4 financial blog post ideas from a writing teacher

Writing teacher Roger Rosenblatt’s essay assignments inspired me with ideas for your blog posts. He has had students write essays in each of the formats listed below, as he wrote in Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing.

1. Menu

How could you adopt a menu to a blog post? For starters, you could riff on the idea of “pick one from column A and two from column B” to discuss essentials portfolios.

Or, you might discuss your financial planning process in terms of appetizer, main course, and dessert.

2. School song

I never learned the school songs for my high school, college, or grad school. I don’t know if Oberlin College even had a school song. That makes this assignment hard for me.

But I think of school songs as very “rah rah.” Is there a topic that makes you excited in a rah-rah way? If so, then perhaps you can write a song about it. Look at the structure of your own school’s song to give your writing the feeling of a song.

 

Or, perhaps you can broaden your scope beyond school songs. Is there another type of song that better suits your personality? Start there.

Another idea is to start with the opening line of a famous song, and then go wild from there.

3. Stand-up comic routine

I can’t crack a joke so I admire the gifts of you comedians.

You can tackle what’s truly funny about your financial field. That could help break down your readers’ fears about tackling their finances. It could also help them to relate to you as a person.

Many comedy routines have an edge to them. You can use comedy to address topics that disturb you, such as inadequate retirement savings or fraudulent investments.

4. Kiss off letter

Have you ever told anyone to “kiss off”? The emotion associated with such letters can be powerful. I can see the advantage of sharing your passions with your readers.

On the other hand, you don’t want to scare readers into viewing you as volatile. Tread carefully.

I can imagine an effective letter that rails against bad financial products or services. Or, maybe you’d take on bad decisions.

If you try one…

If you try one of these approaches, please share your work in the comments. I’d love to see it.

If you liked this post, you may also like “20 topics for your financial blog.”

 

 

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