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7 Surefire Ways to Come Up With Blog Post Ideas
Have you been at a loss on what to write about next? You have come to a dead end on ideas for blog posts and sometimes you just need a little inspiration to help get the creative juices flowing again. Well, here are 7 surefire ways to come up with blog post ideas!
1. Google
Of course, this is the answer to everything, just Google it! But there is more to it than just googling “blog post ideas“. Think of some keywords in your niche and write those down as ideas to Google. They may be things you have wrote about a hundred times. That’s okay. I am going to show you how you can take those keywords and come up with brand new ideas for blog posts.
First, start by typing in your keyword or keyword phrase into Google’s homepage.
Let’s use the example of “cake recipes”. You can see that right away Google is giving you ideas on what other people are searching for when they typed in the phrase “cake recipes”. This is a great way for you to come up with your next blog post idea because these are what your readers are searching for. These are questions that you could answer for your readers.
If you have a bunch of cake recipes on your blog but you don’t have any that are without eggs that would be a perfect new blog post. Or one without butter. These are things that people are searching for and a great way for you to come up with a blog post idea that you know people want to read.
Next, after you hit enter on your keyword term “cake recipes”, again Google comes up with suggestions for you to search for based on what others have been searching for. Once again, you now know what other people are searching for these terms and those would be good blog post ideas.
Already you have about 10-15 new ideas of what you could write about just based on one keyword phrase! But wait, there is more!
If you stay on just the term “cake recipes” and your scroll down to the bottom of the page Google gives you related searches. These are more ideas of what other people are also looking for when they search for cake recipes. It lists several different kinds of cakes.
The list above was more about how to make the cakes but these reaches are different flavors of cakes. People searched for “best cake ever” and “types of cakes”.
Then below those two boxes, it says “searches related to cake recipes”. And once more it lists a bunch of related keyword searches that people are searching for the answers to!
Let’s say that you typed in “the best cake recipes” and you scrolled down to about the middle of the page on Google.
Besides all of the related blog posts that come up that you could read through to get your creativity going, there is a box that says “People also ask”, here is where you can hit the jackpot on blog post ideas!
The box that lists what “People also ask” is almost a never-ending list.
Each time you click on one of the questions it will drop down to tell you more information but then more questions are added to the bottom of the list. Look at the example below.
Each time I clicked on one of the questions it added more. After clicking those questions listed above you can see that it added 11 more questions that people are asking.
Just off of the term “cake recipes” you have already come up with a bunch more longer keyword phrases that you could then search each of those individually. You can see how this method alone could help you come up with a whole list of blog post ideas all related to just cake recipes!
If you do this whole entire process again with a completely different keyword like “baby food” then you would have another whole list of blog post ideas related to those keywords.
This is a very fast and easy way to find out what people are searching for and what blog posts you could write to help your readers find the answers they are looking for! AND this is only one way. Let’s move on to the second way to find blog post ideas!
2. Pinterest
Using Pinterest to find your blog post ideas is very similar to the Google method. Pinterest is a search engine just like Google and they also will provide you with what people are searching for the most. But the results that Pinterest gives you is for its users.
Google is much bigger than Pinterest and so the results you get with Google are not has narrowed down to your target market as much as Pinterest will be.
For example, if your keyword is “cake recipes” then odds are it is most likely a mom that is searching that term. Also most likely it is a mom using Pinterest to search for cake recipes too.
The average user of Pinterest is a 40-year-old female. Although, more and more men are joining Pinterest so it is still a great tool to use even if your keyword is “men’s haircuts”
So when you use Pinterest to search your keyword keep in mind that these results are based off of the users of Pinterest and what they search for. Also, keep in mind that those users may be more your target market than people searching on Google.
Moving on, type in your keyword and Pinterest will automatically show you what others searched for related to your keyword. It will also show you people and boards that you may be interested in following related to that keyword.
The people and the boards would be a wonderful way to find blog post ideas. If you click on those and search through all of those pins you are bound to come up with a list of ideas!
