Blogging has become an essential part of modern-day communication, and it is a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, and knowledge with the world.
However, one of the most challenging aspects of blogging is generating a continuous stream of ideas that resonate with your audience can be a daunting task.
How can you maintain a steady flow of creativity and inspiration to populate your content calendar with engaging topics that drive traffic, leads, and conversions?
Fortunately, feeling stuck is a common experience, and there are effective methods for generating content ideas beyond simply gazing at a blank screen and hoping for inspiration to strike.
Before we provide you with specific techniques to generate blog topics, it's important to remember two fundamental principles:
Write about your niche, not just your product. This is especially important when you're just starting out and no one knows about you yet. Most people search for information or solutions to their problems, not specific product names or categories. Creating content that is relevant to your audience's lives is much more valuable than content that only focuses on your product's specifications. For example, which of these would you rather click on: “Content Services $150” or “How to Promote Your Content”?
Provide value. Your content should deliver educational or entertainment value to your audience. Make sure your target audience will be interested, engaged, or learn something new from your content. Customer Development is a useful tool for understanding whether your product or service solves the problems of your potential audience. By engaging in customer development, you can also discover topics that are of value to your audience.
With these principles in mind, let's explore different ways to generate ideas for your content.
Search Popular Blog Sites for Inspiration
Do you ever find yourself in need of inspiration? The good news is that you don't have to look far. There are numerous online resources available to assist you in generating ideas. Here are two to consider:
1. Neil Patel's Blog You're already in the right place, so why not begin your search here? Neil Patel's blog is one of the largest digital marketing sites online, with a wealth of fresh ideas.
It covers a wide range of topics related to online marketing and content, in various formats. Neil Patel's blog covers a vast array of topics, ranging from optimizing e-commerce stores to social media strategies.
This means that there is something for everyone, regardless of whether you are a digital marketer or not.
One area of focus can lead to numerous content topics and styles, as demonstrated by the diversity of content on the blog.
2. Marie Forleo’s Blog Another excellent resource to consider is Marie Forleo's blog. Forleo is a renowned online entrepreneur with a significant following, offering online training programs, a popular blog, and global reach.
She is also a New York Times best-selling author. In her own words, Forleo's mission is to help people dream big and take meaningful action to achieve results.
Her blog covers a wide range of categories, including productivity and personal growth, and features interviews with notable figures such as Tim Ferris.
By exploring Forleo's blog, you can gain valuable insights from a successful entrepreneur at the top of her game and perhaps find inspiration for your own content.
See What’s Trending
If you want to know what's currently trending, a quick online search will provide you with plenty of resources. Here are a few worth considering:
Google Trends Google Trends is a useful tool for identifying what's generating buzz. Simply visit trends.google.com, and type in a topic of interest or browse through currently trending searches.
AllTop is a platform that aggregates new posts and helps you stay up-to-date on specific topics or categories. Whether you're interested in fashion, entertainment, sports, or tech, you can easily browse through a list of relevant articles by clicking on the corresponding heading.
Each category includes a drop-down menu that allows you to explore sub-niches. For instance, if you select tech, you can further narrow down your search to cryptocurrency, Apple, e-commerce, and more.
It's pretty cool! AllTop features high-quality resources such as TechCrunch, Mashable, and Reuters. If you search for “content marketing,” for example, you'll get a comprehensive list of relevant articles to explore.
If you want to know what people are talking about, Twitter is a great resource. You can easily see what's trending by checking out the hashtags. Click on any trending topics to get a sense of people's perspectives.
For more detailed information over time, you can use Trends 24. Just use the arrow keys to scroll along and see what's been trending over the past 24 hours.
Alternatively, if you want to view trends by state, go to the bottom of the page and click on your area of interest.
Similar to Twitter, Instagram offers a ‘trending' feature that allows you to discover what's capturing people's attention.
The quickest method is to visit Instagram's What's Trending page, but there are other options available as well.
By visiting the main page and selecting ‘Explore,' you'll receive a list of images and phrases that are currently popular. When I checked, ‘backyard camping,' ‘healthy recipes,' and ‘sourdough starter' were among the top trends.
If you want more detailed information, you could download Instagram's trends report, which examines what matters to Generation Z, such as social justice, AI fashion and beauty, and global music trends.
Facebook's Trending Topics section is designed to help people discover valuable and relevant content, according to the social media giant.
Trending Topics employs an algorithm to identify topics that are rapidly gaining popularity. It also employs an RSS website crawl to uncover breaking news and events. These RSS feeds connect with a vast array of global media outlets, such as CNN, the New York Times, and Reuters.
To find out what's generating the most buzz, simply click on ‘Top Trends' located in the upper right-hand corner of your news feed.
TikTok
Curious about what’s the talk of the town on TikTok? Just visit the TikTok search, and you can find the top trending videos that are grabbing people’s attention.
Not only that, but you can also explore other ways to get inspiration, such as searching by sounds, hashtags, and suggested accounts, and discovering more topics, all conveniently located on the right side of the page.
