past. I always look at this tool, on a regular basis, for blog post ideas. I love using a question as the title of the blog post: then you can answer the question in the blog post. Here is an example, using “real estate” as the keyword phrase:

In this case, there are several questions that you could use on for a real estate blog post. Use the question as the title of the blog post and then answer the question in your blog post. For a more interesting blog post, or one that might even be more helpful to your readers, you might consider going to Google and asking the question, searching for the question using “quotes”, like this:

“how to invest in real estate”

This will show you who currently ranks for that phrase, and you might do some more research, finding out what people have said in the past and you might be able to provide a new “twist” or another viewpoint on the subject.

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Now, I could go ahead and list all the reasons that blogging is not dead, but truthfully, that misses the point. The reason that people love to declare things dead runs deeper than some analytical look at the pros and cons. What’s really happening here is simple human nature’s interest in finding the answer.

We all do it at one time or another. In our need to simplify, we tend to make things a bit too simple. So we veer from, “Everyone needs a blog” to “Blogging is dead” in less time that it took to put up an averaged-sized building. Our planning horizons in marketing seem so short nowadays that we don’t have a minute to put things in perspective.

So, yes, Twitter and Facebook status updates have made blogging less essential than it was just a few years ago. You no longer see blog posts that riff off someone else’s post, because people just link to that post on Twitter. For people for whom blogging was too long a form to stick with, Facebook status updates are more manageable.

But blogs aren’t “dead” any more than TV is dead. And TV didn’t kill off radio either. As each new media form comes along, it makes all the previous forms somewhat less important, because each of us has only so much time in the day to create those forms and (more importantly) to consume them. So we probably watch less TV than before the Internet came along, and yes, we probably read fewer blogs now that we monitor Twitter.

So, now that 140-character updates are all the rage, we’ll actually have to have a reason to write blog posts. We’ll need reasons to read them. We won’t just be doing it because it is the new new thing. We’ll have to figure out what they are really good for.

So, rather than blogging being dead, I think it just emerged from adolescence, where instead of being the thing that “all the kids are doing,” now we need to find the true business purpose for our blogs so they are used when needed, just like every other kind of media. Here’s betting that blogs do find an important place for years to come.

If you have a business that depends on providing expertise, it’s hard to beat blogging as a way to show off what you know. Contrast the impact that a blog has to influence opinion over a 140-character tweet. That will certainly keep some people (including me) blogging for the foreseeable future.

What other purposes for blogging are there? That’s what we all need to figure out now. Because if your business can benefit from blogging, it makes sense to keep doing it, or to start doing it, even if blogging is no longer the flavor of the month.

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At those words my ears perked up. I grabbed my cup of coffee and sauntered swaggered strode into the conference room where a couple of my co-workers were meeting with a prospect who came in to talk about search engine optimization for their site that targets women over 40.

“Do you mind if I add my .02?” I asked. Since I made and served coffee to our guests already, they may have felt indebted to me, but in any case they asked me to continue.

“Blog posts are just like Web pages; each blog post you create is another opportunity to rank well at the search engines. You don’t have to worry whether your audience reads blogs, just if they use the Internet and search engines. (And I assume you do believe that, otherwise you wouldn’t have an e-commerce store.) Your blog posts can attract that search traffic and either funnel the prospect to your site or we can e-commerce right to your blog itself.

“According to some recent surveys the fastest growing segment in Facebook is women 35 and over. A lot of ‘grandmas’ are joining Facebook because that’s where they can see their grandkids’ photos. The average age of someone on Twitter is 31 (which means a lot of people are older).

“A strategic combination of search engine optimization and social media marketing (along with some hard work) can definitely increase the quantity and quality of traffic coming to your Web site. Plus, with social media you can better engage your audience and get feedback from them on what your next products should be.

“You might end up being a little ahead of the curve for some of your audience, but better to be a little ahead than behind.”

Not sure if I convinced them, but if you’re concerned that your audience is too old for a blog or social media, perhaps you’re underestimating your audience. Or, perhaps you need to find another audience.

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Personally, I’ve used the comments on some of my posts (and those on other blogs) as inspiration for new posts here. I’ll add my comment on the original post, and then expand on it with a new or slightly different take. That then opens the discussion up even further, both on the new post and the original (play fair – always link back to your inspiration).

