Don’t ya just hate it when you know you have to blog but you sit there, staring blankly at the empty word document because you’ve got nothing. No ideas. No topics. Just crickets.
I know how it is. I’ve been there plenty of times. But not anymore. I’ve got a range of strategies to help me come up with blog topics for myself and my clients so that when it comes time to write, I can get rolling without getting stuck before I even start.
Here are a few of the techniques I’ve used with great success that have helped me spend less time daydreaming at the keyboard and more time actually writing or producing content.
Think FAQs
Some of the most effective blog topics are as simple as answering the questions your customers most frequently ask you. You might even have some answers sitting in your email sent-box that you can dig out and re-purpose as content. Another little trick to finding FAQs for your industry is to search your industry/expertise keywords on Quora.com, which is a website where people ask questions.
Solve Audience Problems & Pain Points
Talk about the problems your audience is facing and some of their greatest pain points right now. If you have the solution or can help in any way, share how you can help! Do this in a non-salesy way, but it is okay to end with a call-to-action, directing your audience on how you can help further.
Tell a Story
The best types of blogs are usually personal stories. These are so powerful because they tell people so much about you and your business, and allow them to connect more deeply with you. If your story comes with some lesson that might help your audience, even better!
Comment on Current Events
If there is something interesting happening in your industry, or your audience’s world, use it as an opportunity for your blog and put together your perspective on it. People will value your professional opinion and will usually enjoy engaging in a discussion if it is particularly new, topical, or controversial.
Copy a Competitor or Other Content Leader
There is nothing new under the sun. This is so true when it comes to blog articles and content marketing! You can (and should) look to your competitors to see what they are doing and use their content as inspiration for yours. You should never copy and paste something without attributing the source, but it’s okay to find inspiration from others. Another trick is to look at trending articles for other industries that are not your direct competitors. How can you take that trending topic and adapt it to suit your industry and audience?
This is only the beginning… there are plenty of other ways to generate topic ideas for your blog. Do whatever works for you!
My other big tip here is to keep a running list so that every time you get a new blog idea, you can add it to this list. Then when you are ready to write, all of your ideas are waiting for you so you can hit the ground running. I like to use Trello for this, but you can use a Word document or some other task management or list keeping tool.
Happy blogging!
Angela
P.S. If you haven't already... head over here and request 10 FREE Blog Post Ideas! I will personally generate my 10 best ideas for your business and get back to you within a couple of days.