Stuck for something to blog about? Tired of writing the same sort of blog posts over and over? Here are 32 types of blog posts to use for inspiration. You’ll never be short on a post idea again!

1. A list post

Suggestion: Write a bucket list, a must-see or must-do list, a list of 10 reasons to (or not to…), a list of your top 15 fave places/movies/travel destinations, a list of lessons you could learn from Celebrity X.

2. A pros and cons post

Suggestion: Pick a topic/subject/object and research it the best you can. Write down its qualities and present this information to your readers under two headings: its pros and its cons. Ask your readers which is the stronger argument.

3. An A-Z post

Suggestion: Write an A-Z on your blog’s niche. For example: An A to Z of cleaning tips, make-up tips, travel tips, cooking tips, photography tips (or in this blog’s case: the A-Z of blog tools & resources!)

4. A profile

Suggestion: Write a profile post on someone you know, a blogger you admire, a public figure who’s caught your interest or even the type of reader your blog is aimed at. Make it detailed and discuss why you chose that person or people.

5. A tutorial or how-to post

Suggestion: Are you skilled in carrying out a particular task? Or, is there a task you want to learn (that others would likely want to know how to do too?). Turn it into a step-by-step tutorial using video, photos or screen casts.

6. A comparison

Suggestion: Compare two topics, subjects or objects (workout videos, writing courses, fashion books etc) and write the key features of each side-by-side. The exercise will not only prove interesting for your readers, but may help you finally choose between two things you’ve been debating over!

7. A review or critique post

Suggestion: Document your experience and thoughts on a particular hotel, restaurant, plane ride, car you’ve test-driven, new website, cosmetic or cleaning product, new film or TV show, e-book, adventure or game.

8. A makeover or before-and-after post

Suggestion: Show the before and after images of your haircut, wardrobe tidy-up, bedroom wallpaper, kitchen makeover, diet or exercise results and more! Readers LOVE the power of these images! They give hope and inspiration!

9. A guide-to… post

Suggestion: Write your tips, tricks and hints readers would find useful for experiencing a place (a country or city), trying something new (an exercise regime), using a product or service (eg: adding the Pinterest “Pin It” button to your blog), or attempting something you may be skilled in (writing short stories or purchasing the right camera).

10. A diary entry

Suggestion: For the blogger who’s open to revealing their more honest side, a diary-style post will do just that! Talk freely about an experience, what’s on your mind, your hopes or plans for the future or a funny story from your past.

11. A quiz

Suggestion: Use a quiz to entertain your readers (Which Sex And The City character are you?) or to help them understand a topic (How much do you know about colour?). Try Free Online Surveys for a quiz tool or the WordPress Quiz Me plugin.

12. A news story

Suggestion: Scour the news headlines or press releases you’ve received to write a post on a current topic that your readers will be interested in. Bloggers who are quick to jump on news stories may be well-rewarded traffic-wise.

13. A glossary

Suggestion: Write a post defining the popular words used by bloggers in your niche. Promote it as a go-to, must-book mark resources for those new to the topic, emphasising how hand it is for them to refer to often. Use The Alphabetizer to quickly put the words in order.

14. A live-blogging post

Suggestion: Live blogging a conference event can be a very quick and easy way to grow your audience and gain new Twitter followers fast! Not going to an event? Try doing the same with a popular TV show – choose one that “everyone’s talking about” and make use of its hashtag to attract traffic.

15. A case study

Suggestion: Case studies are great ways to convey information (statistics, results, data and so on) in an interesting way. For example, if you blog about ways to save money, you could experiment with switching off certain appliances for a month and comparing the electricity usage and costs with the previous month.

16. A vlog

Suggestion: If you want to mix things up a bit, try making a video of yourself for your blog. Some readers like words, some like sound and some like video. Give them all three and you’re sure to please! Here are some vlogging tools.

17. A best-of post

Suggestion: Perfect for when you’re short on time or trying to prepare posts before heading on vacation, a best-of post highlights your top 5, 10, 15 (up to you!) posts for the week, month or year. It also makes a great starting page for new readers who want to see what’s been popular on your site without trawling through archives.

18. A survey

Suggestion: A survey can be used for numerous reasons. Create one to find out what sort of content your readers enjoy or to get feedback on an issue that you can then turn into another post. Tools such as Wufoo can be used to create surveys you can embed into posts.