While content may be the instigator, it’s the conversations by the community that often make the content. And maybe it’s just me, but Twitter seems to be taking more of the conversations and making them 140-character bites.

I’ve seen many great posts by some truly remarkable bloggers be tweeted, and the conversation remain on Twitter. Points and questions raised in the post start the conversation rolling, but instead of via the comments section on a blog, they take place on the little blue bird nest. And that’s a shame.

There’s nothing wrong with this, of course – after all, Twitter is the king of instant feedback and interaction. And weekly events like  #journchat and  #blogchat , and others like them, show just how effective a medium Twitter can be for conversations. And yet…

Imagine how much a conversation could build without the limitations of 140-characters. Imagine how opposing views could be fully fleshed out with unlimited text. Imagine how communities could be forged, and new friendships built, through the reasoning and acceptance that long tail blog comments can offer. Imagine being the catalyst or inspiration for a blog post by your favourite blogger, all from a single comment you left.

Of course, you could say that it’s down to the blogger to make the content as open as possible, to encourage discussion – and this is true. Yet at the same time, maybe we (as readers) need to take part more as well? Maybe we need to encourage bloggers more by being part of their community, as opposed to rubbernecking on Twitter?

There are a myriad of ways for conversations to take place. Sometimes little snapshots like Twitter are ideal, if you’re pressed for time. But isn’t it nice to get away from the noise at times, and relax where you have time and space to say what you really want?

What’s your take?

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However, there are some important guidelines for bloggers, whether they are in a business or personal environment. If you aren’t careful, you could find yourself shunned by your friends, fired by your company, or even facing a lawsuit.

Here are a few tips for safe blogging in a changing online world.

• Use good spelling and grammar. If you’re representing a business, poor grammar in your blog is going to work against you. People who read your blog are going to assume that if your spelling is bad, you may not be accurate in other areas.
• Keep it positive, or at least newsworthy. If you’ve got a product to sell, then you can expound on all the features and benefits of the item. If you’re selling a service, talk about what’s good about your customer service, on-time delivery, expanded service area, or extended hours.
• Avoid anonymous postings. Anonymous blogs may be important for people who could face real retribution, but they can backfire for people who are libeling others in print, or slandering them in online videos (AKA “Vlogs”). The right lawyers can get a blog owner to uncover your identity, as a New York Blogger has recently learned.
• Don’t Defame Others. It may be tempting, but saying bad things about someone else online usually makes you look like the bad guy. If you’re blogging for your company, then you should consider your long-term employment prospects if they’re contacted by someone else’s attorney.
• Don’t reveal inside information. Normally this is only a problem for company executives, but anything that might raise or lower the stock price of your company should be left for the quarterly report. For example, you shouldn’t reveal news about layoffs or acquisitions in a personal or business blog. If you aren’t sure about revealing a company news item, get written permission from someone in charge. From a personal blogging standpoint, the same general rule applies if you’re privy to news about other people and they haven’t told anyone else. Sometimes a new baby, job promotion, or engagement is being kept quiet until the appropriate time, and you shouldn’t forget that a popular blog is going to be read by “friends of friends.”

Most of the time, you don’t have to obsess over your blog postings or your online identity. There are a few “famous anonymous” bloggers out there with a following, but the average blog is going to serve an audience of friends or people looking for specific information. The great thing about blogging software and websites is that they allow for an easy exchange of information between people around the world. Ordinary people can share knowledge and find others with a similar mindset, set of hobbies, or common opinions. Companies can provide customers and prospects with useful product or service knowledge that can present solutions to common problems. A good blog can be rewarding on both a personal and professional level, but only if it doesn’t create more problems than it solves.

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The topic is being  discussed on Twitter pretty vocally and bloggers and PR pros are coming out with their take on both sides of the argument.

Indeed, the flak got so bad that it led to a follow-up post on Momdot asking who’s more whiny, PR or bloggers?

I’m not going to get into the whole “she said, they said” argument as there’s enough of that in the comments of both Momdot blog posts, as well as via the Twitter discussion and other bloggers. The Momdot admins say it wasn’t an attack on PR per se, and reading the original post I believe them.

But here’s the thing.

While the reasoning behind the PR Blackout is sound – giving moms more time with their families and reclaiming their blogs – should it even have come to a blackout call in the first place?

