Blog post and video ideas for January

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I did my own search on this topic yesterday because I don't feel like writing reviews at the moment so I've wanted to expand my horizons, and while I did find some content on this topic, none of it was what I was after.

So I thought, there you go - write a post on this topic. And in the process I might come up with some ideas that I would like to post on myself, so in many ways I'll be killing two birds with one stone.

Below are some post and video ideas for January that I myself would like to write, read or watch.


Go outside your usual content

Whatever you normally write on - whether beauty, fashion, travel or business etc - now's the time to stray from that. Both the festive season and the post-festive season give us the opportunity to write posts or make videos that are more timely, as opposed to the content that our subscribers are used to.

For example:

  • If you've already done your favourite products, clothing items, travel destinations or recipes for the year (because we all do those 'best of' posts, no matter what space we're in), now's the time to hone in on those and get more specific. For example, I've already done my favourite skincare items for 2017 but I've never done a post on my favourite cleansers, moisturisers or lip colours for the warmer months (or the cooler months, if you're in a different hemisphere to me), so there are a few posts or videos waiting to be done.
  • If you never post on things like your 'fail safe' recipes for the holiday season, now's the time to do it. We often host things over the festive period and I do have some recipes that I turn to because I can do them with my eyes closed and everyone likes them, and I suspect I'm not the only one. I also suspect I'm not alone in wanting to expand on the recipes I can reach for during this time, so I would be interested in hearing about the recipes that others use.
  • On that, what about your favourite fail safe outfits or makeup items? When I'm in a rush to get ready for festive events and can't be bothered thinking (or fiddling with something that requires more effort), I definitely have outfits and products that I reach for and that I know will work no matter what. I'd be interested in hearing about the things others reach for, too.


Do you have expertise or experience in other areas that we don't know about?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately because there are plenty of posts I could write that have nothing to do with beauty.

Here are some ideas that may apply to you, or that might spark ideas about what you yourself could generate content about:

  • I have young kids, which provides a wealth of material for content. I recently posted on recycling household items for children (see here) and I could certainly do another one on that very topic because recycling, reusing and re-purposing are all very important to me so I've given a lot of thought to them. 
  • Similarly, if you're pregnant or have recently been pregnant, you may well have a lot to say about that - which may be helpful for those who have just become pregnant for the first time or who are thinking about becoming pregnant and want to know what they're in for. Pregnancy posts are also good for a laugh because so many of us have been there and can relate.
  • On the kids topic, you could do a few child-related posts every year as your kids get older. 'How to entertain toddlers'; 'what to do with children during school holidays'; 'teaching kids to drive: what I've learned' - that kind of thing. The possibilities are endless.
  • Also, I'm environmentally focused and I tend to bring that to everything I do, so I could certainly do more posts in that space. Easy ways to save water, electricity and gas etc - I've got plenty to say there. And even if some readers aren't too fussed about the environment (naughty them ; )), they may be fussed about their finances so ways to cut down on utility bills might be something they're interested in. You never know.


'Tis the season... And the month

I feel like there's plenty of seasonal-related material on the internet when it comes to, eg, 'favourite autumn lipsticks'; 'favourite winter jumpers'; 'best winter masks' - that kind of thing - and while there are plenty of Christmas-related posts, what about January?

Both December and January really stand on their own and they're quite distinct from other months because in December we're going festive crazy (do you have any interesting topics you could post on that aren't the same as everyone else's Christmas posts?), and in January we're recovering, many of us are on holidays, and many of us mightn't start work again until mid-Jan so our reading/viewing needs and preferences might be a little different.

While I've seen plenty of material online about Christmas outfits and makeup (and New Year's outfits and makeup), I haven't seen so many on how to survive the family Christmas or that office Christmas party that you mightn't want to go to. For example, do you have difficult relatives or do you dread the family Christmas for whatever reason? I'm sure you're not alone. Post on that. Make it funny, self-deprecating. Share some anecdotes. It will be a good way to connect with your readers/viewers.


Resolutions... But not as we know them

Everyone always asks each other about resolutions for the new year but most people don't really want to talk about it - and, to be honest, we all tend to repeat the same kinds of things. 'Well I'd like to lose weight, eat better, exercise more, spend less and save more...' Boring. We've heard it all before and it's not telling us anything we don't know. 

For example, we all know that the best way to lose weight is to eat well and exercise more (fitness is 75 per cent diet and 25 per cent exercise, in my experience - I learned that the hard way), but have you recently become more fit and did you do something different to achieve that? Tell us about it. It might be helpful.

Do you want to spring clean your house before we get too far into the new year? Join the club. But how will you do it? Tell us; get specific. There's a reason why the KonMari method of spring-cleaning (see the bestseller, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo) spread like wildfire: we all want less junk in our homes and most of us aren't that great at achieving it. Have you learned anything helpful about spring-cleaning that you'd like to share?

For example, I recently did my 2018 resolutions (see here) and they were all about decluttering in some shape or form - but I got into detail. Eg I mentioned all the expired medications we have lying around, the almost-finished tubes of nappy cream, the pile of hotel toiletries we've wound up with but never use... Things like that. The reason why I did this is because I hoped that it might make some people smile in recognition (surely we all have expired medications lying around, but we never talk about them), and that it might make others think: 'Oh, yes, I remember now. I need to do that too.'

So if you're going to post on resolutions, do so - but make them interesting and specific, or at least funny. Divide your posts or videos if you need to: eg, one on how you're going to declutter your home; one on your panning resolutions; one on how you're going to get better at staying in touch with friends this year. The list could go on. There's plenty of material in the 'resolutions' field but not enough that deals with the nitty-gritty. 


More on January

What's different about January wherever you are? In Australia, for example, a lot of us watch the cricket and then the Australian Open because they're on at this time every year. So I could certainly write a post or two on why Australians love cricket so much (because many foreigners don't understand cricket, my husband being one of them), my favourite players of all time and why they're my favourites (Deano, anyone?), and who I'm backing in the Australian Open and why.

Sure, these won't be informative posts but they make for light reading while people are - you know, queuing up for tickets at the cricket or tennis, or bored in tennis or cricket ad breaks ; ) - and you may be able to get funny with these and also produce content that some of your audience can relate to. 

One post I could certainly write is how much the tennis ads every year drive me bonkers and eventually make me refuse to buy any of the items advertised. My husband still talks about how he'll never buy anything from Blackmores and I'm still baffled by that goat wash ad from last year, so these campaigns definitely leave their scars and they can make for funny content.

If you're in another country, I'm sure you could come up with some January-focused content - and it doesn't have to relate to sport of course. Eg, I love January because there's so little traffic when compared to the rest of the year and I don't feel so enclosed in Chemist Warehouse because there aren't so many people inside it on the daily. So I could easily write a 'why I love January' post. Perhaps you could too.

What's specific to January, wherever you are or in whatever industry you're in?


In sum

Hopefully you've found some ideas about what kind of posts or videos you could make in January - or hopefully I've at least sparked some ideas of your own.

And if nothing else, why don't you write a post or make a video containing ideas for other people, about what content they could generate in January? There's not enough content on this so now's the time to make some.

And of course, with all the ideas above and with whatever post ideas you come up with for January, you can always do them again each year and let your readers/viewers know what has or hasn't changed, and why.

That's all from me! Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x


* All images courtesy of unsplash.com


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