What new topic can you write about on Valentine’s Day? You need good ideas for an article or blog post, and you don’t want to rewrite the same old Valentine’s Day stuff that always gets published in magazines, e-zines and blogs. My tips will help you go beyond the traditional, tired “romantic gift ideas” and “how we met” articles on February 14.
Valentine’s Day is an old tradition – and it’s been written about for decades – but that doesn’t mean your article has to be as stale as last year’s chocolate heart-shaped cupcakes. These article ideas and blog post prompts will fire up your creativity and help you highlight February 14 in a fresh new way. The icing on the cupcake? You’ll sell the article (if you’re pitching Valentine’s Day articles to other magazines or blogs), boost your online traffic (if you’re writing a blog post), and reach new readers.
Here’s a great tip for finding interesting things to write about on Valentine’s Day: “One of the hallmarks of genius is an ability to spot connections between seemingly disparate things,” says Susan Reynolds, author of Fire Up Your Writing Brain: How to Use Proven Neuroscience to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Writer. “And then use your discovery to create something original.“
That’s the first, most important, and most creative way to find article ideas to write about on Valentine’s Day: “marry” two subjects that wouldn’t normally go together – much less get engaged. And only you can find the magic combination of ideas because only you have your personality, talents, education, and past experiences with Valentine’s Day (for better or worse!).
You’re a blogger, a writer, perhaps even an author. It’s your job to be creative – and the biggest part of your writing and blogging job is to come up with ideas that reflect who you are. That said, however, it’s often challenging to find good things to write about on Valentine’s Day.
Don’t wait for the writing muse or the right mood to write. Get to work; it’s your job to be creative as a writer. “I don’t wait for moods,” said Pearl S. Buck. “You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.”
Read 11 Most Popular Types of Magazine Articles – Print & Online for ideas on how to structure your article or blog post.
Creative Valentine’s Day Article Ideas for Writers
Fellow scribes, don’t wait for the muse or Cupid to shoot an arrow and fire up your passion for writing on February 14. Whether you’re searching for Valentine’s Day article ideas for your blog, online magazine, or company newsletter – you need to actively work to find good story ideas to write about.
These tips apply to print magazine articles, too – but you have to pitch query letters at least four months in advance. If you want to write a Valentine’s Day article for the print edition of Reader’s Digest, Simple Living, or Woman’s Day, then you need to search for story ideas at least by September or October.
You could pitch Valentine’s Day article ideas to online magazines or blogs a month or so in advance (but remember: the earlier you pitch your story or article idea, the better!). If you’re writing for an ezine, remember that it often takes months or even years before your online articles see serious traffic…so writing for Valentine’s Day this year might mean you’ll see traffic to your own blog next year.
Okay, enough foreplay! Here are a few ideas for blog posts and article ideas in honor of the “most romantic day of the year”…
1. Share your best (or – better yet – your worst) Valentine’s Day experience
But don’t just write about your past – ask your Twitter or Facebook friends for their best and worst experiences on February 14. Rounding up and writing about several of the best or worst Valentine’s Days is a fun, easy way to write a blog post…and it may even strengthen your social media connections and friendships. Plus, your contributors may Tweet and link to your post or online article, which can boost blog traffic.
Here’s a brainy tip for being a more creative writer:
“When working on a particular story, find an image (or better yet create one) that evokes something crucial to the story,” writes Susan Reynolds in How Images Can Fire Up Your Writing Brain on the Psychology Today website. “Meditate on the image prior to writing. This kind of ‘stimulation prepping’ will fire up your writing brain, particularly the neurons focused on the work at hand. Once global ignition occurs—whether it’s focused on characterization, plots, setting, and so on—firing up the particular neurons connected to the story you are crafting fuels your imagination.”
Before you write your blog post or article – even when you’re still searching for Valentine’s Day article ideas – take time to meditate on a Cupid, sweetheart, or heart-related image that resonates with you. Your brain will come up with its own creative ideas, and you’ll find the writing process easier. Why? Because your brain’s cognitive functions will be activated by the heart-shaped chocolates, red Cupid, or other February 14 image. Cognitive scientists have also found that viewing visual art activates the brain’s reward circuit, which will provide positive reinforcement for your writing or blogging…and this reward system may keep your passion for writing alive forever.
2. Write a “Top 10 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas” article (overdone, but popular)
Top 10 articles and blog posts are tried-and-true ideas for blog posts or magazine articles, for any season or topic.
But don’t fall into the boring old “Top 10 Valentine’s Day Article Ideas for Writers” trap. Here are the most boring blog post ideas for Valentine’s Day: Top 10 Most Romantic Weekend Retreats, the 10 Best Chocolate Gifts for Women, or the Top 10 Valentine’s Day Stuffies. Yawn!
You need to get more creative than that! But how? By pairing topics or ideas that don’t normally go together. A million years ago, I sold an article to Reader’s Digest called “Go Green on Valentine’s Day: Ten Eco-Friendly Ways to Say ‘I Love You.'” Back then (caveman times), an eco-friendly February 14 was actually a new concept, so it was a good Valentine’s Day article idea. If you want to see how I pitched and sold that story, read Sample of a Successful Query Letter to Reader’s Digest.
