My biggest fear is that I will run out of blog post idea.
We all have fears. Right? Tell me I am not alone.
Ok yes, I have other fears such as "worms" but we won't get into that. That one comes from growing up in the country.
Sure writing a blog post is challenging, for some of us. Building the blog is difficult, for some of us. But in the end, the difficult part about blogging is know what the heck to blog about next.
Yep, doing keyword research is a critical part of blogging. Once a blogger is settled in though and has a good grasp on the core topic of a blog, it is all about finding a rhythm.
But then there can come this sense of impending doom.
What if I run out of blog post ideas? Then what?
This question is exactly why this post has been created. Never again, should any blogger worry about blog topic ideas.
Bonus: Download a free checklist of four tools to help you come up with blog post ideas.
[clickToTweet tweet=”How To Never Run Out Of Blog Post Ideas Again. #content” quote=”How To Never Run Out Of Blog Post Ideas Again. #content”]
1. Ask your audience
Your audience is your gold mine. Considering the fact that you are there to serve them in the first place, don't be shy about asking them.
Here are 4 ways to quickly and easily ask your audience.
A. Send a newsletter and ask them what they are struggling with.
Do not over complicate this. If you give them too much to read or think about then you are less likely to get a response. Here is an email format to steal. I know that this works because I have used it. Just fill in the blank with your blog topic.
Headline: What are you struggling with?
I really want to know. Respond back to any questions that you may have about _________.
If you don't have any questions, just respond back and let me know how things are going with _______.
Thank you,
your name
B. Ask on Twitter.
Fill in the blank and use the hashtag. For example, I may insert #WordPress.
Tweet: What is your biggest struggle with #_______ right now?
C. Ask people in your Facebook Group.
Hi everyone. I am doing some research and would love to know, what is your biggest struggle with #_____ right now?
If you don't have a Facebook group, no problem go join one related to your blog topic.
2. Ask the Google
These days when you ask a question people say "I don't know Google it!" So why not use all of those searches to your advantage?
A. Google your keyword but don't hit enter.
Google suggest can be your best friend when you are trying to find a quick blog topic. All that you do is go to Google.com and start typing your keyword phrase and see what pops up. If you aren't inspired by what pops up, change up your wording a bit.
How search predictions are made
Search predictions are generated by an algorithm without human involvement. The algorithm is:
Based on objective factors, including how often others have searched for a word.
Designed to reflect the range of info on the web. Because of this range, the search terms you see might sometimes seem strange or surprising.
Source: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/106230?hl=en
B. Use Google related search
Why not let Google help you with your next blog post idea? If the search prediction didn't inspire you go ahead and Google your phrase. I Googled "blog topic ideas" and then scrolled to the bottom of the page.
Now I have a nice list of long tail keyword ideas.
3. Use blog post generators
If you want extra help with your blog post idea and the blog post title, give a generator a whirl. All that you need to use these is your keyword or keyword phrase.
Warning: These tools are addictive. If you look up and realize that you have moved or showered in 3 days, know that you were warned.
Use these titles as general inspiration. For example, when I used the Tweak your Biz title generator one of the titles that I got was: 5 Guilt Free Blogging Tips Tips. This doesn't quite make sense but it is interesting and makes me wonder if I could improve upon it.
The key factor is that it inspired me.
A.Portent's Content Idea Generator
When you open this content title generator you will be asked to type in your subject. In this case enter in your primary keyword phrase. So if you are wanting to create a blog post about "dark roast coffee" just put that phrase in there.
Then see what happens. They give you one blog post title at a time. Also, they give you tips about why that is a good title, which is really nice. If you don't like the blog post title, just hit refresh and get another.
B. Blogabout Blog Title Generator by iMPACT
I particularly like this blog title generator because it provides you with fill in the blank titles. It doesn't do all of the work for you but inspires you instead.
Not only that but you can keep refreshing until you find one that you like. Then when you do find one that you like, you can heart it and they will save it to a notepad for you. Then when you have enough, they will email you the titles.
How friggin handy is that!
C. Hubspot Blog Topic Generator
Hubspot asks you to enter 3 nouns for the generator to do its trick. It make take you a few attempts to end up with blog post title ideas that make sense.
If you are struggling with coming up with ideas that work well with the generator check out their in-depth guide: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/keyword-user-guide-v2.
In the end, I found that using single words works much better with this tool. When I first used it, I entered long tail phrases like "WordPress Plugin Tips" and it was disaster. It gave me this nonsense title "10 Things Your Competitors Can Teach You About WordPress Plugin Tips."
This is exactly why these tools are meant to inspire ideas and not drive your marketing program.
Final note, if you sign up for their email campaign they will send you a years worth of blog post title ideas. This may be worth it because that is a lot of inspiration. In the end, you can always unsubscribe.
D. SEO Pressor Blog Title Generator
I personally found this generator a bit more challenging to use for my specific topic. As you will see below I used the keyword phrase "blog post ideas" and then chose "is a skill" in the drop down.
There are several options to choose from to define your topic. I had the best luck with blog post titles that made sense when I used "is a skill" as an option. If you look below you will see the suggested ideas for my first search.
These make absolutely no sense.
However, when I started really thinking about it, I got inspired. I could write a blog post called: "10 little tricks to write the best blog post titles." That is not what the search was about but suddenly decent blog post titles were coming to mind.
The key to using these tools is to be inspired by them.
