All writers know the feeling: that sense of frustration or even desperation when you feel you’ve run out of ideas for your blog. Some refer to it as “writers’ block,” but it’s really just the point at which you think you’ve exhausted all your great ideas for keeping your readers engaged. Here are some suggestions that can help you keep the ideas flowing.
Dedicate a Post to Customer Questions
If you’ve got an established reader base for your blog, they are sure to have questions and comments about your posts. But if not, you know your customers’ frequently asked questions, and it’s very likely that other people have the same questions. These are an excellent way to generate new blog posts. When you answer customer questions in your posts, not only do you increase the likelihood that other people will find your blog when searching for that answer, but you also further establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Read Blogs in Your Industry for New Ideas
While you don’t want to copy and paste material from other sources, you should be keeping up on news and blogs in your industry. Use these industry blogs as inspiration for topics to write about and add your own commentary on the subject, such as discussing whether you agree or disagree on the topic and why. You should also offer your own references, data, and examples to support your opinion.
Comment on Popular Industry Blogs
Chances are that the most popular blogs in your industry get hundreds of comments per post, and because of this high volume, the authors often don’t have time to respond directly to all the comments and questions. Think of this as an excellent opportunity. First, you should reply directly in the comment thread and provide a helpful answer to a reader’s question. Then, you can rephrase the question, along with your answer, and create a blog post using that as the basis. Not only will you inevitably gain some followers because you are answering the questions other authors don’t have the time to address, but you will also, once more, prove that you are a reliable industry expert.
Another tip: Some popular question and answer websites have tons of questions that either don’t have an answer, or they don’t have the right answer. Those offer great opportunities as blog topics as well.
