When you start a blog, you usually have a lot of great ideas for topics right when you start. After awhile though, you start to run out. Maybe you feel like you have already said everything you have to say on your blog’s focus. Maybe the ideas you have just feel uninspired. Maybe you’re just having a crummy week and ideas just aren’t coming to you. EVERYONE who does any kind of creative work reaches a point where they have a hard time generating ideas. When it comes to blogging, there are some tried and true ways to generate topics that will inspire you to write, and will keep your readers engaged.
Here are ways to generate great blog topics.
1. Consider Your Readers’ Pain Points. Your readers look at your content because they think it’s interesting or because they think it will improve their lives in some way (or preferably both). When brainstorming blog topics, consider how you can really help your readers. What do they come to your blog for? How can you help them? It might be helpful to create a survey where you ask them what they need help with in their lives.
2. Update Old Content. Do you have an old, popular blog post that’s a little out-of-date? Think about giving it a refresh including updated data, and lessons learned over time, and release it as a new entry. For a more in-depth rundown on ways to go about that process, check out “Repurpose Great Content for Content Marketing Success” from Lonelybrand.
3. Look to the Calendar for Inspiration. The calendar can be a great source for blog topics. Tailoring blog content around a holiday is a good way to create something unique that is probably already on the top of your readers’ minds. Even obscure holidays (like National Coffee Day!) can be a good trigger for creative output.
4. Curate. If you are REALLY at the end of your rope as far as coming up with original topics, curate. Create a list of videos, articles, podcasts, and other content that you think your readers will be interested in, and share it in “listicle” format.
5. Brainstorm. Set aside 30 minutes. Take out a pen and a piece of paper. Write. Write what? Anything that comes to your head. Write straight for a half an hour, non-stop. At the end of that time, sift through the chaos and pick out anything that looks like the nugget of a good idea for a starter blog topic, or topics. Then, get to work on researching, writing, and refining that topic.
