Muslim blogs can, and should, be filled with the best ideas.  I’ll repeat that once more, but say it with me this time because it’s not just a nice idea — it is our goal:  Muslim blogs can, and should, be filled with the best ideas.

So far, you have purified your intention, prayed istikhaara, and selected both your topic and target group (niche).  The next step? Read on to find out.

Resource Center

This is something I started about a year ago or so.  I use to have every blog with it’s own individual folders for things like themes/plugins/pictures/screenshots/ideas.  While I didn’t completely abandon that structure, I did try to unify it all into one central folder: Resource Center

Once that folder has been created, I place it in the folders that were relevant to my type of work.   For you, this can be anything you find relevant.  This is folder where you keep everything together, so have a structure that make sense to you from the beginning.  After I added the folders it looked more like this

So the upper level it’s structured like that.  Let’s go inside The Muslim Blogger folder and see what’s in there.

Inside The Muslim Blogger folder, I have certain files that are exclusive to TMB.  What I want to draw your attention to, though, is where the red arrow is pointing: TMB Posts.  This folder is, for the most part, the place I go to whenever I have an idea for a post. On that note…let’s move on to the Brainstorming Ideas

Brainstorming Ideas

Above, we quickly went through what a resource center is and one way that it could be set up.  But what about the actual ideas?  Let’s break this into two parts: what to brainstorm and how to brainstorm.

What to Brainstorm

To avoid wasting time, first make a list of problems you believe you readers have that you can help them solve.  Let’s say there is a Muslim blog about Muslims in America.  You could brainstorm the points you’re interested in — but that won’t help.  You need to find the intersection of your interests and people’s questions.

• What does it mean to be a Muslim in America?
• Can you be Muslim and American?
• Is there a contradiction between the two?

Those are possible questions Muslims may have that would attract readers.  Of course, you would have picked this topic only having looked into your knowledge in it (dunya/deen) and having prayed istikhaara.

So that is a good place for you to start before you get to the next part

How to Brainstorm

Having completed some of the basics of the what, now it is time to cover 3 different ways that may help you to figure out the how.

Branches

Here, you want to get out a paper/pen, open Microsoft word, or some other way to begin getting ideas down.  Some might do well with a Roman Number system outline.  Most of the time, however, I prefer something visual.  I use an app called MindNode for Mac (free version) and I ended up with something that started off like this

Pretty basic stuff and nothing fancy in any way.  From there, as I’m sure you can guess, I began to branch out another level

At this point, what I’ve done is essentially narrow down what my entire blog will be about and the direction I want to take it.  You’ll notice that for The Muslim Blogger, the whole idea is shown in that tiny visual and eventually became worded as: Tips to help Muslim bloggers get more traffic, become better writers, and make money.  The next level begins breaking down the into what are later categories and tags.

I won’t go through how it looks when you keep branching out, but you get the idea.  All you are doing really is finding a way to clearly lay out what your blog is all about.  And yes, it does make a difference to have it in front of you vs in your head.

For example, while I’m writing this I may have an idea for a post I want to do in the future.  I open up Notepad (or TextEdit on Mac) and either just right the title I want or both the title and maybe a sentence or two.  Here’s an example of what I mean.

These are three files that I have in my folder.

• The first is about this series we’re on now and the topics I want to include.
• The second was nothing more than a title.
• The last is an idea that came to my mind and I added a few things to get going later.

As you can see, there isn’t one template I use – and there doesn’t have to be.  This is about what works for you and this post is just to point you in a direction that may help you.  I have dozens of files like that and the folder ends up looking something like this.

That’s one way to brainstorm ideas and how it fits in with the resource center.  Alhamdulillah, we find that Allah (swt) gives us ideas all day, every day.  Sometimes the best way to take advantage is to actually sit down for a good-ole fashioned brainstorming sessions.

60 Seconds

This is a technique that I was first introduced to in college and have found it to be very helpful in many different areas.  What you will do here is pick a word related to your blog and then for the next 60 seconds, write down every word that comes to mind.  The key is not stopping and letting the ideas come out – filter the list later on.

For example, let’s use the keyword SEO

There’s nothing wrong with it being silly or completely out there.  By the end, I’m not sure how I ended up with “Circle of Life” after starting with “Google”.

