Finding blog post ideas for our websites is important. Almost all successful writers follow a weekly plan and publish great content on a consistent schedule.
Without consistency, we risk losing readers, not ranking in search engines, and losing out on a bunch of potential traffic. However, if we’re consistent, then we will see a surge in traffic, readers who come back for more, email leads, and for some of us, more money.
There’s no excuse not to churn out content regularly.
Easy enough, right?
Well, not exactly, at least not for a lot of us. Not often do we hit what’s called “writer’s block.” Writer’s block is when we sit around staring at a piece of paper (or display) without an idea of what to write about. This can waste time and cause discouragement, especially if we need to get something done.
Luckily, there are ways to combat the block and always have a list of fresh ideas to tap into.
I’m going to list my favorite strategies below. These are the same strategies I use, and I almost always have something in my arsenal.
Let’s go!
Brainstorm
I’m including this as my first tip as it’s commonly what helps me gather new ideas in a short period of time. Brainstorming will allow you to tap into your creative nature and get into what I call the “writer’s zone.”
What you will do is set a timer for 15-30 minutes and write down everything that comes to your mind. These can be things related to your blog, various topics, or just general thoughts that come to mind. You will find that this awakens your brain and allows you to gather new subject lines for your next post.
Once your timer is up, you should have a bunch of topics in your arsenal. Next, you simply need to choose one and write about it for another 15-30 minutes. I recommend you challenge yourself to type as many words as possible. You can use this as extra motivation and to prevent from getting distracted.
I think you will be surprised at how much this method will help improve your content generation speed. You can repeat and mix up your brainstorming tactics whenever your ideas run dry. I guarantee that this will work, so make sure you give it a try!
Stay Updated
You’re doing yourself a disfavor if you’re not immersing yourself into the latest news related to your topic or niche. All bloggers should at least make an attempt to be an authority, especially if they’re trying to make money.
This will help keep your blog up to date with the issues your readers care about. Not only that, following the latest trends will automatically give you a bunch of additional ideas.
What I do is follow Google Trends with all topics related to my blog. You can subscribe to a daily newsletter that will send you all of the top news directly to your email. I have gotten a bunch of ideas from these letters, and it’s likely that you will too.
There are a bunch of other ways for staying updated. You can follow the latest social media trends, subscribe to a magazine or your local newspaper, engage in forums, and read other blogs.
Take a Look at Your Old Posts
Our old posts can be a great inspiration for future posts. There are a bunch of questions we leave unanswered in our older content that can be elaborated upon.
Perform Keyword Research
Keyword research is another tactic that can help you find great ideas for your blog posts. What you will want to do is head over to any preferred keyword tool of choice and type in short word phrases related to your blog.
This will give you a bunch of related keywords that you can focus your topics around. You can also use the “Alphabet soup technique” right in Google for further suggestions!
To use this technique, all you must do is type a phrase and enter each letter of the alphabet behind or ahead of your words.
Keep a Track of Others
Yes, I’m advocating that you “spy” on your competition. No, I’m not advocating that you plagiarize content (that’s illegal). However, I am recommending that you follow their blogs and go through their content regularly.
You will find that by reading them, a bunch of additional ideas pop into your head. Even if you don’t want to follow their topic entirely, you can search for unanswered questions.
Another thing you can do is find a successful post from a competitor and revise (in your own words, of course) and improve the topic they wrote about. This can potentially help you tap into the same thing that helps make them successful.
Ask for Ideas
I’m assuming you already have an audience. This can be a great way for gathering post suggestions!
All you have to do is ask your audience if they have any questions or topics they would like you to write about. One of the best ways to do this is to ask in your social media pages, emails, and comments.
Hang out in Communities
This one should be pretty obvious. Find a forum, Facebook group, Google Plus group, or another community related to your blog’s topic. These communities are always asking questions, and you can use these same questions in your blog posts!
Another thing to do is to go to answer sites, like Yahoo Answers, and search for questions related to your topic. You will find a bunch of unanswered questions that you can use as topics for future posts.
Use a Title Generator
Title generators are usually more generic, but they can still provide a little help. I recommend using the Portent Content Idea Generator. It’s very easy to use and only requires a basic subject.
There are many more, and I suggest searching around a bit if you’re still feeling stuck.
Keep Ideas on Hand
I’m going to say that this is a must-do for anyone who wants to blog seriously. This is the same tip I use to ensure that I always have a list of 10+ topics before I even begin to write. And the best thing? My list never runs dry!
All you need to do is take notes whenever a topic comes to mind. You may be out shopping one day and suddenly come up with a great idea.
Distractions exist everywhere, so it won’t take much for you to forget this idea, never to remember it again!
Taking notes is easy. Just about all of us have smartphones and the ability to carry around a notepad. Make use of the technology we have, and jot down your thoughts. This will ensure that you always have a list of subjects that help prevent writer’s block.
