by When starting a new blog, it can seem impossible to come up with enough blog post ideas to get your content kickstarted. You want to build an editorial calendar, but without enough blog post ideas, you will struggle your way through it.
I know because I’ve been there. I stare at the screen and feel like I’ve already said everything that could ever be said on the topic. I think I’ve reached the end of possibilities for my blog and wondering if I should just give up now.
Yep, it can be that bad.
But you don’t have to close down your site and slink away into the unknown reaches of the internet. Instead, you need something to help jumpstart your brain and get those blog post ideas flowing.
What Do You Love?
First, let’s dig into the easiest path to blogging glory – what are you passionate about? What gets you out of bed in the morning (besides your alarm clock or your cat/dog crying for food )? Identifying your core topics is like setting your compass – it directs your content.
Think about your hobbies, interests, or issues you deeply care about. Do you love cooking? Are you passionate about sustainability? Or perhaps you’re a tech enthusiast? Whatever your niche, there’s an audience waiting for your unique perspective.
Even if your niche seems to confine you to one theme, let your other interests or passions flavor that. For example, you’ll find that my love of music and my former life in the industry flavors a lot of what I write – even though this blog is not about music.
Need Blog Post Ideas? Ask the Internet What They Want
With your niche in hand and an idea of some of your interests that might help influence your blog posts, it’s time to see if anyone cares.
Ok, that sounds a bit harsh, but let’s face it: while you can write about anything on the internet, and there will probably be an audience for it, you still want to write something that will attract enough interest to drive your blog traffic.
Turn to research tools to discover what the world is searching for. Use sites like Google Trends, SEMrush (our personal favorite), or BuzzSumo. These sites can provide insights into trends, keyword searches, and what is working for others,
There is no better way to win over the hearts and minds of the internet than by giving them exactly what they’re looking for.
Experiment with Different Post Styles
Variety is the spice of life, and it can give your blog a boost as well. Not every post has to be an extended form essay or a how-to guide. You can even take the same idea or topic and write it multiple ways using different post styles.
Now that you know what your audience is interested in, how do you present this information in an engaging way? There are many different post styles, but here are just a few. Think about taking one idea and creating a post for each of these post styles.
- List Posts: as we mentioned in our previous post, list posts are the bedrock of blogging. An easy method of getting a lot of information out in one post, you’ll often see elements of list posts in other post styles.
- How-To Posts: a great way to showcase your expertise. Help your readers learn something new by breaking down complex topics into simple, actionable steps.
- Case Studies: case studies can help your readers understand the practical application of your advice. Show them how the concept works for someone else and use it to drive your point home.
- Reviews: share your honest opinion about products or services within your niche. Your readers will appreciate your transparency and trust your recommendations.
- Interviews: talk to someone in your niche who might have a unique perspective or a deeper understanding of an element of the topic. Format it as a question and answer session, and it will be easy to follow and may give the kind of insight your readers are looking for.
- Guest Posts: similar to the interview, but instead of questions and answers, you’re handing someone else the keys and letting them run the show. Write an introduction explaining why you chose the author to guest post.
Time to Brainstorm and Generate Those Blog Post Ideas
Now that you have some idea of where you’re heading and what you might write sit down with an empty piece of paper, a Word document, or even a blank blog post (I often write blog ideas in posts and then save them as a draft that I can do and pick from later).
Start writing (or typing).
Don’t let anything get in your way. Don’t think, “that’s not a good post” or “that’s a stupid idea,” just keep writing. Think of different angles of the same thing. Think of how you might filter one concept through the various styles of posts listed above. Use word association to take you from one topic to the next.
Don’t worry if your titles aren’t complete (or even complete thoughts) – just keep going. We’ll go back later and create strong titles with them.
Don’t stop until you feel you can’t go any longer. The more you write – even if it’s deemed unusable later – the better.
Don’t be afraid to have a one word thought written down. That one word may generate ten blog post ideas when you circle back around and look at it.
And we will be circling back. That’s the idea. This is a work in progress. A raw format full of half-formed ideas. Sure, you might hit a few that are absolute winners from the start, but it’s ok if you don’t.
Let’s Give it a Try
Let’s say I’m a food blogger. Let’s think about what we could write…
- Is One Hot Dog Going To Ruin My Diet?
- Is Kale Really All It’s Cracked Up To Be?
- The Best Goulash Recipe Straight From Hungary
- How Many Ways Can You Prepare Cabbage?
- Six Food I Can’t Live Without
- If I Could Eat Only One Meal, What Would It Be?
- A List of My Favorite Things to Bake
- Pasta Sauces – Which Method is Better, Slow and Complex or Fast and Simple?
- I’m Hungry, What’s In My Fridge?
- 7 Quick Healthy Snacks for Your Kids That They Won’t Hate
- How to Make Leftovers That Don’t Suck
Those are just some random things that popped into my head. You can see I like hot dogs and have questions about kale, as we all should. Why was this wonder-green not popular until recently? Savvy market by the kale industry or just the luck of the draw with trendy vegetables (remember when we all hated Brussels sprouts?).
“I’m Hungry, What’s In My Fridge” would make a great regular series – think about it: each week (or month), you randomly pull from the fridge and are forced to make a good meal, talk about what you have, explain why you bought it and what it’s doing in your fridge – you can take a lot of different angles with it.
The point is to force yourself to bang out a list, no matter how good or bad the ideas might be – this isn’t the time to judge.
Write Down Blog Post Ideas Often
Remember that consistency is key in the world of blogging. Regularly updating your blog keeps your audience engaged and boosts your SEO ranking. Stay updated with current events and trends within your niche and incorporate them into your content.
Every time you write up one of these lists, you build content ideas and give your brain a little exercise. Forcing yourself to write, regardless of the outcome, helps your brain get used to the fact that you’re writing regularly. Over time, the ideas will get better.
Once you start building an editorial calendar, running this exercise every time is a good idea. Before you know it, you’ll have months’ worth of ideas waiting for you. These became especially helpful when you’re feeling a bit of writer’s block.
So, remember, don’t fear generating random blog post ideas and seeing where it leads you. You might find absolute gold, and you might realize you will need to do this more often to get to the really good stuff. Just keep doing it, and you’ll get there.
Do you have any tricks that you use to generate new ideas for blog posts? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.
