How to Have an Endless Supply of Blog Post Ideas

Do you ever worry about running out of blog post ideas?

Any successful blog needs to publish new posts on a regular basis. But consistently coming up with fresh and new blog post ideas can be a challenge for even the most experienced bloggers.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way. You’re actually surrounded by potential blog post ideas every day — it’s simply a matter of tuning in to them.

In this chapter of How to Make Money Blogging: A Beginner’s Guide, we explore ways to make sure you never struggle to find blog post ideas again.

1. Read Widely

It’s no secret that most writers are also avid readers. And this can be one of the best ways to consistently find new ideas for blog post topics.

You likely already have an extensive reading list you’re working on. But don’t stop at just your favorites.

Try including a broad range of online and printed reading materials:

magazines
biographies
newspapers
professional journals
research studies
novels
blogs
nonfiction books

Make a point of reading topics you wouldn’t normally seek out, even if they have nothing to do with your blog topic.

If you struggle to find time to read, it can be helpful to schedule in 15 or 30 minutes a day that you commit to reading. Think of it as an investment in yourself and your career, instead of as a frivolous time filler.

It’s also very helpful to keep some kind of journal where you record your ideas. This can be an app on your phone or a paper journal. The key is having something handy you can access quickly, because ideas often come at all the wrong times!

You can jot down any ideas you have as you’re reading, but many ideas will come to you later when you’re in the shower, driving your car, or in the middle of a conversation.

Take note of all your ideas; it doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad at this point. You can always adjust or refine them later.

And if you see a good idea on a subject similar to yours, don’t steal it. Instead, see if there’s something related you can write about, or another angle you can approach the idea from.

2. Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a great way to generate blog topic ideas, because it’s easy to do and can be done anywhere.

You can keep a brainstorming document either on your phone or computer, or simply use paper. Either way, you can take a few different approaches to brainstorming your topic.

One of the best ways is to start asking questions. What questions do you have about your topic, and what do you think your audience would like to know?

For example, if your blog is about baking bread, you could ask some questions like these:

What are the best ways to store fresh bread?
Are bread machines worth buying?
What equipment and tools might bread-baking beginners need?
Does bread bake better in a gas or an electric oven?

Asking detailed questions like these about your topic will likely bring up even more questions as you work through them. And many of these questions would make a great blog post.

Another brainstorming technique is to drill down or expand on one particular idea or question.

To go back to our bread-baking example, you could take the first question and come up with more ideas on ways to store fresh bread:

tips on how to freeze bread
storing bread in plastic vs. paper bags
whether bread should be kept in the fridge
recommendations for finding a great bread box

Each of these ideas would also probably make a good blog post.

And as a last suggestion, try to brainstorm with other people whenever possible. If you’re part of a writing critique or mastermind group, ask for their help brainstorming blog post topic ideas at one of your meetings.

Also ask friends or family for their suggestions, or what they might like to read about. Putting your heads together can often help boost everyone’s creativity.

Discover 347+ Lucrative Blogging Ideas to Start Your Journey as an In-Demand Blog Writer

3. Be Social

You can also generate ideas by simply talking to people.

Pay attention to the questions other people ask as you go through your day, and the types of information they’re looking for.

Look for similar things as you interact on social media. What topics are people sharing and commenting on? What posts are trending right now?

And if you’re part of any in-person or online groups, take note of the subjects that people get really passionate about.

These are all great ways to see what’s on people’s minds and the types of blog posts that might be useful for them.

4. Research Your Topic or Niche

In Chapter 2 of this guide on how to create your own successful blog, we discussed the importance of choosing a specific niche or topic for your personal or freelance blog.

This will help you clarify the audience you want to reach, but it will also help you generate appropriate blog post ideas.

As you learn more about your niche and develop your professional network, you’re naturally going to become more aware of the core issues facing the industry, as well as gaps in existing knowledge that you may be able to help fill with your blog posts.

See what topics are discussed at professional workshops and organizations. Read trade journals, blogs and other industry-specific publications.

Then take note of any relevant blog post topics you could write about.

5. Do Keyword Research

Keyword research is a part of search engine optimization, or SEO for short.

SEO is a big topic that we won’t get into in great detail here. But if you want a full introduction to SEO and how to use it for your blog, check out our free resource The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing.

A keyword is a word or phrase that you type into a search engine. For example, if you’re searching for a new office chair, you might type “ergonomic office chair” into the search box as your keyword.

Many online tools are available to help find commonly used keywords, such as Ubersuggest, Answer the Public, and BuzzSumo.

If you go to any of these sites, you can type in a keyword and the site will show you how many searches there are per month for that keyword, as well as give suggestions for other related keywords.

This can be extremely helpful for generating blog post ideas. You’ll be able to see popular keywords and topics that get a lot of monthly searches, and you can explore other related keywords that might also work for your blog.

You can also bring up suggested keywords by simply typing a keyword into a Google search bar:

Screen shot of Google search bar with automatic keyword suggestions

This can also give you some good ideas of what people are searching for on the internet, and potential topics for your blog posts.

6. Recognize Special Days and Holidays

Check a website like Days of the Year to see if any special days or holidays exist that relate to your blog.

You can include annual holidays like New Year’s or Valentine’s Day in your publishing schedule where appropriate.

But there are lots of other fun days to play on as well, such as these:

Zucchini Bread Day (April 25)
Be Late for Something Day (September 5)
International Day of Happiness (March 20)
Bow Tie Day (August 28)
Espresso Day (November 23)

And don’t forget special week and month designations as well. For example, June is officially designated as International Mud Month. And, one of our personal favorites, the second week of February is Freelance Writers Appreciation Week.

Even if a special day, week, or month doesn’t relate to your blog topic, it could still trigger some other unique ideas or approaches for individual posts.

7. Share Your Experiences

As we described in the introduction to this guide, one of the things that makes blog posts so popular is their casual, personable style.

People naturally want to connect with other people, not with faceless companies or websites.

So, try to include as much of yourself as you feel comfortable with in your blog posts.

When it comes to generating blog post ideas, try taking on a personal challenge and writing about your results. Or try a new method or technique and document how it went.

You can also consider sharing relevant personal experiences or stories from your past, or your opinions on a certain topic.

Another good option is personally using a product and writing a detailed product review. This can also be a part of promoting affiliate products, which we’ll discuss in Chapter 5 of this guide on how blogs make money.

All of these approaches can lead to some great blog post ideas, as well as cultivating a more intimate connection with your readers.