A blog is, ultimately, your baby. Your voice; your home from home. What you do with it is up to you. It can be a personal blog, a business blog, or  you can try make income from it, either part-time as most review bloggers do, or full-time as a professional blogger. But the key thing is this.

It. Is. Up. To. You.

If you want to be a reviewer of products, you’ll be contacted by PR companies. If you want to make money blogging, it is going to be hard at times – it’s one of the sacrifices you make when working for yourself, knowing that hours are no longer straightforward nine-to-five.

Heck, even being “just a blogger” with no reviews and giveaways is hard work and why so many give it up within six months. But how hard blogging is is up to you.

You don’t have to say yes to every review. You don’t have to say yes to every PR pitch. Over at Momdot, Trish makes a point in her Last Word video message that for every one PR pitch you agree to, you get six more.

That’s only if you let that happen.

I know there are crappy PR pros that harass bloggers constantly with pitches, follow-up calls and deadline blackmail. They tell you that you’ll be taken off their blogger list and that their clients won’t be sent to you. Here’s what you do with PR “pros” like that:

Tell them to go f*ck themselves.

If they’re so crap at their jobs that they have to harass the people that are putting their clients in front of thousands of eyeballs, they’re not worth dealing with to start with. Let them go; find the great PR companies instead and work with them.

Make it even easier for yourself – have a visible page on your blog that explains to PR pros how to pitch you, and the process after that. If they can’t adhere to your instructions, then they only have themselves to blame for being blacklisted and ignored.

Blog communities need to do their bit too. If you’re hearing from your members that a PR agency is causing issues, speak with the agency in question and voice your concerns. Good PR pros know the importance of blogger relations – if they can’t accept and work with your concerns, then your duty lies with your bloggers. Stop accepting that agency’s pitches and blacklist them and only put your bloggers in touch with approved agencies.

The buzz (for and against) the Momdot PR Blackout shows there is a growing problem with burned out review bloggers and that’s sad. No-one likes to hear of people’s health and relationships suffering.

But a little bit of me can’t help but feel that if you keep control of your blog, the issues being talked about at the minute would be a lot less visible. No?

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Hosted by the uber-smart Mack Collier, it’s a discussion by bloggers about blogging – tips, tricks, tools of the trade, best practices and more.

It’s quickly evolved into one of the must-attend chat events on Twitter, and I never fail to come away with some cool new tidbits of information every week.

Last night, an interesting side discussion popped up around the quality of blog posts. It stemmed from a tweet by George F. Snell III, who said that the most important part of a blog post was the headline. Scott Stratten’s view was that the headline didn’t matter if the content sucked, while my take was that a killer headline can help guide the post itself.

This then led to the question of the post itself. I mentioned that it’s not always possible to post killer content every single post, as much as we try to as bloggers looking after our readers. Scott mentioned that if the reader learns, then isn’t that killer? I responded yes, which means that in that respect even mediocre can be killer.

This turned into a great follow-up discussion about whether you should post at all if your writing is just mediocre, with Scott suggesting that instead of regular posts, only publish when and if you’re going to knock it out the park every time. Unfortunately at this stage I couldn’t reply as my Twitter usage had been used up, seemingly.

I don’t disagree with Scott that mediocre posts shouldn’t be published (it’s why I have about 15 posts in draft mode, waiting on some tinkering with content). Where I do differ is that it’s down to interpretation.

As a blogger, I go out of my way to make sure that whatever I publish has both relevance and information that will help my readers. I’m pretty sure every single blogger out there is the same. Yet the relevance and “brilliance”, if you like, is down to the reader.

Say I write what I think is a killer post about social media monitoring tools.

To some readers, it could be the greatest thing since sliced bread. To others, it could be, “Meh, I know this, this post has no value to me. Next.” To that person, the post is mediocre because of the information (or lack of) inside the post. Yet to the reader who never knew this information, the post may be killer because it’s opened their eyes to something they never knew.

As I mentioned to both Scott and George, no-one sets out to deliberately write a mediocre post – but sometimes some posts will always be better than others, that’s just natural. The point is to be happy that what you wrote doesn’t short-change you or your readers. Unless you have that confidence, don’t publish.

Does that work?

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Regardless of the cause of your blogger’s angst, if you blog for a living, you’ve got to find a way to push through it, Rocky! In general, I find that the bloggers who write the most compelling content are the ones with well-rounded interests, which helps to keep them from regurgitating the same content in different flavors.

