Coming up with blog post ideas solely through brainstorming can only take you so far. Luckily, there are several methods to tap into your readers’ mindset and come up with post ideas that you are confident will be useful and pertinent.
Here are fourteen straightforward methods to ensure a continuous flow of blog post ideas:
1. Hop on a call with readers.
In just 10 minutes, a brief phone call can generate a plethora of ideas. Additionally, it will offer the precise words your readers use to express their learning objectives and the challenges they seek resolutions for.
Below are some questions that you can customize for your own business.
- What are the roadblocks you are facing with [insert your topic] right now?
- What [insert topic] problems have you or your team researched recently on Google, books, or blogs to learn more about?
- What are you curious to learn more about with [insert topic] here?
2. Send a survey asking what folks want to learn.
You can utilize a tool such as SurveyMonkey to inquire your readers the identical set of open-ended questions mentioned in the previous phone call scenario. This could be implemented by crafting an automated email for new individuals subscribing to your blog digest update or by sending a one-time email to your existing readers who have opted to receive updates from you.
3. Research Google autosuggest results.
To generate blog post titles, simply launch an “incognito window” in your web browser and conduct a Google search using keywords related to your writing interests. This will prompt Google to offer keyword phrases that are being searched for, which can be tailored into ideal blog post titles.
If, for instance, you run a winery and intend to come up with more ideas for blog posts, when you search “how to wine” on Google, the suggested results that appear are as follows:
Increasing your chances of ranking in search results can be done by either creating a blog post titled “The Beginner’s Guide to Wine Tasting in Napa” or using the exact phrase in an article focusing on “How to Wine Taste in Napa.” Utilizing the actual search terms people use on Google can improve your visibility in search results.
4. Peruse what people are saying on social media.
By exploring platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels, you can uncover a wealth of valuable information. Search for your desired subjects and observe the discussions regarding people’s challenges, requirements, and desires. Utilize this as inspiration for generating ideas for blog posts.
5. Browse Amazon book reviews.
Discover the best 3-5 books available for purchase on Amazon that delve into the subjects of your blog posts or are adored by your audience. Analyze the written reviews carefully, paying attention to a) the insights gained by readers and b) the topics they are eager to gain further knowledge on. Compose a concise and informative blog post that addresses their informational needs.
6. Study what’s working for similar bloggers.
The objective is not to steal or duplicate, rather to observe how readers engage with blogs in your industry, and then add your personal touch by using your own distinctive voice and language.
7. Discover keyword volume using Google.
You can utilize the Google Keyword Planner to obtain the number of searches for keywords and phrases, as well as generate fresh keyword ideas.
8. Be Active In Your Consumer Base
Being involved in your consumer base is the most effective approach to generating fresh ideas. By participating in message boards and subscribing to newsletters, you can keep up with the online discussions related to your industry. A prime illustration of this is the active involvement of our COO and marketing manager in Support Driven, a community dedicated to customer support professionals. This affiliation has proven to be an invaluable inspiration for new ideas.
9. Develop Your Audience Personas
Instead of producing blog posts just for the sake of having a blog, it is important to have a strategy in place for the type of content you are producing. This begins with understanding your audience. Take the time to develop and fully understand the persona(s) of your target audience – who they are, what challenges they face, what keeps them awake at night, and what information they are searching for. Offer relevant, timely, and focused content that provides the answers your website visitors are seeking. The blog can also serve as a valuable platform for offering premium, downloadable resources in exchange for contact information. This way, you can continue to nurture leads while providing valuable content.
10. Bring In Influential Guest Writers
By featuring guest writers who have sway in their specialized communities, we have discovered that our blog receives a greater level of engagement. Furthermore, this helps us attract readership that we wouldn’t typically have access to without the presence of a guest writer. To keep our blog dynamic and captivating, we make an effort to showcase guest writers from various fields.
11. Tie Your Content To Trending Topics
Limiting your audience is a risk when you only focus on subjects directly tied to your business. Incorporating topics that are currently making headlines or are popular in popular culture can expand the relevance of your blog to a wider range of people. Recent discussions surrounding Covid-19 and quarantine serve as an obvious example. Nevertheless, there are always trending topics like cultural and sporting events, upcoming holidays, tax season, or common problems that resonate with many individuals. You can provide commentary on these subjects, address frequently asked questions, or find a creative way to relate them to your business or a product/service you are promoting.
12. Check Most Upvoted Questions On Quora
Quora offers the opportunity to cater to the preferences of the audience. By accessing Quora, we analyze the highest-rated questions to adapt our approach according to people’s interests and unresolved queries. Subsequently, we devise ways to respond to these questions using anecdotes or analogies relevant to our area of expertise. As we craft our responses, we often unintentionally attract a wider audience by presenting our knowledge in unique perspectives that address these inquiries. For instance, in my field of SEO, we can explore the topic of implementing optimal strategies by initially consulting Quora for more specific insights. From this standpoint, we produce content enriched with personal narratives that effectively convey our message or provide innovative solutions to the questions raised. We have successfully applied this technique to blogs and even e-books.
13. Look At Industry Conferences
Our content teams examine the schedules of industry conferences to identify the pain points, topics, and trends that are being discussed by customers. The titles of the sessions often reflect these points of interest and can provide valuable keywords to enhance your content’s SEO. To gather additional insights, it is beneficial to explore the conference hashtag on social media and peruse the comments made about the sessions following the event. This will provide a clear understanding of which aspects were successful and which ones missed the mark, allowing for better planning.
14. Partner Up With Other Industry Brands
We collaborate with industry brands and collaborate on joint guest posts to create highly captivating content. This approach has been effective for us as even companies in the same field can have diverse target audiences. By combining the efforts of two teams from different organizations, we generate unique and thought-provoking content. The widespread reach across multiple websites enables us to attract new visitors to our site, with the goal of converting them into customers.