Even if you’re blogging everyday about a topic that’s near and dear to your heart, chances are eventually you’ll run into trouble coming up with new ideas. It’s not unusual to hit a brick wall. It’s one reason so many bloggers wind up abandoning perfectly good blogs – they think they’ve run out of things to say.
If you’re delivering good content to your readers and building a community of loyal followers, you don’t want to all of a sudden stop supplying them with good information. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to solve. There are ways to get unstuck and get those great ideas flowing freely again.
Plan Ahead
Create your own editorial calendar by making a list of topics in advance. You can plan a week, month or even a year in advance if you’re feeling ambitious. This will ensure that you’re never left with nothing to say.
Revisit Older Posts
If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’ve probably noticed that some posts draw more discussion than others. When you feel blocked, read over your more popular posts again – and don’t forget to read the comments too. Sometimes reader comments will spark a completely new idea you may have never thought to blog about.
Tackle a Topic from a New Angle
You can revisit an older topic and explore it from another angle. For example, let’s say you have an attachment parenting blog and six months ago you wrote a post listing the benefits of breastfeeding. You could revisit the topic and writing about overcoming breastfeeding challenges, breastfeeding multiples, how to treat and cure thrush while breastfeeding, etc.
Look Out for Ideas While Networking
Forums and social media sites like Twitter can be great places to find new ideas for your blog. Pay attention to what others are saying – especially if you notice topics discussed in your niche. It can lead to lots of topic ideas.
Just Ask Your Readers
Your readers can be your greatest source of inspiration. Invite them to send in ideas for future posts. If a reader contacts you privately with a question you feel might benefit others, create a post based on the question (taking care to protect your reader’s anonymity, of course!). Make sure that your contact information is easy to access.
photo credit: opensourceway
Kimberly, great tips. I especially like the editorial calendar. It can be a great way to remind yourself of the awesome idea you had for a post months later when it is finally timely.
Hey Kimberly,
Thanks for the great tips! I especially liked the reminder to visit old posts/comments. I've also heard that you should look on amazon.com to see what books/products are popular in your niche to start sparking some ideas for posts.
I often save a post in draft form on the blog itself, sometimes only the title, especially when I know it's a great idea even if I am stuck on how to finish or even start. I revisit it when it I get that spark of an idea.
With these tips I can certainly revisit a few I have right now and put them to use. Thanks!