Here are a couple of suggestions that I personally find helpful, but I’m interested to hear what you other bloggers do to help shake and bake on your slow days. 

Listen to better music –

If you walk around the Ignite office, you will find each of us with earbuds firmly in place, mainly because if we didn’t respect each other’s musical choices by doing so, then we’d all be subjected to the throbbing beats of Brian Chappell’s house music. If you’re feeling a little uninspired, you should probably start by getting better tunes.

The Hype Machine is a site that aggregates content from hand-picked music blogs, giving you the ability to listen right on the site. An interesting feature they just added is the Twitter Music Chart, which lists songs in order of popularity based on tweets. It’s a convenient way to find new music and see what others are currently loving (the past few weeks, it’s been a lot of inspiring Michael Jackson remixes).

Use More Interesting Photos –

Not that I don’t love browsing iStockphoto as much as the next girl with bangs, but sometimes those photos can wind up looking, well, generic. You don’t have to be a Photoshop stud to whip up something that will be fun to look at when you’ve got plenty of photo editing sites at your disposal to help. Here’s a list of 28 photo editing sites and the various effects and styles they can help create. Because a wordsy blog post without eye candy just won’t do. 

Play Games –

Specifically, word games. These are excellent for shaking loose some of the Scrabble tiles in your head and getting you into that authorial mindset. The world of social media has us all addicted to the brevity of LOLspeak, so sometimes it can take a minute to remind yourself of syntax and all those lovely vocabulary words you learned for the GRE’s. Word games keep your writerly mind sharp, and when your boss walks by and asks if this is what he’s paying you for, simply smile sweetly and say yes…yes it is.

Stop Talking –

I know it’s difficult, with everyone passing by your desk and telling you about how well their weekend dates went, but stop running your mouth for a sec, ‘kay? Talking utilizes one side of your brain (the left side), and it’s difficult to engage the other side, which is visual and intuitive and can help you get in touch with some of that deeper creativity. Try not talking, and instead engage in some sort of visual activity, like creating your own Jackson Pollock painting. The combination of the two will help you switch over into the more lush creative environments in your mind.

Get a Creative Prompt –

Hanging in our office bathroom is a whiteboard, which serves as the location for some of our most inappropriate creative prompts and questions. It’s a place where we can build off one another’s responses, sort of like written improv. While you may not have such evolved tools at your disposal, you can always visit a blog that provides you with prompts, which you can scroll through until you find something that you like.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?

How to Use It

You can manually select keywords that you think would be highly relevant and then try to work them into the content. And when it is not possible to fit in a whole phrase naturally, you can always try to sprinkle those keyword modifiers that make up the phrase into your post’s content. For instance, in the above post I worked in the words software, free, search, and generator into the content quite naturally in only a 4 sentence blog post.

“Bloggers often don’t take the time to do keyword research for each article they write – they just want to get their story out there. Now, bloggers have instant access to relevant keywords so they can easily produce optimized blog posts. That’s sure to bring them extra traffic.” Said Ken McGaffin, CMO at Wordtracker.

Free Keyword Research Guide

And with this tool Wordtracker offers a free companion keyword guide for bloggers from my buddy ChrisG worth checking out if you are new to blogging or SEO.

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Blogs tend to perform better because of the abundance of content. Blogs empower users to create content in a way that is easy and fun. By doing so, users are creating content on a daily, or weekly, basis.

More content means more traffic and links. This is more for search engines to index, more for users to link to, and more to share with their friends and co-workers.

More visitors can then lead to more sales and conversions. The more eyeballs that are in front of your content, the better the opportunity to turn them into your customer.

The same could be done on a website, but that doesn’t happen. People view blogs as something different than a website. This is probably because most website were built back in the day when you pushed a page live and then had to add a link in the navigation and it was all very technical. With blogs, those technical items get removed as blogs automatically do all the work of updating navigation, categories, feeds, and even pinging the search engines of new content.

Search engines like content, and they like fresh content. Blogs make this easy by giving the users the tools to create content easily. This in turn makes search engines happy and bring more visitors to your site. So, in a way, blogs do perform better in search, but it’s because users are posting more often and interacting with them more than traditional websites.

What do you feel are advantages to having a blog as compared to a traditional website?

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