3. Give your single readers ideas for surviving Valentine’s Day
Who is your audience? Knowing who you’re writing for is a crucial way to find article ideas. If you’re writing for Popular Mechanics, your story will have a different slant than if you’re writing for Better Homes and Gardens.
Back when I started a blog called Quips & Tips for Spiritual Seekers, I wrote an article called 6 Spiritual Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day. And, before I got married I was single for 35 Valentine’s Days, so I was itching to write “Are You Single and Lonely on Valentine’s Day?” for an online magazine I was working for at the time (that title! ouch). I haven’t written about losing someone you love right before February 14, but that could be a helpful, popular Valentine’s Day blog post or article.
4. Write about how movie stars celebrate Valentine’s Day
A story about what famous rich people do on February 14 could be very interesting to readers who keep up with the celebrities. Learning how movie stars, athletes, and Presidents spend Valentine’s Day is irresistible to readers who are enchanted by fame and fortune. You could research a famous couple’s romantic plans, or find out what parties are like at the most wealthy people’s places. Or, you could use your imagination and write something like “The Valentine’s Day Dinner That Cost $55,000” and get crazy with the details.
Here’s a better Valentine’s Day article idea: combine your lifestyle, hobbies, or interests with something related to love and romance. This way, you’re writing about something you’re passionate about and have solid knowledge of (as opposed to digging through celebrities’ lives). For example, I love writing about introverted personality traits, so I wrote Valentine’s Day for Introverts in Love With Extroverts a hundred years ago.
5. Research what famous people in your niche do on Valentine’s Day
Again, back to your audience: what is your niche, and who would your readers be interested in learning more about? If was a blogger whose audience was writers, then I might find ideas about famous writers on Valentine’s Day.
Wait a minute….I AM a blogger, and my audience IS writers! Awesome. So, what did the famous couple Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning do on February 14 (challenging to figure out!) or in your imagination (fun and interesting to create)? What about Anne Lamatt or Elizabeth Gilbert – they’re not a couple (as far as I know) – but what do they think about February 14? I’d be interested in reading a blog post that explores either of these ideas…and if I’m interested, you can bet other people will be too.
6. Answer questions on relationship, marriage, or singles forums
Ah yes, the good old tried-and-true “find article ideas on Quora” tip. It may not be exactly fresh or creative, but it works.
Reading forums about love and marriage can be a gold mine for ideas to write about on Valentine’s Day – especially if your audience is oriented towards romantic relationships. Look at the questions asked and the conversations on the forum, and then share your thoughts or relationship advice on your blog.
For instance, if a wife wants more romance in her life but can’t afford to spend a few hundred dollars on a romantic weekend retreat, write something like how to celebrate Valentine’s Day without spending money.
7. Rewrite old blog posts and revive past article ideas
This is one of the best ways to find article ideas for Valentine’s Day because you’ve already done most of the legwork! And in many cases you can get more mileage out of the same idea by tweaking it for a different audience or topic. For instance, if you’ve already written an online article about “romantic Valentine’s Day gift ideas for couples”, then you might rewrite it for a different audience (eg, GLBT couples, or blogging couples, or couples who love to read).
Here’s another brain-related tip for being a more creative writer on February 14 and beyond:
“Writing in cursive engages highly complex cognitive processes and helps achieve mastery of precise motor coordination,” says Reynolds in Fire Up Your Writing Brain: How to Use Proven Neuroscience to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Writer. “Writing in cursive also increases a sense of harmony and balance, and writing on paper provides creative options: to manipulate the medium in multidimensional, innovative, or expressive ways (such as cutting, folding, pasting, ripping, or coloring the paper). Also, when you write in longhand on paper and then edit, there’ll be a visual and tactile record of your creative process for you and others to study. Learning to write (and writing) in cursive, on paper, fosters creativity and should not be surrendered.”
Alas, you may not have past article ideas to rewrite or old blog posts to rework and republish. I get it. Read How to Find Article Ideas That Editors Will Pay to Publish.
8. Invite guest bloggers for Valentine’s Day
If you’re plum out of article ideas for February 14, you might consider asking someone to do the dirty deed for you. You could find a popular relationship website, and invite their guest bloggers to write a guest post for you. This is a great way to increase blog traffic, you’ll (hopefully) find a different article idea than you would’ve thought of on your own. Relationship writers and bloggers have tons of tricks and treats up their sleeves, and some may be willing to write for you.
Related to this idea, you might consider interviewing the author of a book about Valentine’s Day, love, romance, or being single. You could do a “Q and A” interview-style article, or delve into something specific about relationships or marriage.
Beyond Valentine’s Day: How to Be a More Creative Writer
Read Fire Up Your Writing Brain: How to Use Proven Neuroscience to Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Writer by Susan Reynolds – it’s a fantastic source of ideas for writers and bloggers. You’ll learn how to develop your brain to its fullest potential so you can spend less time searching the internet for article ideas, and more time exploring your own creativity.
Reynolds’ book is based on proven, easy-to-understand neuroscience – and I love how she shares ways to stimulate, nurture, and hone a brain into the ultimate writing tool.
Okay, fellow scribes, may your brain cells be firing on all pistons as you’re sifting through your Valentine’s Day article ideas. May you find stories that are uplifting and engaging, interesting and solid. And may you enjoy every second of the writing process on February 14 – and beyond!
In peace and passion,
Laurie
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