3 overlooked, but powerful blog formulas

I have to admit that blog posts around the social space are getting a little stale.

It seems like everyone (including me) has found a formula for blog writing, and we are kicking out posts like cars off an assembly line.

While the posts are generally good, I think we can do better.

This is easier said than done. The problem isn’t just choosing an interesting topic; it’s choosing the vision of each post. These days, the most common types of posts are lists, how-to’s and opinions (or rants). Bloggers choose a type based on their goals: to impress, teach or persuade.

To take posts to next level, I challenge writers to go deeper and think about the strategic objectives of their posts.

To do this, bloggers can learn a lot by studying presidential campaigns. Campaign communication experts use three basic speeches to achieve specific goals. Here is each type, and how you can use them to add more punch to your blog posts.

1. Stump speeches

These workhorses are the bread and butter of the campaign trail—they outline the candidate’s core principles. Campaign communicators tailor the stump speech to the audience, and change it often to address new opportunities. It forms the foundation of the political campaign.