reating shareable and exciting content is essential for those who desire to draw as many readers to their blog as possible.
And, despite the amount of enthusiasm you might have, producing unique and engaging content every week is not an easy thing to do. We work in a world filled with distractions that keep us from maintaining clarity and purpose.
Clarity of purpose is essential for a new blog. To void wasting vast amounts of time on content that misses the mark with your audience, you need to have a strategy for sourcing your material.
Where should your ideas come from? Who will you listen to generate ideas that are focused on your business or blog goals?
Here are ten practical ways to come up with new content ideas and maintain the focus of your blog writing:
1. Be Active on Reddit
From understanding reading habits to discovering “trending” hot topics, on Reddit, you will come across a variety of informative resources.
Being one of the most visited platforms now on the internet, you can use the site as your idea sourcing tool. And as long as you appeal to Reddit users, you will bring more than enough traffic to your blog.
2. See what your Competition is Doing
It’s important to browse through blog sites perhaps a bit more successful than yours and see what other writers are doing, which you might not.
Checking the competition and finding inspiration in their work will often pay off. It may be that you can produce something on the same topic but in greater depth or you may provide a compelling rebuttal to your competitors content.
The important thing is to do more than simply ape their ideas or mimic their work. Their work should be a springboard for innovation, not an opportunity for plagiarism.
Also Read: 8 Simple Tips to Improve Your Business’ Blog
3. Make use of Online Tools
Bloggers today have the advantage of accessing various online writing tools.
From UberSuggest, which you can use for keyword research to HubSpot’s blog topic generator, try out a few of these systems and see how they can help you move past your writer’s block.
4. Join Online Groups
From Facebook to LinkedIn, you will find plenty of groups to join on the web, which focuses on different niche topics, and the discussions held there can help you in creating new blog content.
Find groups in your niche – or a parallel niche – that are talking about the subjects you want to engage with on your blog. Avoid joining too many groups. Remember, the goal at this point is the development of a content calendar, not the making of 150 new friends (yet).
5. Read Comment Sections
Whether it’s on your website or someone else’s platform, never skip the comment section, because you can find there more ideas than you would expect.
You can create worthwhile content through what people are suggesting or talking about in the comments.
6. Go to Events
Being an active person who engages in all sorts of activities will enable you to find topics easier and to feed your creativity.
Conferences and trade shows are the types of events that you should focus on, and the speakers that are likely to inspire you.
Also Read: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Business Blog
7. Be your Biggest Fan
If the topic you are writing about bores you, then the odds are it will bore your readers to.
For the best content creation process, you should simultaneously be your biggest fan and critic, so read your articles carefully, and make sure they are appealing to you.
Effective writing means writing in a way most natural to you. Don’t be a mimic. Go with your natural writing style, your natural talent for humour, stats, facts and stories.
And, if your temperament doesn’t sync with the blog’s brand or business aims, hire someone whose writing more closely reflects your brand or blog image.
8. Repurpose old Content
Work through your site and see which articles were the most popular among visitors. You can always reprise old content and give a topic you have already written about (as long as it has appealed to users) a new life.
Part of repurposing your content should include ways to make existing content even better. Look for ways you can improve your blog and strengthen existing content – as well as transform it into new shareable media.
9. Social Media
Whether it’s following popular hashtags on Instagram or asking your followers questions, Social Media channels are perfect for picking up on new ideas.
Social Media enables you to gather data quickly on what online readers are mostly interested, how they feel, react and engage with online content.
Social media is one of the most straightforward ways to observe your target audience in their natural habitat and learn what makes them tick.
10. Brainstorming
Sometimes, the best ideas are only one thought away; you simply need to make the most out of brainstorming. It may mean gathering with friends, family or co-workers and asking them to help you generate ideas.
For others, brainstorming might yield the best results when you pull yourself away from the buzz and hubbub of life and sit by yourself – watching the commotion pass. Find a quiet, peaceful location that inspires you, lay back, and leave your thoughts to run freely, and a fantastic blog concept might just naturally come to you.
Developing a content calendar with ideas that are going to resonate with users is not always easy to do. It is especially true when we are just starting out. The key is to narrow down your goals and thereby narrow down the number of possible content ideas.
Decide why you’re blogging and what you hope to achieve – and be willing to bin anything that doesn’t further those goals and bring you closer to your ultimate aim. Working through these simple ideas is one way to bring your focus in and streamline the content creation process.
All images created by David Trounce using Canva. CC0 license, 2018.
