Blog Ideas Guide: How to Come Up with New Topics

Don’t you hate it when you have nothing to write about? We’ve all been there before. Sadly, it happens more often than we would like.

But it’s all part of the process. As experienced writers, we know how to get ourselves out of that writing slump. So, we put together this guide, sharing our secrets on coming up with new blog topics.

Blogging Trends

Before we share our tips, it’s important to learn about the different trends in blogging so that you’re well-prepared to tackle your next project.

Article Lengths are Increasing

Now while short articles are preferred, longer pieces perform much better overall. They get 8x more page views, 3x more social media shares, and 9x more leads.

You’re probably wondering how long they should be exactly. In 2021, the average blog post length was 1,416, and it’s only going to increase moving forward. We’re not saying to avoid writing short articles altogether. But if you’re looking to get more views and engagement, long articles are the way to go.

Writing long articles might not be your forte. Not to worry. You can hire an agency like People First Content, Contently, or Manifest to write unique, high-quality posts for your brand.

Add More Visuals

Everything is becoming more visual – including blogs. With article lengths increasing, you need to find ways to keep the reader interested, and that’s where visual content comes in handy, whether that be images, infographics, or videos.

They keep people engaged and give them another way of digesting the information. It’s also a clever way of breaking up your text into easily digestible chunks. As a result, articles with an image every 75-100 words received 2x more shares than those with fewer images. This just proves the powerful effect visuals have on your blog.

Post Frequently

Wonder how often you should post? Trends indicate that posting multiple times a week will drive significant traffic to your site. When it comes to frequency, the more often, the better. But always consider your business capabilities. It will be difficult to sustain a daily schedule while maintaining high-quality posts if you’re a small business with only a few blog writers.

So decide on a posting schedule that works for you. Even posting once a week or twice a month will yield positive results. Try to find social media marketing services that handle small businesses so they can create monthly content posting schedules for your company and save you a lot of time and effort.

5 Ways to Come Up with Interesting Ideas for Blog Posts

With these new trends in blogging, you’ll want to get going with your content process. So here are five ways you can generate new ideas for your blog.

Read, read, read

Reading is a great way to stimulate your mind and spark creativity. There’s so much knowledge and inspiration from books that your following idea may come out of nowhere.

Plus, it’s one way to give yourself mental exercise. So whether it’s from a book, article, or social media post, spend time reading. Grab a novel or an autobiography and dive in.

Get into the Fine Arts

Don’t be afraid to lose yourself in the pleasure of the fine arts. It’s hard not to get influenced by great bodies of work. When you look at an artwork, think about all the little details it includes and how it makes you feel. Learning and appreciating the artist’s creation is a unique way to tap into your creativity.

Whether you are going to a museum, looking at paintings, attending a live event, or even watching a movie, enjoy the beauty and art of what other people have created.

Scroll through Social Media

That’s right. This is one of those rare times when going on social media can be productive. You can’t deny that social media can be a great source of inspiration. There are many platforms where creators can go and either show off their work or share their lives. Either way, there could be a post that catches your eye, and the mental gears start grinding.

Next time you’re trying to come up with blog ideas, take a journey through social media and see what inspires others.

Ask your Audience

What better way to know what your audience might be interested in than to ask them yourself? It’s super beneficial because you’ll get to hear firsthand what people want to read about. Plus, you can use that opportunity to discover any frequently asked questions that they may have.

So set up a poll on social media or organize an online discussion/forum to encourage conversation. Use that to gauge what kind of content they’d like to see.

Brainstorm with a Group

Teamwork makes the dream work. Holding a group brainstorming session is a fantastic way of generating new ideas. Everyone has different insights and thought processes. As a result, your group members might come up with something you never thought about.

Take time out of your day to host a group brainstorming session to foster the development of numerous blog topics so that you have enough to last a while.

Keyword Research

No matter what purpose your blog is for, keyword research is vital for success. This is the practice of analyzing terms that your target audience enters into search engines. This gives you a better idea of what people search for on the internet.

First, you need to define what keywords you want to rank for. Once you have that, use Google’s AutoSuggest and Related Searches to see the relative queries or terms people often look up.

This is key because you not only want to write a good blog post, but you also want to write one that will get seen and rank high on search engines.

Tools to Generate Blog Post Topics

With several ways to find your next idea, here are some tools to aid you in your search.

Answer The Public

This tool is excellent for finding long-tail keywords. All you have to do is type in a keyword, and it will pull up related search queries in a “who, what, when, where, why, and how” format. You are allowed up to 3 free searches every day.

Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is a platform that helps find you the best-performing content currently on the internet. It can be a valuable tool for your keyword research as well as for generating content ideas. Their detailed analytics are the star of the show because they provide performance insights such as engagement rate and search volume.

Google Trends

Google Trends allows you to research the most popular searches on the internet. The free tool provides information about which locations are actively searching the keyword in addition to trending related topics. So if you’re looking for something to give you the big picture, Google Trends is the one.

Ubersuggest

From Neil Patel, Ubersuggest is an essential tool for your keyword research. It’s another free tool that gives you helpful reports on the top SEO pages and keyword suggestions while even providing content ideas that will get you the most views and shares. This is a powerful tool that will keep you ahead of the competition.

Now that you have ways to develop new topics for your next blog, it’s time to get writing. Check out some of the content agencies listed above to help if you don’t have the resources to post new content on your blog consistently.