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10 fail safe ways to find your next blog topic – FAST

So blog day is approaching and once again you’re stuck for a topic. You’ve been trying so hard to stick to a regular blogging schedule, but right now you feel stumped. The ideas in your notebook feel dull and uninspiring, and you’re starting to wonder, what’s the point? Is anyone reading anyway?

Before you give up your blog, or allow this temporary lack of inspiration to cause you to question everything you’re doing in your business, here’s my list of fail safe idea generators to get you over the writer’s block and get your blog flowing again:

  1. What questions are your customers asking? Think back over the last five to ten customers you’ve dealt with. What issues are they dealing with? What concerns do they have? Where are they getting stuck?  I keep a notes file in my phone, and a list at the back of my journal, where I write down questions that arise during   discussions (live or on Facebook) or in a consultation. Answer an anonymised question, or use it as a springboard for a how-to or a more reflective post.
  2. What can you teach? Readers love quick tips and how-to tutorials that give fast results. Make a list of topics you know something about and then break it down into simple bite-sized techniques you could teach in Facebook live videos, Slideshare presentations, or blogs
  3. Do a round up post. What are your go-to websites in your field of expertise? Who are the gurus your readers should know about? What online stores will your customers love? Write a round up post – and be sure to send it to those you feature and invite them to share, if it would serve their audience.
  4. What are you reading? How can you turn your current interest (be it fiction or non-fiction), into a topic that will serve your reader?
  5. Look for analogies – as you go about your day, pay attention to what’s going on around you. How are your experiences today – at work and at play, on your daily walk, with your kids, colleagues, customers or friends – relevant to your readers? What lessons did you learn, what did you witness, what insights did you have that could inspire your audience? Want an example? Check out my blog on the Green Bean Theory of Blogging – this one came directly from my experiences at the dinner table that night.
  6. Go behind the scenes – give your readers an insight into your daily life or routine, share the development of a new product, introduce your team, or show them a little of what goes on at your desk
  7. Go back in history – Ever shared the story of how you got started? Your biggest success, your biggest failure, your happiest or most embarrassing moment, or the decision that changed it all? The time is now, my friend.
  8. Share a quick case study – Showcase the results of a particular client (with permission of course). Share the journey, the results you achieved together and what this has meant for your client’s life or work. This is a great way to prove your expertise and abilities, without making it ‘all about you’.
  9. Turn that writer’s block into a topic. Try to identify what is keeping you stuck, or what is zapping your inspiration – then write a personal post about finding your way through it.  I did that with this very post. On Monday morning I had no idea what I was going to write about, so I took my kids to the park while pondering what I could do to come up with some blog topics – before realising that was a blog topic in itself.
  10. Check your analytics – look at your most popular posts and see if there is a way you could expand on, or do a follow up, to that topic.

Next time you feel stuck for inspiration, grab your journal, pick one of these ideas and freewrite on the topic for ten minutes. You’ll have that blog done in no time.

What’s your favourite strategy for coming up with new blog topics? Share your ideas in the comments below.

 

If you’d like to dive deeper into blogging strategy and creating content that generates results in your business, check out my editorial calendar workshop.

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