With several of my own blogs and my freelance writing work, there are days that coming up with content is easy as can be and I sail right through my posts. But, then there are those days where my mind is completely blank and I havenât a clue what to blog about. Below are some strategies that I use to come up with new content ideas. Some of them may seem old, but they still work…
Books & Magazines
‘I’m a book nerd and magazine junkie so naturally this is part of my process. I like looking for content offline because sometimes itâs not the same old stuff being talked about and it sparks a new idea. I like shopping for bargain books at Barnes & Noble. Also, BookCloseouts.com is another good site to get cheap books, if you haven’t already heard of this site, you can thank me later. For magazines some days I sit in the bookstore and sift through and take notes while consuming copious amounts of coffee. I buy the magazine if there is more than one article that catches my eye. The habit can be costly so if I just jot down an idea, thereâs no need to buy it, although I usually do.
Websites, Blogs & Twitter
It goes without saying that you should have a reader that is filled with your favorite sites and blogs. They often spur new article ideas or continuation posts. If you find you have a long comment in response to a post, write the post on your site and link to the original post. Blogging is all about sharing, linking and giving credit.
Follow #hashtags on Twitter for new content ideas. This is particularly easy in TweetDeck. To take it a step further, I have my T-Mobile smartphone set up with a Gmail account which utilizes Google alerts so that I can stay on top of news in my industry. One of my blogs focuses on health topics and safety so this is particularly helpful. For instance, when there is a big Excedrin recall, itâs good to know about it right away and having the alerts sent to my phone makes it easy to keep up with the news.
Online keyword research tools are also helpful and will provide instant related phrases for your target keywords. Use sites such as Amazon, Google and Answers.com.
Lastly and most importantly, ask your readers what they want to read more about. If there is a community or forum that you frequent, ask there too. Get their input and before you know it, you will have a long list of posts in draft mode.
Your Blog Post Idea Generation
So what do you do to get those creative writing thoughts flowing? Does writing come naturally to you or do you have to work at it? Have you ever found yourself in a writing stump and what did you do to get out of it?
Related Article: Three Underused Blog Comment Generating Techniques
About Chrissie Cole
I usually find some “life event” that inspires a post. If I try to hard to find something to write about it doesn’t seem to work. Sometimes I have too many ideas and other times I feel empty. I try not to panic and life usually finds a topic for me to blog about. Sometimes a post on Twitter may inspire me to do some research on a topic too.
Nice article Chrissie, simple and straight forward yet effective strategy. Thank you 🙂
Right to the point. Like that.
Just looking around can help you find more ideas and help you get inspired. That was of course mentioned in the article 🙂
I agree in 100%, but would like to add that having a positive attitude can help us to find the inspiration to write content. We must be in a good mood all the time and focus on our targets.
@Lisa, I often write about something that has happened also. It definitely helps to relate to what you are writing about 🙂
@Brian, Thanks!
@Samuel, Thanks! I notice that almost everything I read I end up wondering how I can utilize it. It becomes a habit!
Chrissie, that means we have to take time away from being on our computers too 🙂 Not always easy.
your tip about asking your readers what they want is the best advice ive heard for ages, i was thinking the other day that sometimes we forget that we are emotional humans dealing with other humans who too have emotions, listening to your readers/clients wants and need is a huge steo to sucess, without them we wouldn`t have a business
Thanks for your comment, Henry! Sometimes it really is the most common things that we tend to forget in our day to day routine, such as simply asking our readers/clients what they think 🙂
Hey, i salute you that you’re a book nerdie. What is your last book that you read and you can recommend.
Radu, One of the last few books I read was “Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind.” By Joe Dispenza, after my friend Lynn Terry of Clicknewz.com recommended it. Enjoy!
Nature teaches us a lot.. Sometimes it may happen when we look around.. the things inspired us and we start thinking. Yep it’s true that social media gives us many new ideas. Nice article!
Thanks, Ayesha! Social media is full of great new ideas and also some craziness too! I read some articles/news stories and just think, “Really?” I like the balance 🙂
Forums too can do a great job when you are looking for interesting content ideas for your blog. In any case, the offline sources are among the best as they offer something new and unique.
Thanks.
You know I absolutely agree with you that sometimes we can get ideas or can be inspired for thoughts creation after reading books, magazines or newspapers. Because all the material that is presented on the Internet is almost the same everywhere(the same material is posted and reposted, the same thoughts are written in other words,the same ideas are presented as totally new ones) etc.
