Your blog has probably been shouting at you over the holiday break, if it’s anything like mine.
You sit down to check your emails, and all of a sudden there’s a nagging voice coming from your PC, saying ‘You should update your blog!’.
Our blogs are relatively undemanding beings most of the time, but they do require some basic things to be in place to flourish, just like kids, animals, and friends!
One of the main things you can do to keep your blog happy and quiet is update it regularly, publishing regular interesting content to it.
Publishing blog posts regularly serves a number of purpose
It keeps your conscience clear, but much more than that it reminds your customers, readers and social networking followers about who you are and what you do.
There’s nothing more disappointing for an avid online blog consumer than to notice that your blog hasn’t been updated for a while. On some levels, it shows that you just aren’t that in to your business if you can’t find the motivation to publish something new, and your followers will soon go off elsewhere if they think you aren’t committed to regular updates.
All that said and done, what do you do when you’re suddenly completely stumped for new content?
There are only so many subjects to cover, and often it can seem as if we have covered all our ideas and we’re left stagnating while our competitors move on in leaps and bounds of creativity and innovation.
Here’s what you can do:
Look around at your industry
If you’re struggling for content, one of the best ways to generate new ideas is to take a peek at your industry or field of expertise and find out what people are talking about, online. If you are a professional gardener, use the seasons and media to see what the hot topics or trends are. Similarly, someone who blogs about software can trawl the net for new updates in technology, and add in reviews and opinions about what is going on.
All niches change from time to time, and by seeing how yours is progressing, you can come up with fresh content to meet demand.
Find inspiration anywhere
Your inspiration doesn’t need to be wholly bound up in your business. If you are a regular reader here, you’ll probably have noticed that I link blogging in with all sorts of odd subjects – blogging and pets, blogging and marriage, blogging and Lady Gaga – I get inspiration from the rest of my life and bring it back to my desk to write, and if you always have a part of your mind working on generating new ideas, you’ll be able to fuse seemingly incompatible ideas together to come up with great content.
Ask your customers
If you’re still struggling, try asking your customers what they want to see on your blog. Run an opinion poll and see what they want to hear about, or look through comments and feedback to find new information trails that you can turn in to articles.
Be structured about blog post generation
One of the best things you can do to stay in the right frame of mind to come up with new content is having a regular structure in your writing. Just like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, blog writing should be an integral part of your every day activities. Knowing that you have to update your blog will keep you focused throughout the day, making it much easier to come up with fresh material to write about.
How do you get inspiration for new blog post ideas?
Please share your views in the comments below.
Hi Andrew
I’ve been MIA for awhile while I set up a new site and revamp my blog so I am very inspired now I’m active again.
Interestingly, while I was not writing, I was getting organic traffic that was targeted! Not just my blogging buddies, many of whom are not my customers but part of the same community.
Some of my posts come from questions asked by my readers plus with regular visitors, they often express what they are wanting to know about.
That of course comes after some time online and with increased recognition in a specific niche.
You don’t ever seem to run out of ideas though so kudos to you and your blog 🙂
Patricia Perth Australia
Hello Patricia!
I hope all is well and sounds like you’ve had a major revamp!
Posts from customers wants/needs are the best because you are supplying exactly want they want.
Nice to hear from you again!
Andrew
Keeping a structure to my blog is definitely a constant challenge. I find it’s helpful to keep a running list of inspirations and ideas for articles so that when drafting my next article comes up on my task list, I have a list of ideas to start with. I keep this list synced with my phone so that wherever I am, if I find myself discussing or thinking about something that I have a lot to say about, I can record it to come back to later in my blog.
Jon,
That is a great approach and very disciplined!
Thanks for sharing.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Most of the time, i gather my blog ideas by visiting social bookmarking sites like digg. What i like about this method is that i would be able to come up with a high quality post that is not only valuable to my followers but it’s also a trending topic in the internet.
I find this structured approach helpful, also is that a plugin that estimates the reading time of each post — nice, not seen that before?
Brooke,
Yes…the plugin is ‘Post Teaser’.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Holidays are indeed detrimental for blogs, especially for those who post stuff on a daily basis. Personally, I make it a point to do some advance posts and simply schedule them during long vacations.
Felicia
I do exactly that if I am going on holiday.
Andrew
I’m lucky in that my blog is about building my blog. So as I apply what I’ve read and learned and add new features to my site, I have a wealth of material to write about. That I post no more than twice a week also helps keep me from running out of ideas.
Bryan
That’s nice to hear.
Andrew
I’m trying to find the regularity for posting that works for me and I’d to do it at least twice a week but I must admit it is often only once a week but I must rectify that if I going to get more readers.
Matt
Try and aim for twice a week – say Tuesday and Thursday.
It’s good to get into a schedule.
Andrew
You are right. I hate when a blog I read doesn’t get updated in a while. If they do update it regularly it shows that they do take it serious.
Also I can’t believe you have a post called “Blogging and Lady Gaga”. I’m definitely gonna have to read that one. Haha.
Katie
I hope you liked the Lady Gaga post!
Andrew
the more your readership grows the more you have to post new articles because your readers always want more.
I try and post 3 articles a week as a minimum I try my best to do five if possible.
But to post so many times you have to do a lot of research to get your ideas going.
But in my niche things are always changing and growing so there’s always Something to write about.
I love your last point. And that’s how it works for me. Generating ideas for blog posts is just like an everyday routine (not boring though lol). If we keep it to be a systematic and a regular thing it occurs naturally.
If all of a sudden we go and hunt for ideas after 2 weeks, its hard to think past the rust.
Hi Jane,
I like to keep a note pad close by – in case ideas come into my head!
Andrew
one of the Sneaky things that I do if I run out of blogging ideas If to repost one of my older articles.
Sneaky I know by it does work because I still receive comments and traffic, Which is great
Robert,
Repost?
You mean copy and post under a new title?
Would that be classed as duplicate content?
Andrew