19. An interview

Suggestion: Interviews are great way to add interesting content to your blog. Find someone your readers will be interested in learning from, and share their info in Q&A format. Also? Try interviewing yourself to share your own thoughts on a particular topic.

20. A giveaway or competition

Suggestion: Giveaways or competitions are popular with bloggers as they can really drive traffic. Make use of some of the many blog competition and giveaway tools to make running and drawing a winner easier!

21. An open letter

Suggestion: Open letters are another way you can produce content in an interesting way. Whether you’re a parenting blogger writing to your child (Dear Johnny…) or a fashion blogger writing to Anna Wintour, open letters are suited to all blog niches.

22. A webinar or live broadcast

Suggestion: Host your own talk show! Use a platform such as Vokle to embed the video into your post and “take calls” from your readers. Lots of fun and a different way to interact with your audience right on your blog.

23. A timeline post

Suggestion: A timeline can be used to in many situations. You could try “A day in the life of…” listing how your subject’s day starts and ends, and what happens at different points during the day. This format can also be used to cover, for example, the opening of a business, or the launch of a product.

24. A carnival

Suggestion: A blog carnival is a great way to connect with other bloggers, but also to drive traffic. Either start your own or participate in one that’s running. Check out the blog carnival tools and resources.

25. A link round-up

Suggestion: A link round-up is useful to create when you’re short on time (or suffering blog-writer’s block!). Simply write a list of links you think your audience would find interesting. Give it a theme to create interest such as 10 tutorials you discovered, 15 posts from other bloggers in your niche, or the five most-interesting news stories you’ve read.

26. A guest post

Suggestion: Letting others guest post on your blog can be beneficial for so many reasons: it saves you time, it gives you the opportunity to network with others, you could receive traffic from the poster’s readers, and your audience gets to enjoy a different style of writing. Check out My Blog Guest for guest-posters.

27. A FAQ

Suggestion: If you find your readers are constantly asking you the same questions, turn your answers into a frequently-asked questions post! Link to it from your navigation or sidebar so that new readers can quickly and easily find it too.

28. An audio post (podcast)

Suggestion: Tired of typing? Want to speak freely about a topic? Have recorded content (such as an interview) you could make use of? Offer your readers a podcast! Try AudioJungle for music and sound effects and edit it with Aviary.

29. First person story

Suggestion: No special tools or resources required for this one! Simply recount a story to your readers. Think of something that’s interesting that might educate, motivate, inspire or make your readers laugh. Easy!

30. A visual (pictorial) post

Suggestion: Make a post entirely out of images from apps you may use such as Instagram. Try theming them (e.g.: “A day in my life…”, “What I pack for a weekend away”, “What I keep in my camera-gear bag”) or creating a collage. Turn your collage into an image map with Image-map.com.

31. A cheat sheet

Suggestion: Think carefully about your blog’s topic. What would your readers love to read in the form of a cheat sheet or quick-reference guide? Think of creating something they can book mark for quick reference. For example: hard-to-pronounce dishes or fashion labels.

32. A commentary post

Suggestion: Is there a piece of writing that has you incredibly fired up? Use snippits of it to provide the frame work for your post, and add your own thoughts to each paragraph. Explain why you do (or don’t) agree with the author.

Got any other suggestions? Which style of post works best for you?

This post originally appeared on Blogger’s Domain which is now part of The Blog Stylist. Check it out here.

I’ve heard a few bloggers discuss their experiences with PRs lately, and thought this would make a good post where I share my own thoughts and guidelines. It’s not a bloggers VS PRs post (we can’t be competitors when we’re playing different sports!). Rather, it’s simply how I think we can best work together.

I’ll start with a little story: When I moved from working in magazines to websites, a lot of PR contact I’d had for the previous five years suddenly went MIA. Here I was, writing for a major internet publishing co, drawing in huge traffic figures, yet struggling on occassions to get a simple press release on a supermarket-brand lipstick. It was tricky times, that’s for sure. However, within 12 months things dramatically changed, and I was back on the PR radar (and enjoying a press trip flying from Sydney to LA for a few five-star days in Palm Springs – oh my giddy aunt!)

What did it take for the change to occur? Perseverance, education, and time.

The thing is, the whole blogger-PR relationship was (and still is) relatively new. Bloggers who haven’t had media experience are contacting publicists who deal with some of the most-experienced media professionals around. Publicists who are still getting the hang of this whole “blogging thing” aren’t sure which blogger to work with and why. And that’s fair enough, right? After all, their job is to get the best, most-valuable exposure for their clients.