E. Tweak Your Biz Title Generator
This generator gave the most absurd title selections of them all but it also was the most comprehensive of them all.
It broke down the titles by themes: Lists, Best, How to, Questions, Love,Sex, Celebrities, Secrets, Snark, Business, Motivation, Problem and The Kitchen Sink.
With this title generator I put in the keyword "WordPress" and some of the titles that it gave me were crazy. Check out the snapshot of just a few of the ideas below. Could you pull out a decent blog post title and start writing from one of these?
[clickToTweet tweet=”Use RSS feeds to come up with #blog post ideas. Other tips here.” quote=”Use RSS feeds to come up with #blog post ideas. Other tips here.”]
4. Be inspired by RSS feeds
It is amazing how often just reading blog post titles will inspire me with a fun blog post idea. When I am out of ideas to blog about, I will just go scan my Feedly.
When I do this, I am looking for inspiration. If I see a blog post that interests me, I will often read it and ask myself a couple of questions:
- What could I expand on?
- What was left out?
- Do I disagree?
Those simple questions will often lead to a blog post or even a series of blog posts. For example, this blog post was inspired in this exact manner. Clients have been asking me "What should I blog about?" When I realized that this was becoming a common question, I started looking for other blog posts on the topic.
The posts that I found weren't detailed. The average post offered 5 tips here or 10 tips there and they seemed to be the same repeated tips. Sure, those tips are good but I felt that we could expand on them here. There is more to offer and more to be said.
Check out this video on how to use Feedly
5. What do you wish that people knew?
No matter the industry, there are things that we all wish people just knew. We forget that people don't always know the basics. If you are blogging on a topic, the odds are high that you take the basics for granted.
The truth though, is people need to know the basics. As bloggers, we think that we should be more advanced than that but no, that just isn't true.
Don't be afraid of the basics.
ACTION TIP
Create a list of all of the most basic steps and tips about your topic. Then write a single blog post about each one.
Think of it like this, if you blog about lawn care, what do you wish that people would do to prep for that care? I know that my lawn guys wish that I would put away my hoses but what else?
There is a lot of gold in these tips and they will make you a hero.
6. What are the biggest mistakes that people are making?
Blogging is often about educating people. If you have clients, what are the common mistakes that you see them making? If your blog is about crafting, what common mistakes that you see readers make? Regardless of the topic there are always mistakes that people are making. Use your blog to teach them how to avoid those mistakes.
[clickToTweet tweet=”#Blogging is about educating people. What is commons mistakes clients make?” quote=”Blogging is about educating people. What is commons mistakes clients make?”]
ACTION TIP
Make a list of common mistakes that people in your genre make. Then later come back to this list and create a tutorial.
7. A product review
Product reviews are one of the most popular topics on the internet. This is exactly why people love unboxing videos. When I am looking for a new piece of software or an HDMI cable, I always search for a review. So what products in your industry can you review?
Yes, reviews take time and effort but they pay off. Check out my review of Social Warfare here: https://www.iteachblogging.com/social-warfare-review/.
8. More blog post ideas
List posts are highly popular. We all love them. No matter the industry there is always room for a quick top 10 or a quick tip. Remember, not every single blog post needs to be epic. The key is to provide something that the reader can walk away with.
- Share a post of related memes
- Share your top 10 favorite quotes
- Share your favorite blogs that you read
- Write about your favorite tools
- a top 10 list
- Share a quick tip
9. Gather blog post inspiration
Not every idea has to form in a vacuum. As a matter of fact, the best way to find your next blog post is see what other people are either asking about or talking about.
- Google alerts
- Spy on your competitors
- Look at Udemy classes
- QUORA
- Podcast episodes
- Udemy Coures
I get a ton of inspiration from other bloggers who blog about the same topic. If I am reading a blog post on SEO, I will ask myself what would I add or how could I explain this in a different way that would clarify it further?
It isn't wrong to get inspiration from a competitor or while listening to a podcast episode. Reading others and watching others and listening to others is how we get inspired. It is how we get fired up.
Conclusion
There is not a lack of ideas out there. Ideas are in abundance and you can easily find them. The real work is in creating. Never be afraid of running out of ideas. Instead be concerned about running out of motivation.
Great article! To help you stay on track and ensure that you’re keeping up with your regularly blogging schedule, I’d also recommend hiring a writer to come up with blog post titles for you.
You can do this with the Fiverr gigs that are available here:
http://fiverr.com/oziome
With ideas available for almost every niche, you can receive blog post titles that are completely tailored to the writing style of your blog. This is a feature that blog post generator software simply won’t be able to replicate.
Keeping up with your content marketing schedule will be very important in 2017 and this article you’ve written offers some great ideas. I hope my tip helps, as well!
Rose,
This is an interesting idea about hiring someone to come up with blog post ideas for you. Do you think that this changes the spirit of your blog or enhances it?
Love This Thought,
-Renee’
Renee, what a useful post! It’s true that so often “inspiration crisis” shows when you have a lot of deadlines on your way!
When you stuck, sometimes you could be too much influenced by other bloggers. That is when plagiarism tool Unplag https://unplag.com is on the guard of your reputation!
And speaking about blog topic generators, I found them completely useless. A tool called Answer the Public http://answerthepublic.com has much more value to me.
I noticed a few very helpful tips about idea generation that I will use in the future. Thanks!
Patricia,
Thank you so much for these wonderful tools. It is great to know that you got even one single idea much less a few.
Blog On!
-Renee’
Great Selection, Renee