At the core of this blogging tip is an essential truth: Ideas are around you all the time. Everywhere. Every day.
Sometimes they sneak up on you when you’re not looking and voila! You knock out your best blog post yet, and in record time.
Yet much of the time you may be reaching for new ideas for your content, and the well seems dry.
As for writing that terrific post? Riding a bicycle backwards in a rainstorm looks easier.
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What’s a little blogger to do?
Develop a handful of ways to find ideas, and use them. Regularly.
Many times, even though we’ve absorbed a few blogging tips for our idea factory, we forget we even know them! We find ourselves staring at that scary blank screen… again. Hoping some flash of brilliance will come our way.
Okay. That said, here are my top 4 ways of finding new ideas.
1. The News
Huey Lewis and his band are still playing, and so is the daily news.
Check out the headlines of the day on Google News and Yahoo News. See what’s popular on the Web at Yahoo Buzz. Look for stories that would make a good lead-in to a topic related to your niche.
As I write this, we’re in the midst of an election season. Pay attention to political ads and stories. What the politicians are (and maybe are not) saying may fit nicely under your thinking cap.
One thing to keep in mind when perusing the news for ideas, is to allow yourself to stretch a bit. News stories can often have an indirect relationship to your topic or theme.
Here’s an example: 3 Blogging Tips (and 1 Mistake That Could Sink Your Ship!)
2. Popular Blogs
Remember, they’re popular for a reason. Here are my top 3:
Mashable
Billed as a “Social Media Guide,” this multi-layered site really has it goin’ on. Along with Social Media, categories include Web Video, Mobile, Tech, Business, Entertainment and Social Good.
Copyblogger
Okay, you’re right, I’m biased. Not only is this blog solidly in the top twenty, it happens to be the number one blog in my niche. Think I go there often?
Problogger
The blogging tips on this site are all about how to make money blogging. Hmm… might you find some good content ideas here?
There are plenty more. Those are just my personal faves. Find yours.
3. Your Competition
There’s no need to go cloak and dagger when spying on your competition. Many bloggers in the same niche develop great working relationships.
Use Google Blog Search to find the popular blogs in your niche. There is a nifty little search box that allows you to limit your search to blogs.
Once you’ve located them, bookmark your favorites. Visit regularly.
Plug your keywords into their search box and see what comes up. What are they talking about? How are they talking about it?
NOTE: Do not ever copy and paste someone’s material. Not only will the search engines ding you for duplicate content, it’s just unethical. And unnecessary! You can quote the piece giving due credit; link back to the original story or post; or just grab the core idea, rework it and make it your own (highly recommended).
4. Your Every Day Life
Since I began blogging and posting regularly, I have often found myself viewing the events of my day through a different lens.
“Ooh, that would make a great blog post!” or “I must tell my readers about that!” really are common thoughts. If it hasn’t yet happened to you, it will.
Here’s an example of a blog post created from attending the theater:
A Wickedly True Story About Content
Final Thoughts: Keep A Swipe File
My last blogging tip today is to keep a swipe file of all those good ideas.
What’s a swipe file? A text document with a list of those stellar ideas you’ve come across. Maybe a short description of each, and where it applies, a link back to the material that inspired you.
You may not always be ready to use that idea the minute you find it. Store it in your swipe file and you can forget about that short term memory loss.
Got a great idea? Need a boost in putting it all together? Do yourself – and your business – an enormous favor and take a good copywriting course. Here’s one I recommend. Excellent material, incredible price: The Ultimate Copywriting Crash Course
