Ideas. Ideas. Ideas.
At times they can be hard to come by. But not when you have a system for reliably cranking out new ideas whenever you need them.
Here’s how to consistently come up with new ideas for your blog.
Frequently asked questions
What questions are people constantly asking you?
For my web design business, I often get questions about SEO, writing content for about pages, finding images, Google Reviews and branding, among other things. As such, I’ve written blog posts about all of these topics.
You can do the same. Make a list of your most frequently asked questions and start creating blog posts for them.
These are likely going to be the most valuable blog posts you can create. After all, if people are asking you about these topics, odds are a lot of other people want to know as well.
Got any unconventional wisdom?
When I started creating content a couple years ago, I was too concerned with pleasing anybody and everybody. This is the recipe for bland, boring content. It’s not fun to write and it’s not fun to read.
Instead, when it comes to creating a great online brand or business that people love and resonate with, having a strong set of beliefs that you can voice is powerful and engaging.
What opinions do you have that are contrary to conventional wisdom in your industry?
Voicing these opinions will allow you to stand out from everyone else. Start voicing these opinions on your blog.
Read, read, read
Not just for getting more knowledge but for coming up with ideas.
Are you a marketing consultant? Read a book about marketing and elaborate on those ideas.
Maybe you’re a productivity coach? Read Atomic Habits and write a summary of it.
Read more books and watch as your list of blog post ideas grows longer and longer. The more you engage with others’ ideas, the more you’ll have to work with in spinning up your own ideas.
Jot down inspiration whenever it arrives
You probably come across many ideas throughout your day, but if you don’t have a system for capturing them, they’re long forgotten by the time you sit down to come up with content.
Get in a habit of capturing ideas whenever they arrive. I keep a “Thoughts and Ideas” note in Evernote which is just a running list of quick ideas and inspirations I come across. I also have a physical notebook I use for similar purposes.
Periodically I’ll review these notes and move anything that’s relevant to my content calendar in Trello.
I used to have no idea what to write about, but now have a list of probably a hundred prompts ready for me and my team.
Now it’s time to write
We’ve all been there before, staring at a blank Word doc and not knowing where to start.
When it comes to writing blog posts, it doesn’t have to be a chore. A good process makes it much easier. Here’s my three-step plan for writing blogs faster and more effectively:
- Outline: Create a rough outline of everything you want to talk about. Make each important point a separate heading.
- Fill in the blanks: Under each heading, write out all the important details. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just put something there.
- Edit: Wait one day. Then go back to your rough outline and edit. Shape up the spelling and grammar. Make sure it flows nicely. Then simply format it so it looks decent. Now you’re done!
Final takeaways
The more blogs you write, the better you’ll get. Start off small with one or two blog posts a month then gradually work your way up to once a week.
Once you have a consistent routine for creating blog content, it’s easy to repurpose this content for social media posts, videos, and email newsletters. A single well-thought-out blog post serves as inspiration for a dozen other pieces of content over the next few months.
Lastly, if you’re full of ideas after reading this, make sure to write them down!
