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I’ve been a movie fan for a long time. Bob says I spoil the experience by over-analyzing. But, as a writer, I like to figure out what makes a story work.
And when a film reaches into the heart of its audience, you can be sure that Hollywood is paying attention. The industry has an uncanny ability to take a popular film and expand on it, giving the audience more of the story they loved the first time around.
They are going to make a sequel.
Sometimes we write a single blog post and it becomes an instant hit. Lots of page views, lots of social media sharing, lots of responses and questions in the comments.
We didn’t plan to write more on that topic, but we see that our readers would like more. And we want to keep them happy.
Same thing happens in Hollywood. Think of the three movies in the Aliens franchise. And the Godfather series. Taking advantage of the success of the first ones, they continued the themes, expanded the stories and had more hits on their hands.
5 Hollywood Sequel Tricks for Bloggers
You can use the tricks of movie executives and screenwriters to leverage one very successful post into a powerful series. Here’s how:
1. Build on the popular.
Hollywood calls it “more of the same, but different.” Some people think The Empire Strikes Back was even better than its popular predecessor, Star Wars. The execs in tinsel town are very good at jumping into work on a sequel almost before the first weekend’s box office receipts are counted.
Blogging lesson: You don’t count tickets sold, but if you watch your page views, comments and analytics, you, too can see what is popular and create content on the original topic but with a new spin.
2. Expand and deepen the original idea.
Pixar did this well with the three amazing Toy Story movies. In the last one, Toy Story III, they beautifully deepened the themes of loss and aging from the second film. So you really felt the progression and the growth of Andy as he gives up his toys for good.
Blogging lesson: Take a popular post and go deeper with it. You might take a “7 Tips for…” post and make separate posts out of each of the seven tips. And there you go, an 8-part series. Or, take a question from your comments and turn it into a sequel post.
3. Connect to the original storyline but surprise us.
Even at what seems to be the last movie in a series, or with just a single movie, Hollywood writers keep the options open. The Men in Black movie franchise is an example.
Remember at the opening of the second movie, when Agent K, Tommy Lee Jones’s character, showed up working at the post office? They didn’t kill him in the first movie (just zapped him with the neuralizer and made him lose his memory), in case they wanted to bring him back.
Blogging lesson: Make references to your original post, but show us entirely new things in your sequel posts. For your new readers, it helps to recap and then link to your first post. If your mind is thinking series, leave an intriguing question at the bottom of your post to elicit reader curiosity and hint at what’s to come.
4. Don’t give it all away.
The Harry Potter films are a perfect example of this. Master screenwriters who have their series hats on always leave something unresolved at the end of each movie. At the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore’s tomb to steal the Elder Wand. Of course, the cliffhanger question is, what power will he possess?
Blogging lesson: The endings to your series posts may not be ‘cliffhangers’ in the true sense of the word, but they should leave your readers wanting, or wondering, or both. Hint at something your readers wants or needs to know, so she’ll come back to your next post for the answer.
5. Reward audience loyalty.
Hollywood movies sometimes have zingers and inside messages that only the people who saw the previous movie will get. It gives them the satisfaction that they are in the “inner circle,” the people in the know. They get the joke and others don’t.
The second Indiana Jones movie did this by using catch phrases from the first that made devoted fans grin, but still made some kind of sense to new moviegoers.
Blogging lesson: While you don’t want to make certain readers part of a community that excludes others, you can reward your blog’s regular readers in other ways. Consider highlighting a comment one of them made in the previous post and using it to start your new post, complete with their name and a link to their blog or website.
News flash: This is a red-letter day for Bobwp and me. We are excited to announce the launch of our new site, Energize Your Blog. We’ll be providing tips, resources and updates to help you solve your peskiest blogging challenges. Our first 6-week online course starts in September!
What about you?
Do you have a popular post that is ripe for a sequel?
Have you written any blog post series on the same topic?
Have you ever found rich new material hiding in a past post?
Any tips?
This post originally appeared on For Bloggers By Bloggers.
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True story (do you cringe when I start out like that?); back in the day as in elementary school days my parents bought me this shirt. It was long sleeves and kind of cool for the day. I got more oohs and aahs on that shirt than you can imagine; I was the man. In fact, so much so I thought I would wear it a second day……bad idea. My parents tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn’t hear it. Needless to say, I should have been looking for a sequel and not a rerun. Matrix I – classic; the other two, too much. However, there have certainly been some sequels that were better than the original. I thought Terminator II was pretty good…….:). My thoughts are so random at times I probably need to do a better job of building a story. I do have some same topic posts (yes, other than social) that could be fleshed out I suppose. It will be interesting to check out your launch. I’ll be looking for it….
