10 Easy Ways to Come Up with Blog Topics

The white expanse of the blank page stretches before you like a lonely tundra.  The cursor winks at you as if it knows exactly what you’re thinking.

 

“What in the world should I blog about?”

 

We’ve all been there – the dreaded writer’s block – but we’re here to tell you that coming up with fresh, compelling blog topics doesn’t have to be a frustrating experience.  

 

Here are 10 of our favorite ways to come up with blog topics that’ll keep your customers engaged and coming back for more!

1.  Read, Read, and Read Some More. We can’t stress the value of reading enough! Aside from keeping our knowledge and skills up to date, helping us work better, and just giving us a chance to relax and unwind, reading is one of our greatest sources of inspiration when coming up with blog topics.

2.  Take Notes. Whether it’s using an app like Evernote, keeping a running text doc, or carrying around a notebook and pen, get in the habit of taking notes. Write down ideas as they come to you, jot down snippets of inspiration, and record observations. Soon you’ll have a long list of ideas worthy of blogging about.

3.  Listen to Your Customers. You know those questions your customers ask all the time? Write a blog post answering them! Chances are good that others are wondering the same things, and who better than to answer them than the expert — you? Generate blog topics, increase your status as a knowledgeable expert, and drive traffic to your site? Cheers to that! 

4.  Share Something. Whether it’s a how to article, a behind the scenes look at your business, a process, or a lesson learned, you can never go wrong with sharing your knowledge and experiences with your audience. 

5.  Use News and Pop Culture. Add a fresh spin on what people are already searching for by making a connection between trending topics, current events, or pop culture and your particular industry. Your readers won’t be able to resist reading how watching American Idol taught you how to be a better [insert your title here]!

6.  Do Keyword Research. Find out what others are searching for by typing a general topic into Google or using an app such as Keyword Tool. This will generate a list of results that can provide inspiration for future blog topics, plus show you exactly what others are searching for at the same time!

7.  Search Groups, Forums, and Online Communities.  Facebook Groups, LinkedIn Communities, TwitterChats, Quora, and professional forums are great places to search for interesting blog topics. Discussions almost always involve questions, answers, facts, and opinions that you can share and add your own thoughts to.

8.  Explore Your Competitors’ Blogs.  Check out your competitors’ blogs to see what topics their customers are interested in. Add your own unique spin and not only will you come up with new topics, you’ll also gain a few new leads.

9.  Leverage Tools.  Did you know that there are actually free, online tools ready to help you generate blog topics? Yep! One of the simplest and easiest to use is HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator. Just type in three words and you’ll be given five blog different titles!  What could be better?

10. Let the Topics Come to You.  Invite and encourage your readers to post comments on your blog. Chances are, you’ll get at least one comment from someone asking for a post on another topic. What could be better than getting an idea that’s already guaranteed to be of interest to your readers while also building a relationship with them?

Make a regular habit of using our tips and soon you’ll have so many blog topics, you won’t know what to write about first! But, just case you need an extra shot of inspiration, here are some bonus prompts to get you started.

Bonus: 5 Prompts to Help You Come Up with Blog Topics

1.  Top 5 Reasons Why You Need to                                    

2.  How To                                    So You                                  

3.  10 Ways to                   Your                          

4.  Behind the Scenes at                          

5.  3 Things You Need to Know About                         

 

So what do you think?  Did we miss anything?

What are some of your favorite ways to generate blog topics?

We’d love to read all about them.  Leave us a comment below!