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Where to find blog post ideas from?

Jan 11

Written by:
2010/01/11 08:28 AM

If you have been blogging for any length of time you would have experienced what is customary known as “writer’s blog” or “blogger’s block”.

Where on earth are you going to get your next post idea from? Might be a question you have asked before.

I asked some of our readers to give us some ideas as to how and where they get their blog post ideas from. This we then put into our Blog Paragraph Collaboration Challenge.

So here are six great paragraphs from some fantastic authors on How to find blog post ideas.

Enjoy, and remember to visit their blogs please.

Patty Reiser

Website: This Digital Life

Imagine yourself standing in the shower, warm water cascading down your body and suddenly it hits you. The topic of your next blog post. You keep repeating it to yourself over and over again while methodically splashing through your routine. You almost slip on the wet floor as you rush to get out of the shower. You grab your robe, tear open the bathroom door in search of the nearest pad of paper and pen before you lose your thought. Frantically you scribble the racing thoughts down on paper before the next senior moment hits you or the screaming children drive you to distraction.

Has this ever happened to you?

I find that some of my best ideas come to me when I have a few moments to myself in the shower. I don’t know why that is. Perhaps its because I have locked the door so the kids can not enter and disturb my temporary peace. Or perhaps the warm steam from the shower has cleared out the last cobwebs of sleep.

I also draw inspiration from some of the usual sources. Chapters in a book I am reading. Magazine articles. Search terms people have used to find my website. I also look to see what questions are being posed on Forums in my niche, Yahoo Answers or CafeMom Answers. And one of the best sources has been to outright ask your readers what they want from your blog. I even added a page in the Navigation Bar on my blog to make it easy for them. But more often than not, an idea will come to me while I am in the shower. I don’t over analyze it. I just know that if I need a really good idea. Go take a shower. It works.

Chris Hinton

Website: Geek Speaks

I recently decided to increase my post rate, so finding blog topics is very much on my mind. There are a few ways I generate ideas, not least of which is just to sit down with a piece of paper and come up with subjects that I would want to read about, then expand each one to a few related topics. I also use Google's "Wonder Wheel" to search for topics and see what related searches there are for them. Twitter is a great place for up to date news, and I also look through news websites to see if there's anything interesting. There's also a wealth of ideas in a blog's own comments; if someone asks a question or makes a point there may very well be a post idea in there! By far my biggest source of ideas, though, is my RSS feed. I read widely, and often find something on another site that makes me think, "Hmm, I could expand that, or comment on it, or debate it". If I were to offer one piece of advice then it would be this, "If you want to write more, read more."

Kevin Tea

Website: Web 2 and more

With my blog there’s a growing push/pull divide with, as the blog grows, an increasing number of companies approaching me to review their services or software packages. While this is naturally pleasing as it is a sign that the blog is getting recognition, some products are sometimes pretty dire and it is embarrassing to have to tell developers that their brainchild is a crock of crap.

I also scan a large number of technical sources using Google Reader to pick up RSS feeds. These range from Lifehacker, Web Worker Daily and Techcrunch through to smaller, individual blogs . Google Reader makes it simple to scan stacks of posts and highlight those I want to go back to and investigate in more detail. I also follow a number of techy bloggers and other sources on Twitter.

Ross Saunders

Website: Sigma.Squared

Writing a predominantly technology related blog, coming up with topics generally comes from playing with a new technology, or most predominantly, using old technology that breaks. Once I have managed to resolve an issue or gripe with a piece of tech, I post about it. I consider it a professional courtesy to share knowledge I have gained. Experience has taught me that witholding knowledge will often slow a team down, even a global network of strangers. Quite often I will try and take a complex document from elsewhere and adapt it to be simpler, or more generalised and removed from a specific technology, thus enabling a broader audience to make use of the post. My attitude is, if its worth saying to someone "I found this really cool [insert really cool thing here] the other day..." then it is worth hitting the publish button.

Jordan Cooper

Website: Not A Pro Blog

Don't worry about what to write about. Just listen. I subscribe to a ridiculous amount of RSS feeds. Even if I don't read 90% of them, the post titles alone will give me a sense of all the major talking points.

Now, when one of them tickles your fancy, I'd suggest trying to take the

*opposite* viewpoint. Even if you agree with what was written, try to prove it wrong. You'll find yourself coming up with even more ideas and new ways of solving problems.

If you're just going to believe things at face value just because everyone says it's true, then you're denying yourself the ability to write interesting, creative and thought-provoking content that will inspire discussion.

Mk Akan

Website: MkAkan Dot Com

I believe that ideas for blog posts can come from anything and anywhere. One should always carry something to write on or type in (a cell phone maybe).

Here are some ways I get blog my post ideas.

From your personal experience - Many experiences you have online and offline can give you ideas for a blog post
Events around you - Everything happening around you has a lesson you can blog about. So watch out.
From other blogs - Reading other blogs in your niche will give you ideas for your own post.
Ask questions - Asking your readers what they need or want can give you ideas for blog post.
From forums - People talk and ask questions in forums and other social spots. You can harvest tons of post ideas from here.
From what others bloggers are doing - Look around you niche or topic, what are other bloggers doing? Can you add you voice to the discussion? Can you do something similar or cover the grounds they are not covering?
From books/e-books - Other resources like e-books and physical books, videos, audios can all give you ideas you can blog about

Conclusion:

What a great set of tips from fantastic and awesome authors. What strikes me here is that each one has a totally different way of getting blog post ideas. This is probably the best point that this post can make. As an individual you need to find out what works for you.

Each person is different. Take these ideas, see if you can make them work for you. Perhaps they will spawn other ideas that you can use.

Be sure to visit each authors blog. They will really appreciate it.