I agree Faissal, forums aren’t dead yet, there are still some great ones. They can also be a great place to network with other bloggers for various collaborations.
I agree, forums are definitely not dead. In fact, one of my favorite forums is http://www.clicknewz.com/members/forum.php. Lynn Terry is simply amazing in business and also a good friend 🙂
I sometimes listen to talk back radios or read the newspaper and that always gives me something to write about.
Hi Sire, finally, someone figured out how to trigger the do-follow link. lol No one seems to take advantage of that anymore.
I listen to a lot of public radio and that keeps me up to date on tech-related topics. I have an app on my phone that gives me access to thousands of newspapers all around the World, I’ll have to give it a try.
Sire, I read online news more than anything aside from books and magazines. But sadly, Id on’t listen to the radio as much as I would like. But maybe I should start 🙂
Thanks Chrissie for this informative and thoughtful post. I agree with the “ask your readers what they want to read more about” idea, after all that is the main reason that blog readers visit blogs is to read what they are interested in. Once again thank you for this great post and look forward to reading more of your work…
Hi Larry, that was a great tip and it’s exactly what we have done with our latest post on this blog – we asked readers for their questions.
Thanks, Larry! I appreciate the kind words 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
I have literally thousands of magazine articles, recipes, etc saved to blog about “some day” if I run out of ideas, but for some reason ideas are still popping in my head just by seeing things in life, on TV, or something my kids say. I have like a dozen websites, and ideas are just constantly flowing. I’m very thankful for that! Magazines are definitely my go-to if I’m running low.
Hi Sadie, We just had a HangOut on this very subject yesterday and it sounds like you might be a lot like Mitch, ideas flowing as needed. I’m just the opposite, I struggle with content ideas for the most part. You can see the video at: http://youtu.be/HEyRPj-rHjs
Basically, I read many magazines, blogs and books related to my topic of expertise. In this manner, I can keep up the pace with the changes and can provide new content almost every single day. Both search engines and my readers are pretty happy with my approach.
Hey Chrissie,
I like the offline content idea. That’s usually where I turn if I get stuck coming up with new ideas or need further information on a topic I want to write about. With everything being so high tech these days, people tend to forget that a quick trip to the bookstore can leave you with a ton of new ideas and can get you away from the same stuff that might be written about over and over again online.
D. Maak, I spend a lot of time at the bookstore as I mentioned. And if you haven’t already checked out BookCloseouts.com, you should. I get many of my books there and the prices are really good. They also have frequent specials 🙂
I keep a notebook next to me bed. My best ideas come in my sleep. Once, I wrote a blog post in my dream, then woke up and freaked out because it wasn’t on my site. I thought I actually wrote it, until I remembered it was just a dream.
Nicole, that has happened to me too! I’ve kicked myself a few times for not immediately writing my thoughts down upon waking!
I’ve just asked a question form Sheryl in latest post and answer is here. Websites, blogs and magazines are great resources. One will definitely get great ideas from these resources. Thanks for sharing.
Sometimes writing something new just comes out as a result of day dreaming when I am just sitting idol and have nothing to do. Some topics or thoughts just pop up as I look around through certain objects. I pen down these thoughts and later the brainstorming session begins to write something innovative out of that.
Thoughtful post.Always use to read magazines and books so that i can share more new content to my readers.
I draw a lot of my inspiration from talk radio, and internet podcasting. Whenever I listen to a free flowing conversation within some set context, be it movie or politics or current news, it helps me focus in on a subject and start thinking through things more directly. Hearing other people talk through things really gets the ball rolling in my mind to go over things.
That’s a great point and I’m the same way Paul. I listen to a lot of news commentary and public radio and I’ve come up with a lot if ideas generated from the conversation I’m listening to.
I have been stuck trying to come up with new content, I will definitely have to give some of your suggestions a try. Thanks for sharing!
Yes , I do agree. When writing ahead of schedule it often times help with giving enough time to think about and construct valuable content. And also going back into the archives of your own blog history is great for providing new ideas and also offers a deep linking structure when linking to old posts in your new ones.
Yes , I do agree. When writing ahead of schedule it often times help with giving enough time to think about and construct valuable content. And also going back into the archive of your own blog history is great for providing new ideas and also offers a deep linking structure when linking to old posts in your new ones.
nice article Chrissie, i like it to tips for new topics for posts.
well i have started up a new blog and i guess building backlinks is necessary for serps and i do agree with you r mentioned points about new blog content and u know iam also a book nerd and visit all blogs for their ebooks.
