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If you’re a blogger then you probably understand the kind panic induced by an unmoving blinking curser and a blank page. I’m sure we can all relate to the frustration of feeling like we’ve run of good new ideas. When you’re a blogger there is a kind of never ending pressure to come up with new and captivating content. It’s important to take a breath (or 10) and remember that some times all you may need is a little inspiration to push past the writing slump. Which is why I wanted to share with you guys some tips for always having blog post ideas that people actually want to read!
1. Define your niche
Before I started blogging I would roll my eyes at all those bloggers that said you needed to pick a niche to be a successful blogger. I wanted to write anything and everything I felt like writing and let me tell you guys that did not work out well for me. Bouncing around between niches confuses your audience. But one important thing that I realized is that if you don’t want to stick to just one niche, you don’t have to. You can pick a couple that are related to each other.
Just take a look at my blog, I would categorize it as a lifestyle blog but that is pretty much a combination of fashion, beauty, food, décor and books and I find that this actually works for me. It’s all about finding what works for you. Finding the balance between writing what you want to write and what people actually want to read (and will keep returning to read)… Ok so you’ve defined your niche, now what? Well knowing you’re niche will help you direct your brain focus when brainstorming blog post ideas.
2. Quora
Quora is an amazing amazing tool to use when brainstorming blog post ideas. I don’t know why people don’t talk about it more! Basically Quora is an app where people can post any type of questions and get answers from real people. To use this app to get post ideas, you can basically filter questions by topic. Which is why having a defined niche is important!. It helps to know which topic to use in the filters. For example if you search for the topic beauty, Quora will tell you what the most asked questions about beauty are on the app. Quora will help you find out the most popular questions people are asking about a certain topic and then you can write a post that would answer that question in your own unique way!
3. Pinterest Trends
As soon as I discovered Pinterest trends, it was a game changer. It is basically a platform that allows you to be able to see what particular searches are popular on Pinterest. Basically it allows you to see what is currently trending on the app and any searches that are related to these trending topics. Being able to know what is trendy at the moment is amazing for plotting out blog posts to capitalize on an audiences interest. You can visit pinterest trends at trends.pinterest.com.
Tip: Pinterest Trends currently only works in the US. If you’re an international blogger just download a VPN and you’ll be able to use this tool as well.
4. Google trends
Google Trends is somewhat similar to Pinterest Trends but it is kind of a much much grander version of that. You can basically see the most trending searches in the country of your choice. You can filter according to a topic/term of your choice and see how often people search for that topic/term. If you have any blog post ideas just use google trends to see how interested people would be in that idea. Its a great tool for discovering which of your post ideas actually need to be written!
5. Stalk Your Favorite Bloggers
This one seems a bit unconventional but listen… Your favorite bloggers are probably your favorite bloggers because they are good at what they do. Stalk some of them. See what kind of content they write. What kind of content on their site is getting most attention and get inspiration from those posts. There is a great site called Buzzsumo that allows you to view the most popular posts on a website. So this can help you tell what people are actually reading in your niche. Of course don’t blatantly copy these posts. Use your own voice and add your own creative spin to the ideas you find using this method.
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