Ever stared at a blank page wondering what on earth you’re going to blog about?
Enter: Every bloggers worst fear – Writers block.
Don’t panic! It happens to the best of us. It doesn’t mean you’re not a worthy blogger. It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to write again.
Inspiration – that’s all you need.
So, I’ve compiled a short list of must-know places to look when you find yourself experiencing writer’s block. These should – hopefully- help you generate new and exciting ideas for posts!
Let’s begin…
1) Use other blogs in your industry
Checking out industry blogs is a good starting point.
This can give you a great overview of what the trending topics to talk about currently are.
To save yourself time in the future, subscribe to your favourite blogs email newsletters and RSS feeds. This way you don’t have to visit each blog site separately on every occasion you’re searching for blog ideas.
Be wary though: Don’t just regurgitate what others write about. Following the crowd will make for an ok-ish post. Interpreting it in your own way and being unique will make for a much more interesting post. Add personal opinion and give your post a bit of flare.
2) Use industry magazines
These can be a great source of inspiration.
You can detect latest trends and hottest topics in your industry area.
Another useful tip is to check out the sneak preview of what’s in the next issue; these could potentially be the next trending topics to be talked about. Blogging about these topics could keep you ahead of the game!
3) Use web forums
Scour the web to find forums in your industry.
You can subsequently detect regularly asked questions in your industry area.
Answer these in your post. You’re answering questions that your readers are interested in – that they’ll find useful.
4) Look at what sort of content has received most interest
How many retweets has a certain tweet got? How many click-throughs has it resulted in?
And, what’s being talked about in industry LinkedIn groups?
This gives you a clear indication of what your readers are interested in – thus – what topic areas could create a successful blog post.
5) Look at comments left by readers
First place to look: Your blog. What questions are being asked by your readers? What are they saying? Listen to this.
Also check out comments left by followers and friends. This could give you a further indication as to what your readers are interested in.
Under the assumption that you know who your target audience are and what the general topics that you wish to blog about are, using these methods should provide you with new and interesting ideas for future posts.
Are there any others you would add to the list? Please feel free to leave comments.