What I did, I roam around the web and look for some exciting stuff. I usually collects around 5 then select the best out of it then come up with the content from the selected topic.
Ideas to write a blog may generate at any time of the day or night when the mind is at work and the brainstorming is in progress inside the head. We should be ready to list those ideas down somewhere that we can find handy once working on the posts.
I like how you write your articles, they are always concise, straight to the point yet informative and fun to read. Good job. What I usually do when I’m stuck in a no writing slump, I take a nap and then take a walk, these keep me going and without me realizing it, I am inspired.
Whoa! Other blogs of same niche are the best places to find inspiration for our next blog post. Its just the perspective. We can get blog post ideas from everywhere.
Spending time on Twitter really helps me come up with new ideas for blog posts, especially if I really want to know what’s trending on the topic related to my niche.
I also keep a quick list of topics that I can refer to in case blogger’s block strikes. 🙂
what an energetic writing! you just showed the straight cut way to get new topics to rich a blog. I mostly like your nerdie and junkie part of writing process. I think, questioning to the reader at the bottom part of an article would help a blogger to improve his/her blog on the basis of what people really want from that blog site. 🙂
Thank you to everyone for all the nice comments and great feedback! I learn something new everyday and I am glad this post has been found useful by so many! Thanks!
Thinking of new ideas for your blog content might be a big problem if your not familiar with the categories and business you’re into. Thus, when setting up a blog, you must keep in mind that tackle and share things that you’re expert with and everything will follow.
Nice article Chrissie Cole, the article is magnifying , awesome tips , this will definitely be an interesting article to all your readers and counts me as well 🙂 keep up the good work
Very informative blog! Thanks for sharing this information. I would agree that there are indeed a lot of people whose purpose is to deceive many just for their personal gain. I hope this blog could reach as many readers to share this worldwide.
Most of the times, it is just a randomn thought that flies through our minds and they are worth developing further. i like to work on such thoughts, they are different, innotive, randomn and finally the output is way too much creative and I like it.
I agree with Lisa’s advice on life events. An “event” doesn’t have to be anything big, though, and I think people fall into even deeper writers’ block when they try to pick their own brains for “big” experiences they could blog about. If you’re deeply involved in your subject matter / niche, pretty much anything can work – books you’ve recently read, movies you’ve watched, conversations you’ve had. You’ll amaze yourself with how much good content you can actually write when you start with something simple like that.
Great post. When I’m seeking inspiration I head over to the magazine racks at Chapters. It takes time and doesn’t always pay off, but usually I come away with several ideas to work with. Nice to know I’m not the only one who turns to printed materials for online inspiration.
Hi ! i have started up a new blog and i Think building backlinks is necessary. and I do agree with you are mentioned points about new blog content.Website blog and Magazine Are the great source for new content.Well thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for sharing the things that works for you on how to come up with topic ideas whenever you are experiencing writer’s block. In addition to your list, I believe that talking or communicating with people whom you share the same interests with can also help you generate new and fresh ideas about your niche.
There are a lot of resources and places where you can find inspiration for your new post. You just need to observe on things around you and relate it to your niche. Or you can simply search for the current developments in your field and write a commentary about it.
There are a lot of resources (online and offline) that can help us generate new ideas for our blog post. You only need to explore them, feel them and understand. Then, put it to writing and share the experience to your readers.
Nice article!
Sometimes im also running out of ideas on what to write on my website. I usually go to yahoo news and get topic ideas from there.
Thanks for sharing!
Most of the times, it is just a randomn thought that flies through our minds and they are worth developing further. i like to work on such thoughts, they are different, innotive, randomn and finally the output is way too much creative and I like it.
Hello. The idea of reading and searching for new books and magazines seems interesting. I often happen to be in a stump, out of ideas for new content. What works the best for me is watching some lecture (of some well-regarded person) on youtube. This is different than reading and I think this helps me become more creative. I think that I will add buying new books to my brainstorming ideas too.
One of the way’s of creating new blog content is inspired by reading Books. You can also actually discover two Book Review Blogs I have. (Btw on my Writing Blog you can acually discover a special post titled: ‘How To Write a Book Reviews for your Blog.’ that you are welcome to comment on.)
You can also discover that many of my new blogposts frequently are just elaborating on some of my previous posts, Sometimes (like a in recent post about Success Journal Notes) you can also actually benefit from a somewhat more Case Study type of blogposts based on some of my own personal experiences.