It’s a bit of a stretch at first, but the “circle of life” can be used to illustrate how words are interconnected and need to be used in balance so you don’t disrupt the “circle of search engines”.  Other points on there could actually become brand new posts.  Take “import/export” – I could create two posts: (1) How to import your posts and settings from a previous blog and (2) How to export your posts and settings for a new blog.

That list could prove useful in many ways if I spent some time trying to benefit from it. Alhamdulillah, it has helped so far and I do expect that it will will continue being a valuable resource in brainstorming topics for The Muslim Blogger.

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In The End

There must be hundreds of ways to brainstorm.  The above are only two strategies that I pray will be beneficial to you.  What is needed now is your input.  Some questions I have for you are:

• Have you planned out your blog?
• Do you brainstorm?
• How do you come up with ideas?
• In your opinion, do you think the ideas in this post are helpful?
• What else can you share to help other Muslim bloggers?

I look forward to getting your responses in the comments below. Jazaakumullahu khayran

Follow the series:
Blogging 101 [Intro]: The Complete Guide to Muslim Blogging
Blogging 101 [Part 1]: Starting in the Right Direction: Pray Istikhaara
Blogging 101 [Part 2]: Selecting a Topic and Niche
Blogging 101 [Part 3]: The Resource Center and Brainstorming Ideas
Blogging 101 [Part 4]: Coming Soon…

So Google Buzz just launched and I’m trying to figure out how to use it productively. Anyone care to chime in with thoughts on how Buzz can help Muslim bloggers do their jobs more successfully? Or do you think it’s something that can’t really be used effectively?

Update:  I found 2 WordPress plugins that were already made – amazing.  I don’t know how good they are.  Google Buzz ER and Simple Buzz
Update 2:  I tried out the Buzz plugins.  Simple Buzz wouldn’t get up and running.  Google Buzz ER worked fine with some tweaking but Buzzes look really weird when not taken into context.

Update 3: I found a very useful guide to Google Buzz.  Look through it to get your questions answered and learn some neat tips and tricks.  You can find the guide here.

1. How can you send people private Buzzes?
   
2. Can Buzzes be organized into categories?
   
3. How do you keep Buzzes out of our inbox?
   Set up a Gmail filter that searches for the word “Buzz” in the subject line.  In the next step, set it to Mark As Read and Skip Inbox.  That’s it.
4. Is there a way to block other people? (ANSWERED by Arif)
   Click the name of the person.  On the next screen, select “Block [name]”
   
5. Can you do a search within Buzzes?
   Once you are in the Buzzes page, the search bar up top automatically switches to “Search Buzz”.
   
6. Can you share contacts with other people?
   
7. What does “Mute this post” do?
   
8. How do I completely turn Buzz off?
   Go to the bottom of the Gmail page and click “turn off buzz”
   
9. Why and how is Buzz choosing the people that I follow? (ANSWERED by Arif)
   They automatically select the list from your contacts and people that you’ve emailed.
   
10. Who can see my comments?
    By default, all your comments are public and can be seen by anyone.
11. Is there a way to make it so that ONLY my followers can see my comments?
    
12. Your question here…

Recently, I covered the question of how often you should update your blog. That post didn’t come from some idea that I had floating in my head.  It was written based on my own personal failure to really think about and look into the topic.

In this post I want to cover 6 more points that we all need to be aware, and stay aware, of.

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1. The Title – Crafting a title is more difficult than I imagined it would be. But know this my fellow bloggers – the title is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a particular post. Usually, I come up with 3-5 titles before publishing and even then I may not be fully satisfied.  The changes won’t necessarily be major ones.  For this post, I made 3 minor changes to the title.  I’ve included them here for you to take a look at.  The changes made in each are in red.

• Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
  
• 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
• 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Start The Muslim Blogger
  

2. The Intro - The first sentence, maybe first paragraph, of your blog should almost always be deleted when you’re finished. Rarely is the sentence you started with in sync with the rest of the post. As a matter of fact, I ended up deleting the first three paragraphs of this post before putting it up for you to read.

Just so you know, this isn’t necessarily something bad.  From time to time, you may find yourself so stuck on constructing a great introduction that you never get around to writing the post.  A good writer recognizes a mental/creative block and works around it.

Be sure you closely examine the intro of your post before presenting it to your readers.  And be sure to ask yourself whether your opening is actually contributing to the post.