My thoughts? Patience, respect and understanding is the best approach for both parties.

So, these are the guidelines I follow, and the way that I feel I deserve to be treated as a blogger. Remember, this isn’t a post on bloggers VS PRs (I have some wonderful friends who work in PR). It’s how we can work together as one big happy family.

And did I mention it’s not a post about bloggers VS PRs?

My guidelines for bloggers…

• Take the time to properly introduce yourself to a PR agency. Provide information about yourself, your blog, and your contact details.
• Before requesting samples, simply ask that you’re included on any blogger/media databases. Show genuine interest in their agency and brands.
• Learn the traffic lingo and take the time to explain your unique visitors, page views, subscribers and more. “Hits” and “followers” are ambiguous words.
• Politely respond to PR e-mails in a timely fashion, even if the pitch or request isn’t suitable.
• Always RSVP to event invites, even if you can’t make them.
• Review requested product samples in a timely manner. Give the publicist a time frame in which to expect to see coverage.
• If you decide against reviewing a product you requested a sample of, return it to the publicist in the same condition provided.
• Share the reviews with the publicist. A quick e-mail is all it takes. It makes their job easier, and puts you in a good light!
• Never feel pressured to write a positive review.
• Never feel pressured to take down a negative review.
• Think carefully about the wording of negative reviews. Yes, your honest opinion is allowed (so long as it’s not defamatory), and your readers will appreciate your truthfulness. However, there are negative reviews and there are scathing reviews. Before hitting publish, ask yourself: How do you want your readers to view you? Do you hope to work with that publicist or agency again? Think of this as an opportunity to really work on your writing skills. How can you get your opinion accross in a professional manner while still letting your blogger personality shine through?
• Acknowledge there are limited samples and event opportunities. Not all bloggers can be recipients of all goodies. Work hard and you’ll get your turn.
• If you get turned down on your request for a product or invite, turn the situation around. Look at other options or angles and enjoy learning from the challenge!
• Always treat the publicist with respect – even if they’ve done something that makes you think they don’t deserve it. A tell-all on blogger forums isn’t needed. Pull a Jennifer Aniston and take the high-road. When you get on the cover of Vogue – and only then – you can let the word “Uncool” slip…
• Remember: You’re not Anna Wintour.

My guidelines for PRs…

• Set a standard for bloggers you’re providing samples to. If requesting analytics figures, make sure all bloggers provide stats from the same analytics tool (e.g.: Google Analytics) to make it a level playing field. Comparing stats from one analytics tool with another is like comparing apples with oranges.
• Provide a blogger-outreach document or page on your website. Explain what you’re looking for when working with bloggers, so the guidelines are clear from the get-go.
• Learn the traffic lingo. “Hits” and “followers” are ambiguous words.
• Spend a moment reading a blogger’s blog before contacting them. Learn what their blog is about, and see what kind of pitches would suite their niche.
• Learn a blogger’s name and use it. “Dear Blogger…” does not a good relationship make!
• Is your pitch really a pitch? Sending a press release to a blogger telling them that they should encourage their readers to “Like” your client’s Facebook page (and describing it as an “awesome” opportunity) really isn’t press-release worthy. Or an opportunity. Or awesome.
• Treat bloggers as you’d like to be treated: with respect.
• If you want a product (that a blogger didn’t request) returned, this should come at your expense of postage or courier.
• Keep in mind: You never know which blogger is about to make it big time. All it takes is one good link from a big site!
• Thank the blogger for any coverage. A thank-you e-mail can be sent in under 30 seconds.
• Reconsider requesting a blogger’s negative review be taken down. You can’t do that with print or TV media, can you? If you’re disappointed about the angle of the review, contact the blogger and see what you can do to keep the relationship on a happy level. Perhaps the sample you provided was simply a bad match? Perhaps the press release was promising outcomes the product didn’t deliver on?
• Remember: You’re not Anna Wintour’s publicist.

Is there anything else you think belongs with the guidelines? Whether you’re a blogger or a PR, you’re welcome to throw in your TRES POLITE $0.02c

And, have you had a great experience with a blogger or PR? Please share it (without metioning names). Good examples are the best to learn from!

Oh, and I’ve started a Twitter list of Australian blog-friendly PRs/Brands/Agencies here. Feel free to follow!