@bdorman264 Yes.: “And this is a true story. I swear to God.” As opposed to a made-up story? Haha.
On the shirt thing, when we are kids, we tend to repeat what works. Because it worked so well the first time, right? And then we learn, as adults, that it’s better to exit when we still have the attention of our audience.
When I was teaching first grade, Bob dressed up once for the classroom Halloween party we had. It was great at first. He came as a sort of hunchbacked igor, evil scientist guy. We turned the lights out and he had a steaming cauldron (dry ice) and was throwing gooey wiggly things in (plastic worms, spiders, etc.) as he recited “Double, double, toil and trouble” (you know, the witch’s spell from Macbeth?) It all was fine and they were thoroughly entertained. But he made the mistake of staying after I turned the lights on. Disaster. “YOU’RE not real!” as one kid pulled at his beard (which was the only part that WAS real). And one little angelic-looking blonde-haired girl in a princess costume said, “You’re a turd!” So much for impressing your audinece. Kind of like the shirt you wore on the second day.
You know, some posts lend themselves more easily to stories and sequels than others. Every time I visit your blog, you have a unique experience for me. It’s what I love about blogging. The diversity and the freedom to set each one up in a way that reflects our unique selves.
bdorman264 Yes.: “And this is a true story. I swear to God.” As opposed to a made-up story? Haha.On the shirt thing, when we are kids, we tend to repeat what works. Because it worked so well the first time, right? And then we learn, as adults, that it’s better to exit when we still have the attention of our audience.When I was teaching first grade, Bob dressed up once for the classroom Halloween party we had. It was great at first. He came as a sort of hunchbacked igor, evil scientist guy. We turned the lights out and he had a steaming cauldron (dry ice) and was throwing gooey wiggly things in (plastic worms, spiders, etc.) as he recited “Double, double, toil and trouble” (you know, the witch’s spell from Macbeth?) It all was fine and they were thoroughly entertained. But he made the mistake of staying after I turned the lights on. Disaster. “YOU’RE not real!” as one kid pulled at his beard (which was the only part that WAS real). And one little angelic-looking blonde-haired girl in a princess costume said, “You’re a turd!” So much for impressing your audinece. Kind of like the shirt you wore on the second day.You know, some posts lend themselves more easily to stories and sequels than others. Every time I visit your blog, you have a unique experience for me. It’s what I love about blogging. The diversity and the freedom to set each one up in a way that reflects our unique selves.
Hey bdorman264 Having trouble with livefyre and my response to you isn’t showing up. Am trying to figure it out.
@KDillabough Thanks for the RT on my Hollywood Sequels post, my friend. Enjoying the Olympics?
@JudyLeeDunn Very much so, and I loved your post:) Rhythmic Gymnastics starts at Olympics tomorrow. Hope it’s televised:)
@b_forteabate Thanks for the RT on my Hollywood Sequels post. Much appreciated.
@Karen_Bain Thanks for the RT on my Hollywood Sequels post, Karen. Very kind of you.
@patriciasinglet Thanks for the RT, my friend. And all this time I thought I was following you! Just fixed my error. : )
@JudyLeeDunn U R very welcome. I was surprised. I thought you had been following me too.
With the speed of change, it should be very easy to do follow-up posts, with links back to the originals. Also, many posts are too long to begin with, so it wouldn’t hurt to break them up.
Kim Phillips You bring up an important point with the length issue. I tend to write long (maybe why that’s why I’m writing a book) so my probably most of my posts could be broken into parts, or sequels.
This is a test for Judy:) I did try to comment previously…let’s see if this works. Cheers! Kaarina
KDillabough Thanks, Kaarina. Some inconsistency with livefyre the last couple of day.
KDillabough looks like it’s working now
Yes, she does over-analyze movies when we are watching them, but again, that’s just Judy. But this is a great idea that we both have used in our posts. With mine, which are often WordPress related and more focused on tutorial based posts, with all the new releases, it can be an ongoing sequel : )
If anyone is reading this post and is trying to comment, but not able to, would you use the “contact me” in the navigation bar and let me know what kinds of problems you are experiencing? your input would be very helpful. Thank you!
I’m at your service! Now trying at 7:52 p.m. EST to comment here….5…4…3…2…1….
