What to do if You Are Out of Blogging Ideas

I have no idea what to write. If you have been blogging for more than a few months, you know this feeling. It’s frustrating and disheartening. Worse, if your marketing plan relies on your ability to produce original content - panic may set in.

If it’s any comfort, you are not alone. The world of content marketing is becoming more and more competitive. The pressure is on to provide readers with a constant stream of engaging posts. Other bloggers are also struggling to create great content.

Create a Repository of Ideas

We’ve all been there. You run across an interesting video. You tell yourself that would be a great topic for a blog post, then an hour later you forget all about it. Another mistake that bloggers make is dismissing a post idea too quickly.

Don’t wait to jot down or otherwise record these ideas, and don’t worry about editing yourself. You can sort through things later. Just get your ideas recorded. Here are a few tools for collecting and organizing blog post ideas:

● Use an app such as Evernote to write down, store, and organize topic ideas.

● Take advantage of the voice recorder on your phone to quickly record ideas that pop into your mind.

● Use pocket to store videos, articles, and other content for viewing later.

● Trello is a great visual tool that uses a card based system. It’s great for keeping your content ideas organized.

Stay on Top of Your Industry And Your Audience

Your audience craves content that is relevant to them. This will come in two forms. The first is content that is based on industry events and trends. The second is content that is relevant to your audience’s demographic.

If you want to maintain a list of industry relevant topic ideas, try the following:

● Follow industry leaders on social media.

● Participate in Twitter discussions that you find using relevant keywords.

● Read publications that relate to your industry.

● Attend conventions and other industry events

The key to providing content that is personally meaningful to your audience is creating personas. Identify who your audience is. This includes demographic information, but also…

● Hobbies and Interests

● Political And Social Views

● Educational Background

● Social Media Participation

● Goals And Concerns

● Career Path

● Daily Activities

● Sources of News And Entertainment

Revisit Your Old Content

You don’t always have to come up with brand new content. Chances are, there is something lying around that you can repurpose. That cool slide show presentation could make a great blog post. You could grab an eBook and share an excerpt from it with your blog subscribers. Have you provided users with lists of your favorite, tools, websites, foods, books, etc.? Maybe it’s time to update those lists.

Ask Your Audience

You can almost never go wrong with user generated content. Your audience members will enjoy sharing their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. You’ll get some additional content as well as new insights into your followers. Here are just a few things you can solicit:

● Pictures Videos And Stories

● Questions For Q & A Sessions

● Funny Picture Captions

● Tips And Tricks For Using Your Products

You can even make things a bit more interesting by creating a contest or giveaway.

Write a Review

Your followers are looking for thought leadership. One way to establish this is to express strong opinions. Is there a new product available that might interest your audience? What about a new book or movie? Check it out, then let your followers know what you think and why.

Curate Great Content

Original content is great, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing content from other sources. If it is relevant to your subscribers, by all means, pass it along. You need to release content consistently in order to keep up with your competitors and keep your audience members interested. A content provider such as Lord of Papers can be a great source of shareable blog posts and articles.

Create Something Visual

Every post doesn’t have to be text based. In fact, they shouldn’t be. Your blog posts should be a combination of text-based posts, infographics, videos, even podcasts. Mix things up. You may even find that you draw in more subscribers if you focus a bit more on visual based content. You will certainly earn my social media shares.

Interview an Influencer

Hopefully, you’ve been able to form relationships with influential bloggers and industry leaders who work in your niche. Arrange to interview a VIP in your industry. Their thoughts, ideas, and predictions can be a great source for a blog post or even a series of blog posts. You might also consider handing the reins over to them altogether, and ask them to compose a guest post.

Conclusion

Writer’s block is simply not an option. You have to put out great blog content in order to remain relevant. Try out these tips, and soon you will have more content ideas than you ever thought you would.