3. The Wording - Focus on the wording later. Before you start worrying whether you communicated the idea correctly, figure out what it is you want to communicate.  Readers come to your blog to learn something.  While they do appreciate good writing and quickly frown upon the opposite – the wording of your post should not be your priority at this point.

Write your ideas down and draft your post. When you go back to edit or proofread, that’s when you start focusing on how you said it.

4. The Organization - Staying organized cannot be underestimated. This I knew and expected but what I’ve learned is that if you want to take blogging seriously then staying organized is not an option. Allowing yourself to lose control can quickly turn into a nightmare

Your readers will also know if you’re not an organized blogger.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t continue to read and appreciate your work – it doesn’t mean that at all.  However, if you want to truly give back to your readers and entice new people to visit (and revisit) your blog then you have to be on top of things.

5. The Numbers – Don’t allow the numbers to affect you. Some of you might use Google Analytics, the built-in WordPress stats app, or some other method of gathering statistics about visitors to your blog. All of these are great tools that can give you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, the type of posts your readers are interested in, and how to maximize your ad revenue.  However, if you decide to use those then do not let the numbers become an obsession that drives your writing.  What drives you and gives you the desire to write should be the passion you have for a particular topic.

6. The Readers – Respond to your readers. Since the start of The Muslim Blogger, I’ve received multiple e-mails asking me for quick advice or to take a look at their blog and give them feedback. Others have been asking about blogging or writing in general. Whatever the case may be, be responsive.  Responding to personal e-mails from your readers is just as important as interacting with them in the comments section.

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These are a mere six lessons learned I thought would be useful to share.  Without a doubt, there will be countless more in the future.  But that’s just me.  I want to hear about you. Some of you are new to blogging and others of you have been active in the blogosphere for quite some time.

So newbies and veterans alike I ask you – what lessons have you learned since your started your blog?

(Photo: oskay)

At the beginning stage of our blogs, we tend to post updates very often. Not only are the posts that we put up at the beginning full of content and energy, but we ourselves feel great when we write them. Soon enough though, we lose that initial rush and we begin to do two things: write posts that are of lesser of quality and sometimes we even have to force ourselves to write anything at all.

I myself fell victim to this and eventually burned out. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing though. As a matter of fact, I learned a great deal from it. Today, I want to share with you what I’ve learned when it comes to how how often we should be updating our blogs.

There is no universal blogging standard as to how often you should update your blog. Let’s go through a couple of pointers that can help your blog grow – even if you just started:

There is no standard

Different blogs will update at different intervals. This point actually requires that you do some basic research. Look at some other blogs in your niche to discover how often they are updating. Remember, you are not basing your decision purely on how often other blogs post – but it is part of it.

For example, if you love technology and decide you want to enter some niche in that area, you’ll soon find out that you have to update often a lot. Technology-related blogs require up-to-date information and succeed usually on how fast information gets out. Consider blogs like Engadget or Gizmodo that do live-blogging of events like at MacWorld. Those blogs don’t just release information when it gets leaked to the press, they are also at the events writing about it as it happens.

What you need to worry about is how to develop your own style. In the meantime, one thing you have to do is…

Be consistant

The majority of blogs (such as this one) cover topics that are not time-sensitive. What I mean by that is that a post I write today can be just as relevant 5 years from now as it is when you first read it. I picked a niche that, for the most part, has information and tips that don’t “expire”.

Look at your life and see what a realistic number of posting per week is. If you are a college student who has a job, then it’s probably not a good idea to try to write a post everyday. Remember that successful bloggers can recognize their limits and then efficiently use the time that they do have.

Create a schedule

Being consistant is important, but in order to be consistant you must create a schedule. It’s not necessary that you sit down and prepare a physical schedule (although I would recommend doing that). But, you should have an idea in your own head which days you will sit down to brainstorm, write, edit, and post.

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How often you update your blog ultimately comes down to achieving a balance between what you are able to do and what you have to do to keep your blog rolling. I’m wondering how often you guys update your blogs. Have you fallen into the same hole as me – the burnout? If you have, what tips do you have for the rest of us?

