How to Come Up With Content Ideas for Your Blog

Writer’s block. The nemesis of content creators everywhere. Writer's block is a condition where an author loses the ability to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Sooner or later, the blank white screen and blinking cursor will taunt you. It happens to the best of us.

The easiest way to avoid this creative slump is always to have a stable of content ideas, topics, thoughts, and musings on hand, be it in the form of an editorial calendar or a simple list. That way, you need only refer to this document, and you'll be up and writing in no time.

In case you're unable to follow a calendar or just haven't been able to update your topic list recently, we've compiled a list of our favorite ways to generate great content ideas for your blog, no matter the industry you're in. Coming up with content ideas for your blog is the process of generating new topics to write about to keep your audience engaged and attract new readers.

Have a Classic Brainstorming Session

Who knows your blog, subject, industry, and what topics you've already covered better than you? Brainstorming is a fantastic way to come up with new content ideas, and that extends to content marketing just as readily as anything else.

Ready, Set, GO!

Write for two minutes, non-stop, just listing general topics. Don't worry if you add something you've already written about; the fact that it came up again could mean there's more to explore. Unsure where to begin? Start with the titles of your last three pieces and go from there.

Bonus points if you have a team, circle of friends, or even a writer's group that you can draw inspiration from and ask to join you.

Even more bonus points if you have one of those awesome huge tablet-on-an-easel things.

Ask Your Audience for Ideas

Presumably, your existing audience likes your content. Otherwise, they wouldn't be your audience. So why not ask them for input? Use your social media presence to ask what topics they want to see you write about. Scroll through your comments section. Are people asking questions that you haven't addressed yet?

Both of these are great sources for content ideas, and you'll get bonus points from the people whose ideas you end up using. Showing that you're listening and engaged with your audience may prompt others to write in with more ideas. This way you can end your writer's block and fill in your upcoming editorial calendar with reader-suggested topics!

Consult Your Sales Team for FAQs

Your sales team is constantly fielding a variety of questions from potential customers. Identifying the queries your sales team wishes they had immediate answers to during sales call follow-ups can provide valuable insights for new content ideas. If these questions are arising from real prospects, it's highly likely that others are seeking answers to them as well. This approach is a fantastic way to ensure that your blog content remains relevant to both sales and potential buyers.

Conduct Keyword Research

There are two primary versions of keyword research you can perform to find content ideas. This process involves using tools like Google Analytics or Ahrefs to uncover relevant search terms.

• Your Own Keywords: Dig into the keywords you already rank for and find new ones you might want to rank for in the future. The legwork will result in a list of keywords and topic ideas gleaned from the search results.
• Competitor Keywords: Perform the same keyword research process on your competitors. Analyze their blogs to see what keywords they rank for and get a feel for their top posts. Can you riff on the same topic from your perspective? Is there a glaring omission you can use to generate a fresh take?

Whatever specifics you find, this competitor analysis is bound to give you a decent list of keywords and post-topic ideas.

Mine Forums for Topic Gold

Question-and-answer or forum sites are topical gold mines for content ideas. People are likely asking questions about your area of expertise, so find those questions and use them to build your topic list. Great platforms for this include:

• Quora
• Reddit

On a site like Quora, you can dig around and use the search function to look for your keywords, then use the filter to sort by top questions. This will surface the most asked questions and the "best" answers, which are ripe areas for you to glean ideas for your posts. You can also reverse the sort to see questions that haven't been answered yet. This is a prime source of content ideas, since people want to know and have not found the answer. You can fill that void with your blog posts.

Reuse or Remix Your Existing Content

Check your analytics for pieces that continue to garner hits weeks, months, or even years after their initial post date. From these stats, compile a list of your top ten pieces. Now, reread them all with an eye toward what you can reuse or remix into new content. Potential sources for new content ideas include:

• Popular Sections: A specific section of one post might resonate with you. Pull that out and expand it into a new, more detailed topic.
• Timely Comments: Reread the comments on your posts. You might find a question or insight that is particularly timely and can serve as the basis for a new article.
• Podcast Transcripts: You can turn the transcript of a podcast episode into a post of its own. Look for great, probing questions from guests that you didn't have time to dive into during the show.

Using these sources, see if you can go meta or more granular with a topic you've already covered. Look at that top ten list of posts again. Can you go up a level for a broader topic, or go down a level on one particular section for a more niche post?

Leverage AI for Content Ideation

An excellent source for initial content ideas can be generative AI, especially systems like Gemini or ChatGPT that can analyze your site and those of your competitors. You can use prompts like, "Looking at site ABC and comparing it with DEF, what content ideas should I cover?" to get started.

Identify Content Gaps with SEO Tools

Utilize tools like Ahrefs' Content Gap feature to streamline your research and find new content ideas. A Content Gap Analysis is a process used to identify topics that your competitors rank for in search results, but you do not. This analysis offers valuable insights into competitors' keyword strategies, helping you create targeted blog content for higher search engine rankings and engage your audience effectively.

Write About Your Personal Experiences

When in doubt, remember that people love a good story. They also appreciate transparency. If you can combine quality storytelling with letting your audience in on a little secret about what makes you tick, you'll hook them. One thing to keep in mind with this approach is that if you don't write stories regularly, it can pay to refresh yourself on good storytelling techniques to make your content sticky.

Using these tips as a starting point, you can get past your writer's block. Even if you're not currently suffering, you can use these tricks when it's time to build your next editorial calendar and find endless content ideas. Now, get writing!