When you write a lot of blogs, as I do, because I provide them for three sites, it sometimes becomes hard to come up with new ideas for those posts. When that happens the following suggestions may help trigger some new creativity for you.
- Follow Industry News: Industry news sources can definitely be a great resource a blogger. Here you can check on what other bloggers in your industry are writing about and that might unblock you by sparking a new thought for yours. Sometimes a particularly relevant or interesting news story might prove inspirational to your creative juices. In addition, you might want to consider just what your readers may be looking for as a possible blog theme. Finally, be sure to include valuable explanations, tips, or takeaways that will be beneficial for your followers.
- Invite Input from Others: You may be the resident expert in your area, however, others may have valuable information that you could share on a particular topic. Contributions from others could also ease the load you are carrying and thus reduce your burn out time. Consider asking other members of your team or colleagues to contribute ideas or pieces as this new input and perspective will help to keep your blog fresh. In addition, you could also consider allowing guest posts.
- Create a Unique Angle to Someone Else’s Blog: Some of my content ideas come from reading other blogs that I subscribe to or find in LinkedIn group discussions. You might even disagree with another blogger’s point of view and could write about that! In any event, those other articles could also spark ideas for your next piece.
- Inspiration Can Come from Anywhere: Sometimes ideas can just literally pop into my mind from any experience that I have had at any time. Doing something that energizes me like exercise, or entertains me like music, or art, or relaxes me like reading or baking, may help you to generate a new idea for a blog. Dare to be surprised!
- Try Combining Concepts: Sometimes when you put two entirely different concepts together the result can be an entirely new approach to something you have dealt with many times before. This connection could prove to be both valuable and clever which would make it worth your consideration. Nuts and bolts and time management; think about that combination, could you create a piece using those two very different concepts? Give it a try!
- Think Simple: Sometimes the most remarkable, ingenious articles are the simplest ones. Don’t discount the simple, obvious blog ideas, rather, try to think basic and it could just become your most popular article. Write a how-to piece that clearly explains exactly how to do something that your readers might find complicated or difficult. Don’t forget to view your expertise from the perspective of your followers as they likely do not know as much about this topic as you do. Just be sure to keep the tone of the blog instructive rather than pedantic.
- Consider Revisiting a Topic: If you’ve been blogging for a while, you may have likely written about every element on your original blog list. That does not mean that you cannot write on a topic again, this time taking it in another direction or talking about aspects you did not include in the first article. Surely there is much more to share on the various topics in which you have expertise. In fact, perhaps you can even shed some new light on a particular aspect of that topic or concept.
- Employ a Variety of Content Formats: A blog post doesn’t always just have to be text-based. You can make it more interesting and visual by using graphs, charts, pictures, cartoons etc., to illustrate and reinforce your points in this more visual manner. You can even introduce a short video or insert a mini slide show. Don’t be afraid to be original and more creative, it can make blogging more interesting and fun for both you and your readers!
Remember to enjoy what you do, share what you love, and your passion will be reflected in your posts!