The first thing I want to say, Judy, is that I really dig the structure of this post where you first give an example and then give the blogging takeaway. It’s a great strategy for making sure readers understand the transfer and application.I also liked your “sidebar” to your and Bob’s new site (http://EnergizeYourBlog.com). The transition didn’t interrupt the flow, and you expertly and smoothly transferred back to the article, inviting us to comment. Thanks for the great tips and reminders for leveraging the relevancy of a single popular blog post. One stand-out tip for me is the suggestion to “Consider highlighting a comment one of them made in the previous post and using it to start your new post, complete with their name and a link to their blog or website.” Now, THAT’S engaging and honoring your audience!
tshombe I can always count on you to be a good thinker. Thanks for taking the time to resubmit your comment, being that the systems has been broken the last couple of days. glad you took something useful away and thank you for stopping by, my friend.
Judy, I love this post because it reminds me of my sister-in-law who is a screenwriter in Hollywood, and her son, who is a movie director. It is great to see parallels between Hollywood style and blogging – really got me thinking. I’m going to think of a sequel to a couple of my past posts. Thanks for the inspiration, as always.
scoremoresales Hey Lori. Did you tell me that little fact before? I didn’t remember that! So you probably have some war stories of your own, at least from your family’s perspective. My daughter had bit parts on shows like Seinfeld and then had an 18-month gig on The Tonight Show playing Monica Lewinsky during the Clinton scandal. I’m writing my memoir right now, so some of her stories are making their way into the book. : )Glad the sequels analogy made sense. I really must pop over to your blog again. I’m sure you are doing wonderful things there.
It’s the same in every business.
Well, well Ms Judy, it seems I can finally get my comment ‘to stick’ after all the Livefyre issues
But, I can’t remember what I waated to say now, dang it. Nothing profound I’m sure – probably something about being a blathering mess at the end of Toy Story#3 – such a sap. But an inspiring post as always! I’m off to serialise my thoughts….
Di Mace | Word Swords You are definitely a loyal reader. aSorry you had so many difficulties. The problem appears to be fixed now (fingers crossed). And, yeah, the Toy Story movies were beautifully done. It is an amazing thing when an animated movie can make you cry. I like Finding Nemo, too. Keep wondering if they will be making a sequel to that one.
Good solid tips. Thank you. Sorry, I have nothing more to add here.
rdopping Nothing to add? Haha. This has to be a first for you, my friend. Thanks for popping in. : )
JudyDunn Ha. Anything I add will certainly not have the lustre that your insights bring.
Judy,Woke up this morning with this very questionoin my mind about writing a series of posts. I especially like the idea of taking a previous post where you have written a number of tips on a topic and writing an article about each tip. Really enjoyed this, but then again, I always enjoy reading your posts. You really engage your audience. Thanks for another great article.
Judy,I woke up this morning with this very topic on my mind. So glad I stumbled upon this post. I especially liked the idea of taking a post with several tips on a topic and writing a post on each tip. Thanks for another great article.
MaryHabres Glad these points got you thinking about new strategies. I like the sequel idea because we can stretch our content and get more mileage out of it. Thanks for reading and taking time to comment.
Sorry I have no tips to share at that time but I read this for two times and really enjoyed
http://www.ama.edu.au/
Such WONDERFUL ideas. Loved #2.
Most of my posts (I’m a new blog as of Jan 2013) are part of a series. I’ve been surprised how hard it is to pick a good series title. What sounds good in #1 & #2 morphs by the time you get to #4 or #5.
Another challenge is the title. The length limitation on the title eliminated including the Series within the title.
> Do you have a popular post that is ripe for a sequel? Sadly no. BUT I should!
> Have you written any blog post series on the same topic? Yes — writing one now about cleaning your office or office space.
> Have you ever found rich new material hiding in a past post? No but then I haven’t
Any tips? Make sure you pick a good theme & good plugins or you’ll spend more time deal with THEM than you will on topic.
Again — LOVED this post. Great ideas!
IdoGenealogy recently posted..Step 3: Determine Best Use of New Space
> > Have you ever found rich new material hiding in a past post? No but then I haven’t
Meant to write — No, but then I haven’t been blogging long.
IdoGenealogy recently posted..Step 3: Determine Best Use of New Space
Thanks. It’s always nice to find a new reader. Glad you took something useful away from this post.
Now that I am working on my first book, I am alternating the focus of my posts between better blogging and writing. Hope you come along for the ride. : )
Judy Lee Dunn recently posted..A Father’s Day Tribute: Daddy’s Last Ferry Ride