(Photo:gadl)

This post is going to be hard to read, but I suggest that you read it all the way till the end. I’ll put some of the key points in bold so that you can pick some of the more important information up, but for now force yourself to get through this post. I’m not picking another Muslim’s blog to point out as the blog with the worst blog post ever. I won’t be talking about the grammar or the flow or how original the content is. Rather I wanted just to talk about the overall structure of the post. I wanted to give you just one example of a mistake a lot of bloggers make (Muslim or not). Instead of telling you what you should avoid doing, I thought I would just show you instead. It can be quite irritating when your blog post goes on and on and on and on and on. No one wants to read it. As a matter of fact, you probably wouldn’t want to read it yourself after you’ve finished writing it. So what is the problem? It’s not necessarily that your idea is bad or that your writing itself isn’t awesome. Both your idea and writing can be the best thing ever, but if it isn’t easy to read then there is no point. If you were writing in your personal diary then you can write however you like. However, when you decide that you want to write material for other people to read then you need to think about how you can make that information most easily accessible to your readers. There are a lot of things you can do to take your blog post from a “C” to an “A+”. If you’re still reading this then I congratulate you on your patience. Writing one continuous stream of thought simply won’t work in the vast majority of cases. Paragraphs should be no longer than 4-5 lines. When writing online, don’t focus on how many sentences in your paragraph – worry about how many lines it is. Readers want to be able to quickly skim a post. If they come across a post that they can’t skim then they avoid it all together. So do your absolute best to avoid writing one long, continuous paragraph. Having said that, I think the best thing for me to do now is stop.

(Photo: buggolo)

A thesaurus can help you take your writing from good to great.  Sometimes your word choice might be fine but it becomes repetitive as the post goes on. I’ve compiled a list of reasons to use a thesaurus, precaution to take, and tools and resources for you to use.

Why Use a Thesaurus

• Avoid cliches or the repitition of a particular word within the same sentence/paragraph.
• Learn how to say what you want in different, more powerful ways.
• Your writing becomes more interesting and engaging.
• Helps you to find the right word to express what you want – not just a word.
• Builds your vocabulary.

Be Careful of 3

• Don’t use a “labyrinthian” word. A big word, like labyrinthian, is over complicated  and unnecessary.
• Not every synonym fits.  Use a dictionary when in doubt.
• Be sure your writing still reflects you.  Sometimes the “normal” word that you used is the perfect one.
• Don’t overdo it by using too many fancy adjectives and adverbs.
• Remember the idea is to connect with your readers.  Don’t use a word that your readers may not understand.

Tools and Resources

• Thesaurus.com - An invaluable online tool for any blogger or writer.
• Dictionary.com – Find the definition for a synonym or antonym you aren’t clear about.  Don’t just plug it in hoping you got it right.
• Search Bar – Plugins for the Firefox search bar are available for both Thesaurus.com (here) and Dictionary.com (here).
• Macs – If you have a Mac, you already have a super-fast way to do this using their built-in dictionary/thesaurus/reference tool.  I have mine in the dock bar ready to go at all times.
• Microsoft Office – Virtually all versions of Microsoft Office include a great dictionary/thesaurus.  It may not be as fast as the stand alone app for Mac, but it it much more convenient to have it available whenever you write without having to use something else.
• Poetry – The Rhymer and RhymeZone are two great places to help you find rhyming words on more than one level.  Using these sites can only enrich your poems.  Do not think that getting help means you’re not good.  It means your a professional.
• Poetry.com – I separated this from the “Poetry” category above because, in addition to rhyming words, this site also includes a dictionary and a thesaurus.

This is just a guess but I think it’s probably fair to say that most bloggers don’t use a Thesaurus.  For you, this means that you are in a position to bring fresh and creative content to your readers. In the end you still have to write posts that engage your readers, but to do that you need to bring something else to the table – a Thesaurus.

Side Note:  By the end of this post, the word “Thesaurus” began to seem like a dino”saur” like Tyranne”saurus” or like Stega”saurus”.  Weird. Anyone know if there’s some connection or what “saurus” means if we go back to Latin or Greek?

(Photo: Weeping-Willow)

Every blogger suffers this same problem.  With so many blogs out there, the challenge to come up with original ideas and content is more difficult than ever.  Today, I’m offering you 21 different activities that will help you to solve the problem of coming up with ideas for original content (a.k.a. writer’s block)

1.    Brainstorm - Write down random thoughts, things you remember from your childhood, what you ate for dinner – write down whatever you feel like writing.  The key to brainstorming is this: never erase anything

2.    60 seconds - Get paper and pen(cil), a timer, and any book at all.  On the count of three, open to a random page and write down the first word you see.  Immediately after, start the timer and then just write a chain of words – one word per line.  Do not stop.  If you don’t know what to write, put down the word “nothing”.   Do that for 60 seconds and you’ll see that you can come up with a wild list.

