The Harry Potter series of books and movies is one of the most epic stories of the last few decades. It’s a tale of good and evil, friendship and family, love and loss. It’ll make you laugh and cry, and it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.
But the most magical thing about the Harry Potter series is there are a lot of blogging lessons to be learned from the characters. Well, maybe that’s not the most magical thing – but nevertheless, here are five blogging lessons you can learn from the Harry Potter series.
Suffice it to say, this post has spoilers galore! You’ve been warned!
Be Resourceful, like Harry Potter
In his fight against Voldemort, Harry was brave and he was lucky, but most of all, he was resourceful. Remember when he destroyed Tom Riddle’s diary with the basilisk fang? When he used Felix Felicis to get Professor Slughorn’s memory? Or when he used Polyjuice Potion and Decoy Detonators to sneak into Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic? Or the innumerable times he used his invisibility cloak? Harry used the tools he had at his disposal to help himself succeed.
The lesson?
Be an enterprising and inventive blogger. There are countless valuable tools out there that you can use to help you succeed. For example:
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Content Ideation Tools (Buzzsumo, Google Trends, TheNeeds, etc.)
Try out as many tools as you can, and add those that you like best to your blogging arsenal.
Overcome Your Insecurities, like Ron Weasley
Being best friends with the famous Harry Potter and the brilliant Hermione Granger would make almost anybody feel like a second (or third) fiddle. And poor Ron also had a whole slew of remarkable brothers and Ginny to contend with at home! No wonder he often felt invisible.
Ron often let his insecurity get the best of him, like when he was jealous of Harry’s participation in the Triwizard Tournament, when he got tongue-tied around girls, or when his nerves affected his Quidditch playing, but he was eventually able to overcome his inferiority complex to help Gryffindor win the Quidditch cup and to play a huge, important role in the downfall of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The lesson?
Bloggers are no stranger to insecurity. It’s hard not to feel jealous of hugely successful, top-tier bloggers like Oh Joy, The Bloggess, or Smitten Kitchen. They’ve got hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of followers, they’re widely respected and adored, and they’ve turned their blogs into full-time careers.
But don’t let that stop you from blogging. Instead of giving up because you’ll never be as popular as those bloggers, use their accomplishments as inspiration to work even harder. Even if you’re never more than moderately successful, you’ll still have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your best.
Have a Thirst for Knowledge, like Hermione Granger
When Hermione wasn’t busy helping save the wizarding world from evil, she almost always had her face buried in a book, whether in the library, or in the Gryffindor common room. She loved to read and that’s what made her so successful. She was always the first to master spells in class, and got the best grades of all of her classmates.
More importantly, her intelligence and research skills often helped Harry in dangerous situations. She was the one who realized that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk and that it was using the pipes to get around the school. She figured out that the Sword of Gryffindor would destroy a horcrux. And her repeated reading of “The Tales of Beetle the Bard” was what led to Harry’s knowledge of the Deathly Hallows.
The lesson?
Use Hermione as inspiration when blogging. Read other blogs to get content ideas. When writing posts, be sure that, when necessary, they’re well-researched and accurate. And never stop learning about blogging. In addition to AmpliFound, here are some wonderful resources that can help build your blogging skills:
Be a Non-Conformist, like Luna Lovegood
There’s no question that Luna marched to the beat of her own drummer. She was a completely original free spirit and couldn’t have cared less what others thought of her, even when they called her “Loony Lovegood.” She did what she wanted, wore what she wanted, and believed what she wanted. She owned her individuality, and did so proudly.
The lesson?
It’s fine to look to other bloggers for inspiration, but don’t straight-up copy what other bloggers are doing. Figure out what makes your blog unique, and embrace it. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and come up with a far-out concept if you don’t want to – just be sure that your own distinct personality comes through in your writing.
Evolve and Grow, like Neville Longbottom
Neville was even more insecure than Ron throughout most of his time at Hogwarts. He was timid and forgetful, and frequently bullied by Draco and Professor Snape. But when Voldemort and his Death Eaters returned to power, he knew he had to stand up to them.
Neville didn’t have Harry’s natural talent or Hermione’s smarts, but that just inspired him to work even harder during DA meetings to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. By his final year at Hogwarts, Neville had become much more brave and confident. He lead many students in a revolt against Snape and the Carrows, and he showed tremendous courage during the Battle of Hogwarts – standing up to Voldemort, and, most importantly, beheading Nagini. By the end of the series, Neville was a completely different person.
The lesson?
Like everything based on the web, blogging is ever-changing. So allow yourself and your blog to change with the times as well. Embrace new social media platforms. Keep up with the latest technology (is your blog mobile-friendly yet?). Redesign your template when it feels stale.
Just as importantly, allow your content to evolve. Just because you’ve done things one way for a long time doesn’t mean that you have to continue doing so. A shift in content or even a rebrand can help you feel revitalized when you’ve been in a creative rut.
What blogging lessons have you learned, from pop culture or from any other source of inspiration? Share with us in the comments!
Header image courtesy of http://www.keepmum.net/
