If I had to name one constant in human history that has continued to bring joy into the lives of people all over the world it would be popular culture. After all, it’s something that we invented and have built upon through film, TV, gaming, comics and many more valuable mediums. Popular culture is a goldmine for writers because there is never a lack of inspiration to draw from, and that extends to blogging as well.
Creating an engaging blogging series is tricky, but by taking cues from pop culture, writers can develop ideas that will keep their readers coming back for more content. For anyone who is planning to create a pop culture inspired blog series, here is a guide that will help you decide on the direction you want to take.
Decide on your main topics of interest
The great thing about pop culture is that it’s massive, but with so many avenues to explore, it can be difficult to narrow down exactly what kind of topic you want to write about. I had this issue when I first started The Comic Vault and wasn’t sure what type of series I wanted to develop. To help focus my thoughts, I wrote down a list of general topics that I was interested in and I found that the first subject was music.
This led to the creation of my first pop culture series called The Pop Culture Playlist, which tells the story of a superhero or supervillain through a list of music tracks. I found it to be a good way of experimenting with tone of voice and structure.
Once you have found the topics that are important to you, it’s a case of determining how they can be combined with other creative mediums.
Don’t be afraid to test out different formats
In the early days of creating a blogging series, I was convinced that each one had to be long-winded and detailed. But then I realised it was better to experiment with alternative lengths and writing styles. For example, Comic Cover Corner is set up in an art review format of various comic covers and the artists who created them. But each blog post has rarely gone over 300 words.
By creating a pop culture series with a shorter word count, I’ve found it’s taken away the pressure of having to generate detailed articles that have eaten up hours of my time. A short blog series is especially useful if you only have an allotted time for blogging throughout the day.
Collaboration drives interest
Although it sounds obvious, I can’t overstate how worthwhile it is to work with others when developing a pop culture related blogging series. This was the case when I developed Comic Kitchen, a segment that creates a three-course menu around a superhero. I began reaching out to food venues and restaurants in my local area and found that they were open to working on the series.
Once the collaboration was complete, I found my engagement stats had increased because the venue had shared the article across their social media channels. This also led to other bloggers showing interest in collaborating on Comic Kitchen, such as this Miss Marvel edition done in tandem with Witchy Kitchen.
I’d also argue that pop culture is an easy topic to explain to any business that you’d like to work with. For example, if you wanted to work with a coffee brand and promote their products, you could develop a series that focuses on the coffee-drinking habits of different fictional characters. It’s a quirkier style of product advertising and offers the chance to be more creative.
Promote your series with other series
When creating a blogging series, you are only limited by your imagination and can develop as many as you want. So, why not use one series to promote another? This can be as simple as creating a call to action (CTA) at the end of an article to look out for a new segment.
You could also develop a new pop culture series that acts as an extension of a similar topic. I’ve recently created a series called The Otaku Armoury on Yamato Magazine. The Otaku Armoury focuses on weapons in pop culture that have been inspired by Japan and I frequently link back to articles on The Comic Vault.
Be consistent and passionate
The most important part of developing any kind of blog series is to remain passionate about what you write. It doesn’t matter whether you write about obscure anime shows or the type of fabric used for different kinds of shirts. Passion transcends mundanity and readers will be able to pick that up instinctively in your work.
Stay hungry, stay consistent and stay in love with the topics that you write about.
The Comic Vault 
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