Every blogger suffers from it eventually: the notorious writer’s block. You feel like you’ve run out of ideas forever. It seems like everything has been said before. And you just can’t think of anything good to write about. These are some scary thoughts when the success of your blog depends on new ideas and fresh content.
Whether you’re already with your back against the wall or you want to prevent writer’s block, this article is what you need. We’ll show you how to consistently churn out high-quality content without ever running out of ideas. This is the third part of our ‘Better Blogging’ series. If you’ve missed the last one about finding the right niche for your blog, check it out here.
The fundamentals of creating and capturing ideas
Successful bloggers who seem to create new content effortlessly have one thing in common: the right mindset. Their credo is that there are always more ideas. You will literally never run out because there are infinite ways to tell a story. This is something you can internalize, too.
When you pay attention, you will notice that topic ideas are all around you in real life. Just capture anything that draws your attention – on a notepad, in a quick voice memo, or even in the draft mode of your CMS (Content Management System on your website). The crucial step is to save ideas immediately because “trying to remember them” simply won’t work. Trust us on this one!
How you think about your ideas is important too. Focusing solely on what will earn you the most attention and likes is not a sustainable long-term strategy. Instead, always prioritize how you can help others with what you know.
The 3-part strategy to generating endless ideas
Whenever you feel stuck, these three idea-generating strategies and writing prompts are your way out. They are guaranteed to jumpstart your brain and spark new thoughts.
1. Solve problems
One of the best ways to help your audience is to answer their questions. Find out what people are struggling with and show up with your knowledge, expertise, and experience to solve their problems.
- What are the top 10 questions everybody asks about your niche?
- What mistakes do people constantly make?
- What are the top five hurdles that someone has to overcome to succeed in your niche?
2. Explain your niche
What is obvious to you might be completely foreign to others. Don’t underestimate the basics. Talking about the fundamentals is extremely helpful for those who are newly interested. And when you share the inner workings of your niche, your readers will begin to remember you as the expert they trust.
- What are the common misconceptions in your niche?
- What are the biggest controversies in your niche right now?
- Can you explain the most important terms in an easy to understand way?
- What predictions do you have about the future of your niche?
3. Reveal your secrets
Sharing the thought processes, moments, and events behind what you do creates a strong bond with your audience. You will show up authentically and make it much easier for your readers to connect with you.
- What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made, and what have you learned from them?
- What do you wish you had known when you just started out?
- What was the best investment you’ve made related to your niche?
Where to find ideas for blog topics
Not all ideas have to come from within you. Often, the best way to get new inspiration is by talking to others and spending some time researching online. Here’s where to look for new ideas.
Talk to people in real life
Never underestimate the power of a real conversation. Friends, colleagues, and experts in your niche can spark new insights. Especially talking to someone who doesn’t know anything about your niche can be eye-opening. You will discover what kind of questions and struggles absolute beginners have.
Get out there and talk to others to get some good insight on useful blog posts.
Tap into groups on social media
By now, there are groups on Facebook or LinkedIn for virtually everything. Find them, join them, and participate in the conversations. What questions are people asking? Problems that come up again and again will make for great blog post topics. (Not to mention that your posts can be great conversation starters to share in your groups!)
Check Quora, Pinterest, Twitter, and forums
These are the exact places people go to find answers to their burning questions. Start your search by entering your niche topic and see what comes up. You should quickly find a whole bunch of questions and issues that members of your niche are discussing.
Do keyword research
What do people on the internet want to know about your niche? Keyword research can help you answer this question. Leverage a tool like BuzzSumo to find out what content in your niche currently performs best. Or try AnswerThePublic to get heaps of prompts for your topic based on what people search for.
Follow other bloggers
Unless you are blogging in a hyper-specific niche, likely other bloggers are writing about the same topic as you are. Reading their blog posts can provide you with inspiration for new topics and different post types that you might not have explored yet.
It’s your turn
Before you go and start researching and capturing all of your new ideas, we want to leave you with two more snippets of advice: Whenever you are writing, find your unique angle to tell the story. Your viewpoint and experience are unlike anybody else’s. Let it shine through!
And remember that you don’t always have to come up with fresh ideas. You can also repurpose topics, for example, by turning them upside down. If you’ve written about ten ways to get more traffic to your blog, write about the ten ways that will turn away traffic.
Now, there’s only one thing left to do: Bookmark this page, so you can easily come back to it whenever you feel writer’s block creeping up. Happy blogging!
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