Moving on from trends, let's delve into some more blog ideas, starting with Industry News.
Ask Your Audience
If you're struggling to come up with blog ideas, why not turn to your audience for inspiration? No matter what industry you're in, your customers likely have questions, seek information, and look for reviews.
Creating blog posts that address these common concerns can showcase your expertise and build trust with your audience.
Here are a few resources to help you get started:
Quora
What challenges is your audience facing? What are the recurring problems your potential readers are encountering? Quora is a great resource to uncover these.
Simply type in a topic and within seconds, you'll find a plethora of intriguing questions on a range of subjects that can inspire your next blog post.
Reddit is a widely-used website that can also be a valuable resource for generating blog post ideas, much like Quora.
However, with such a vast amount of content available, how can you effectively find relevant topics?
One useful approach is to explore subreddits related to your niche. For example, if you're in the digital marketing field, you could check out subreddits such as:
- r/SEO_Infographics
- r/socialmediaresearch
- r/digital_marketing
- These subreddits are likely to contain questions, discussions, and insights that could inspire new blog post ideas.
By exploring relevant subreddits, you can identify the most common questions and concerns that your target audience has.
This can serve as inspiration for your blog posts, as you can provide in-depth answers and solutions to the issues that matter most to your readers.
Keep an eye out for recurring themes and questions, as these indicate topics that are in high demand and may be worth exploring in greater detail.
Repurpose old content
If you're struggling to come up with new ideas, consider repurposing old content.
Take an old blog post and update it with new information or write a follow-up post that expands on a previous topic.
You can also turn a series of related blog posts into an e-book or white paper that your readers can download.
Analyze FAQs And Reviews
By now, the resources I've shared should have sparked an overflow of ideas in your mind, but don't worry, there's still more to come! In this section, we'll explore using review sites and FAQs as sources for blog ideas.
Research shows that nine out of ten customers read reviews before making a purchase, making it a valuable opportunity to create blog posts that review popular products and services related to your industry.
For instance, a Google search for “best phone” generates various reviews in different formats that comprehensively summarize different deals, phones, and sim-only offers.
To create a better review, your aim should be to provide more valuable content than the top-ranking posts, offer a better on-page experience, and ensure stronger SEO.
By writing a more comprehensive article on the best smartphone, you could potentially outrank these sites and drive traffic to your website.
Start by examining the current top-ranking blogs and take note of their length, headings, and the number of options they compare.
To make your post even more informative, aim to cover more platforms, add videos, and interview experts.
By doing so, you'll create a longer and more detailed post that provides greater value to your readers.
Use Keyword Research Tools to Identify Content Gaps
To uncover content gaps in your niche, keyword research tools are essential. They enable you to quickly identify potential topics to write about and target relevant search queries. Here are some recommended sources:
Answer The Public
Answer The Public takes your basic keyword ideas and generates dozens, if not hundreds, of results, based on what real people are searching for in your area. This is incredibly valuable for marketers as it provides insights into the user intent behind the search.
Write Content You’re Most Passionate About
Creating content that you are passionate about is key to avoiding boredom and keeping your audience engaged with regular content that matters to you and your readers. Here are some topics to consider:
Social Justice Topics
If you strongly believe in something, take a stand on your blog. Write about the latest social justice trends in women's rights, LGBTQ+ issues, or racial injustice – any subject that is close to your heart.
Campus Pride is an excellent example of a popular blog/organization that focuses on promoting acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community on college campuses, covering topics such as mental health, campus safety, and career development.
However, it's crucial to take an authentic stance when incorporating social justice topics into your blog.
Consider what issues matter to you and what causes make sense to write about. For example, outdoor apparel and equipment retailer Patagonia aligns itself with environmental issues such as sustainability and conservation.
Sports and Entertainment
While you might not be the next Bleacher Report or Buzzfeed, covering sports and entertainment topics offers significant potential.
As a sports blogger, you could voice strong opinions about team rivalries or performances, player trades, and other hot topics within your chosen sport. Alternatively, you could niche down to a specific sport or area.
Similarly, entertainment bloggers can provide readers with an inside look into Hollywood gossip or music industry trends.
If you don't have inside information, offer up-to-date reviews on the latest movies, TV shows, video games, and books, or share your opinions.
Opinion Pieces
If you have an opinion about everything or are passionate about a particular subject area like the environment, consider writing opinion pieces.
These articles allow you to express your viewpoints on political, social, or cultural topics. Opinion pieces can range from short and succinct articles to longer and more detailed ones, providing an avenue for individuals to share their views and engage in meaningful conversations with others.
Conclusion:
Utilize this extensive list of blog ideas to brainstorm and plan your content calendar. Mix and match different options to keep your readers engaged and interested.
Don't forget that generating blog topics can be a challenge, but it's important to prioritize your interests. Writing about something you're passionate about will make it easier to consistently produce content.
Always aim to provide value to your readers, conduct thorough keyword research, and adhere to the fundamental principles of SEO.