Today, I want to share some more thoughts about staying on topic within individual posts, an extension of an older piece I wrote about staying directly to the point. There are many times that you might find yourself getting distracted from the main point of your post. For example, I sometimes write a title down, expecting to conform to that single thought, but end up getting off-track, writing about more than the single topic.

Some bloggers have a bad habit of expanding a single thought into multiple ideas, not sticking to their main point, which makes it difficult for readers to stay focused themselves on the content and purpose. This is a habit that can be broken, however.

Number 1 – Brainstorming

The main way to stay on topic and avoid getting too far into other topics, which deserve to be separated into other posts (for more traffic down the road), is to brainstorm. While I have often mentioned this tactic for creating new posts (in planning), you should also apply it to staying on-topic.

Here’s how it works: You brainstorm and draft what you will include into the single post, which makes it easier to stay on task and writing everything you wanted (and nothing you didn’t).

Simply writing a post title and going from there typically doesn’t work.

Number 2 – Channel the Thoughts

Not all blogs can be personal. Some require you to focus on the business aspect, especially if you blog for an organization or company. However, some people would still rather have a place for storing and sharing these thoughts with others.

This may be the main reason why people start multiple blogs, often with completely different purposes.

I’d suggest that you start a “personal blog” or one for channeling the additional thoughts that is separate from where you “have to blog.” It doesn’t even have to be public or frequently updated, but simply a place where you can post “random” thoughts.

Number 3 – Practice Moderation

Even though I just suggested that you move your off-topic thoughts off your blog, there are still some reasons to post a portion of this content on your main blog(s). For one, it provides a sense of personality to your site, even when your readers aren’t expecting it. You have to do everything in moderation however, or it won’t work in your favor. People would rather see you stay on topic 95% of the time, rather than just 20%.

Conclusion

The ideas presented above are just a few basics on how to stay on-topic when writing individual posts. As your blog grows, it can become even more difficult to come up with topics as you really want to place your personal beliefs and ideas into your content. Overall, you want to stay focused on on-topic as often as possible.