3.    Get away from the computer - Sometime we can’t think of an idea because we’re just sitting there in front of a monitor.  A change of scenery just might do the trick.

4.    Talk to your friends - The next time you’re with your friends, take a moment to listen carefully to what they’re saying.  If you’re with them for more than a few minutes and you’re actively listening it is almost a guarantee you’ll walk away with an idea.

5.    Read other blogs - There’s nothing wrong with finding inspiration for a post on another blog, but do not copy their material.

6.    Start writing - Sometimes that’s all it takes.

7.    Go to Flickr.com - This is an awesome resource when it comes to being original.  Do a search for any word and go through through pictures using their Slideshow feature.  Even better than the Slideshow is an awesome add-on for Firefox called Cooliris (I highly, highly, highly recommend you download it)

8.    Read the Qur’an - You might have thought to use ayat from the Qur’an to support your content, but have you ever thought to look in the Qur’an for the topic itself?  Look inside the Qur’an  and find some ayat that reflect your blog’s theme.

9.    Read some Hadith - Allah (swt) Himself chose Muhammed (saw) to be the last and final Messenger.  It should be no surprise to you that the same Prophet (saw) that changed the world can  also be a great source of ideas for your blog.

10.    Visit forums – Forums have a different way of organizing their information and conversations.  A great place to start is the Al-Maghrib Forums.

11.    Pick up a newspaper - Remember newspapers?  The black and white folded chunks of chopped down trees?  Well, doing something (or anything) that you don’t normally do gets your mind thinking differently.  If you really don’t want to pick up a physical one, try a great online Muslim newspaper – The Muslim Link

12.    Write down the opposites of current posts - This is a great exercise.  Go through all the posts you’ve written before and make a list of what their opposites would be.  For example, I wrote a post about characteristics bloggers should have.  Now, I could compliment it with another post about the exact opposite – qualities that bloggers should not have.

13.    Go through the comments - Unless your blog was just started, you’re likely to have some comments from your readers.  Not only do your readers add dimension to your own writing, they normally come up with things you never thought of.  Be sure to point out in your post the reader(s) who inspired you.

14.    Make du’a - Put your hands together and pray to Allah (swt) that He helps you in your writing so that you can benefit the Muslims.

15.    Seek forgiveness - Some of the scholars used to beg for Allah’s Forgiveness if they were having difficulty findind an answer to some question.  They believed it was their sins that kept them from reaching the answer they needed.  Perhaps this writer’s block can only be cured by asking for Forgiveness.

16.    Volunteer – Participating in community activities enriches your life and makes you want to help people as much as you can.  Blogging is also about helping other and, in our case, serving their intellectucal needs.  Why not write a blog post about how volunteering makes you want to do good?

17.    Ask your readers – Be frank and just ask them for ideas. Blogging is community based, so include your readers. They’re at your blog because they share your interests and will be more than happy to contribute when they can.

18.    Google - Take any topic you are interested in and Google it.  Go through the first 5-10 pages scanning only the headlines.  This helps you think of connections to that topic you might not have thought about before.

19.    Nature – Go out and enjoy the creation of Allah (swt).  It is a creation that is truly diverse and rich in every way.  Just go relax and you might find that the reason you couldn’t think of something before was due to stress.

20.    Interview – Interviewing does two things for you.  First, the interview itself could be a blog post.  Second, it’ll give you a chance to see a certain issue through a different lens.

21.    Write down what is important to YOU – This isn’t the same as brainstorming ideas.  The 21st practical solution is to simply learn more about your own self.  Rediscover your passions and you’ll find that you now have a long list of potential blog posts. from the sheet.

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This post was designed to provide you practical ways to come up with ideas for original content.  That means you now have 21 different activities that can help you overcome your “blogger’s” block.

How do you guys come up with blog posts when your stuck?  You probably agree with some of the ones I listed, but here’s a question for you: 

Which 3 activities on that list would you scratch off and why?

(Photo: Annie Mole)