Blogging is one of the most effective ways to gain credibility, increase search engine traffic, grow your audience, and grow your business -- and it's virtually free.
However, it's easier said than done. If you've ever tried to manage a blog for your business, then you know that the struggle is real, because there's much, much more to running a successful blog than jotting down a few pieces of advice and clicking publish.
One of the most common questions blogger newbies inquire about is how to find fresh, interesting content to post… and how to do it consistently.
This is a great challenge even for the best of bloggers out there, but a few tricks of the trade can make the process of generating buzz-worthy content much easier and more routine.
Here are some valuable tips on where and how to find new topics to blog about that people actually want to read and share.
Google is an absolute goldmine when it comes to finding trending topics and content. Here are just a few of the gems Google offers that will help you get some prime blogging topics.
Google Autocomplete:
This is one of the most overlooked yet valuable (and free) resources to locate popular topics to use for your blog. Google's Autocomplete is, essentially, a pre-fill feature that allows you to generate other popular search results according to what you type into the search box. Simply type in a relevant phrase, question, or keyword into the Google search box and gather some blog topic ideas from the results shown.
Google Trends
Formerly known as Google Insights for Search, Google Trends is a tool that provides insight into the number of times up to five terms have been searched on the web over a given period of time (2004 onward). Google Trends also allows for additional filters to be applied to your search to refine the generated results based on various categories and location, and it also provides a section for related searches with percentages of the term’s growth compared to the previous time period. This way, you can see what keywords are most popular and on the rise, or, in other words, worth blogging about.
Google Keyword Planner
This is a free Google AdWords tool that allows you to see how certain keywords (single and long-tail) have performed in the past and are expected to perform in the future. This tool is so great because it allows you to target, customize, and filter your results by location, language, network settings, timeframe, and more. What's more, Keyword Planner also allows you to have multiple keyword lists to help you generate topics based on several criteria, not just one.
Social Media
Nowadays, if you want to know about the latest buzz going on in the world, then you can bet it's posted all over social media.
Not only does social media fulfill that dying need to know what and where your friends are eating, as well as what they're doing on a minutely basis, but you can also keep up with what's trending locally and around the world with a click of a button
For that reason, social media serves as a treasure trove of potential blog topics just waiting to be discovered
Here are some reputable sites to scour to help you come up with fresh, relevant content for your blog.
Also known as "The Front Page Of The Internet," Reddit serves as a hub of knowledge for nearly every single industry, niche, interest, and topic in the world -- much like an online bulletin board.
Users (aka "redditors") contribute content in the form of news, links, pictures, etc. and votes from fellow redditors determine whether a particular post gets moved to the front page.
Therefore, the stories on the front page are the most popular on reddit and, most likely, the world. You can search by topic, category, or keyword on reddit to find what you're looking for.
Quora
Much like Reddit, Quora is an online forum made by the people, for the people. Rather than being a bulletin board of news and entertainment, Quora is much more question-and-answer-based.
Members post questions on Quora and fellow contributors answer them. The validity or credibility of the answers posted on the Q&A-style forum are "upvoted" by users, much like Reddit.
You can use Quora to search for topics based on topics, categories, or keywords; or lend your expertise for questions that are up your alley. Either way, Quora is a great hub of conversations to gain a bit of inspiration for relevant blog post topics and ideas.
This one's a no-brainer, really. Your social networking newsfeed are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to what's trending in your industry (granted you follow industry-specific influencers and affiliates) and around the world
Facebook has a nifty little "Save Link" feature that allows you to, essentially, bookmark a certain link in your feed so that you can refer back to it later.
Twitter and Facebook are great because you can search by hashtags and keywords, which are widely used on both platforms now, so use those little buggers to your advantage when trying to generate blog topics.
This social network is priceless when it comes to industry-specific content and connections.
Today, there are roughly 400 million LinkedIn users spanning across 200 countries, reports DMR, and the site's Influencers Articles is one of the greatest resources when it comes to credible posts to gain inspiration.
You can search LinkedIn by people, jobs, companies, groups, and universities, or you can use LinkedIn Groups to find some blog-worthy content.
HubSpot's Blog Topic Generator
HubSpot's Blog Topic Generator does exactly what it says it does: generates blog posts with the click of a button. All you have to do is enter up to three nouns (keywords) and click "GIVE ME BLOG TOPICS!" and this amazing tool generates a week's worth of blog topics based on an algorithm. Genius, I tell ya!
Ask Yourself:
What are the 'big guys' talking about?
If you're at a loss for what to blog about, then consider taking a peek at what the big players in your industry are posting. Chances are, what they're blogging about is going to be what's trending online and getting the most hits, so it wouldn't hurt to get some inspiration from the pros. Be careful not to be a copycat, though. Instead, put your own spin on the topic and make it your own.
Is there another angle you can take?
As mentioned above, refrain from simply regurgitating the same topic, and, instead, consider taking a different angle. For instance, if you're a realtor and everyone's posting about low interest rates, then take that information and apply it to a particular segment of the market, such as first-time buyers. This way, you're able to piggyback on the trending topic (yay SEO!) without beating a dead horse, per se.
What do the people want?
Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, "What do the people want?" Is there an area within your field of work that is somewhat technical and complicated that you could put into layman's terms and help better educate your audience? Or, did you come across a more efficient way of doing something that pertains to your everyday work that would be beneficial to your audience, too? If so, blog about it, because that's what people want to know. A word to the wise, people love reading blog posts that involve lists or a set number of ways to doing something, as well as "how to" posts.
What are some top-sellers in your industry right now?
A great way to gather some amazing blog ideas is from your industry's top-sellers list. A simple Google search will produce more than enough resources for you to get a handful of prime topics to blog about. We're not saying you have to read every single top-selling book -- simply skim through the table of contents and see if any "ah ha" moments happen. Again, the idea is to get a bit inspiration from these books, not to plagiarize.
Pro Tips:
- Be specific, because no one wants to read a vague post that provides little to no solid advice or takeaways.
- Read… a lot. The more you read, the more ideas you'll come across for blog posts. Spend a few minutes skimming through your news feeds to see if anything sparks your attention or interest.
- Share your expertise when questions are posed on forums and in comments that you feel you could lend your advice. Choose your words carefully when commenting, because the trolls online are ruthless and very unforgiving.
- Unplug for a bit by putting down your phone, turning off your computer, and simply sitting there silently and let your mind wander. You'll be surprised how a little bit of quiet time can actually help your mind be more creative.
- Add value when delivering content to your audience. It's better to produce quality, worthwhile content every so often, than waste your time (and your audience's time) posting useless rambling. Quality over quantity, here.
Now you have everything you need at your fingertips to generate some amazing and consistent content for your blog.
Bookmark this post so that you can always refer back to it when you get stuck and need a bit of guidance with blog post ideas.
Remember, sharing is caring, so feel free to share this wealth of knowledge with your followers, because they, too, may be looking for some help with generating new ideas for their own blogs.
