When you’re paid to crank out a seemingly never-ending stream of content, finding blogging ideas might get difficult after a while. I know I’ve hit the wall a couple of times in the past. But today, I’ll show you a few methods I use for both myself and clients to keep it fresh.
The fact is, there are many ways you can get inspiration on a daily basis. It all depends on how creative you are and what catches your eye.
Let’s dive into ways to keep your creative juices flowing.
How to Get Blogging Ideas When You’re Stumped
In reality, this is quite a common list. It’s quite similar to a lot of articles out there written by other experts. However, these are methods I actually employ…as opposed to someone just regurgitating what they see online to create a blog post.
And with these methods, I’ve been able to create that steady stream of content for my clients as well as myself.
1. Answer the Public
I’ve been using Answer the Public since its beginning stages years ago. It analyzes what people are currently searching for and gives you a data-driven breakdown. And the data the system collects is quite extensive.
In fact, some of my most traffic-generating posts were the result of using Answer the Public for blogging ideas. Best of all, it’s free for three searches per day. But, you’ll probably only need one depending on your project.
2. Google’s Keyword Planner
The Keyword Planner tool is part of Google Ads (formerly Adwords). It’s a free tool that lets you see prominent search terms relevant to your idea. So if you were to put in “freelance writing,” you’d see other terms like “writing gigs” and “writing gigs online.”
Usually, I’ll scroll through the terms until something catches my eye. Then, I’ll create an entire blog post around the search term.
3. Using Past Articles
Past articles are often a treasure trove of forgotten materials. It’s easy to go back and read some of the past articles to get ideas for future ones. Plus, it gives you a way to link back to the new piece.
Sometimes, you can even create a series of content based around a specific topic from past ideas. For instance, I have a “Creating Content” series on WriterSanctuary that takes readers through stages of writing.
4. Expanding on Listicles
Speaking of using old pieces, “listicles” are great for content ideas. This is when you create a list of things in a blog post, like the one you’re reading right now. Then, take any one from the list and center a whole post around its topic.
For example, let’s say I use this blog post. As a way to expand on the topic, I can take “Answer the Public” and turn it into its own article. In fact, I did the same process when I started the YouTube channel.
5. Online Courses for Blogging Ideas
Using online courses is actually a new step I added. It was introduced to me by Brian Dean of Backlinko. This is when you look at the top online courses in sites like Udemy to create blog posts.
You already know it’s a popular topic based on the course’s reviews. You don’t have to take the course yourself, but it can help you come up with blogging ideas from its curriculum if available.
6. Blog Comments
Blog comments are great for inspiration. This is when you let your audience help guide what to write next. Now, you can ask them directly and they can answer. Or, you can take any comment and build an entire post.
Sometimes, I’ll get asked questions from tutorials on my client’s website. I’ll answer as best I can and then plan out another tutorial to help that individual. It often leads to a great idea that generates traffic.
7. Video Comments
I use the comment section of my YouTube channels to drive all kinds of content. From videos to blog posts, my viewers often have some interesting and awesome ideas.
In fact, one of my more recent and more popular videos was derived from a viewer comment.
Now, you don’t need a YouTube channel to do this. You can get video comments on Facebook Live, Twitch, or any other platform you like. It’s along the same lines as blog comments, only it’s from a different medium.
8. Glancing at the News
Depending on the client, taking a look at the news can help inspire some blogging ideas. I did a piece for ColoradoPlays for gamifying fitness while taking a look at a new technology for monitoring calorie burn.
My point is the news can be a lot of help when your creative well runs dry. And although these will probably not be considered “evergreen,” it still keeps your blog active…something Google loves when it comes to site ranking.
9. LSI Graph
LSI Graph is probably among my most mentioned tools for blogging ideas. It’s similar to Answer the Public and Keyword Planner. LSI Graph provides a list of relevant search terms to your own and gives you quite a few options.
It’s meant to help you add certain terms to your content so Google knows it’s relevant to your primary keyphrase. However, it’s also an excellent way to find potential phrases you can create a post around.
Getting Blogging Ideas is Only Part of the Process
Having a great idea for a post is but a small part of creating something amazing. After all, you still need to write the content. But that process is so much easier when you come up with a good flow for yourself.
Once you get an idea in motion, you could find yourself grinding out the words relatively fast.
Take this post, for example, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write at first. But then I thought about my son helping me on the sustainability blog and thought perhaps he could use this information.
Once I set the idea in motion, the rest of the blog just fell into place.
How Do You Get Blogging Ideas?
You don’t have to sit and stare at a blank screen while trying to come up with a topic. With the list of methods above, you should be able to keep yourself active on a daily basis.
This is especially true if you’re conducting a 30-day blogging experiment. You can run out of blogging ideas quite fast if you don’t have a plan.
What are some methods that inspire your blog post? Perhaps we can add to this list above and mention you in the process. I’d love to hear from you in the comments down below.