Once you hit enter and actually search the keyword you entered then Pinterest will again show you what others have searched for. This tells you what people are looking for related to your keyword.
What I just noticed is that Pinterest is now helping you narrow your search even more with bundling suggestions. Instead of listing at the top a bunch of different times, different diets, or ingredients they bundled them together in drop-down menus!
This is a pretty cool new feature I haven’t seen before!
If you look across the top at all the different colored boxes, those are more keywords that people have searched when looking for cake recipes. If you click the arrow at the top right it will show you more.
Then after you click on one of those keyword boxes it will have more colored boxes narrowing your search even more!
Don’t forget to actually scroll down on each page and look at all the pins that have come up under each search. Those pins are bound to spark some ideas!
Besides just searching keywords, another great way to use Pinterest to come up with blog post ideas is to do as I stated before and go to profiles and boards that you follow that are in your niche. There are plenty of ideas you can come up with scrolling through all of those pins!
3. Answer The Public
Answer The Public is a website for keyword search and content ideas. If this website doesn’t help you come up with new blog post ideas, nothing will! The possibilities are endless with this website.
When you first visit Answer The Public there will be a funny guy there and you will search for your keyword.
After you enter your keyword you will be taken to another screen where it breaks down your keyword or keyword phrase into the categories circled in the picture below.
As you scroll down it will go through those categories and it even gives you the option to download a CSV file of it all.
These are the questions that are asked regarding your keyword or keyword phrase. The public asks the following questions pertaining to your keywords.
Just this alone gives you so many different options for blog post ideas.
But as you continue to scroll it gives you more and more!
Once you get to the Alphabeticals Category it breaks down alphabetically all the different searches the public searches for.
I can’t say this enough…the possibilities are truly endless. We have covered three platforms to use to come up with blog post ideas and it is all based on the same keyword phrase “cake recipes” so just imagine if you did this all for several different keywords.
You would have a brand new giant list of blog post ideas! But let’s keep going on to the other ways!
4. Keyword Search Sites
Of course, you can also use keyword search tools to help you find popular keywords in your niche. There are paid and free options to find keywords.
KW Finder used to offer like 5 free searches per day but now every time I try and use it, it wants me to sign up because of high use.
I do not think I need to pay for keyword searches. I have found a free keyword search tool that tells me the popularity and competitiveness of the keywords that is free so I am going to stick with that.
The tool I am talking about is Ubersuggest. I came across it while reading an ebook on Amazon affiliate marketing (that I loved! and I’m even on her sales page!) and this keyword tool is really easy to read and understand.
I have used others that are so in-depth that it gets overwhelming! This one is straight to the point and I really like it so far!
The last one is Keywords Everywhere. This is an extension you can add to a Chrome or Firefox browser.
Here is how it works:
I don’t use Chrome or Firefox but I think I will go ahead and start using Chrome just so I can take advantage of this keyword tool!
5. Ask Your Readers
You may not get as many responses doing this as you would from doing the above options but it would “come straight from the horse’s mouth” on exactly where your readers are struggling and need help.
Then you can find out where you are missing out with your readers and what blog posts would benefit them the most.
There are several ways you can reach out to your readers to get responses to market research ideas.
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- Email Your List
- Social Media
- Survey/Poll Your Readers
1. Email Your List
In your weekly broadcast just ask your list where they are struggling and how you can help. Sometimes it is just that easy!
You can either send out a specific email just for that or add it to the existing email you already have planned.
2. Social Media
Ask your following on your social media platforms for ideas. If you don’t feel comfortable enough to just flat out ask them for ideas you could make it more interesting by using a poll on Facebook with different options for them to pick from. This will most likely get more responses and is more interactive. Use a funny GIF to grab their attention and ask for their feedback!
Or take a fun selfie and ask for help from your followers on what your next project or post should be.
There are many different ways to find out what they are thinking without flat out asking. If you have a good engaged audience then you should be fine asking for their input without worrying no one responds.
3. Survey/Poll
Use a survey or a poll to ask them what they need help with or for new ideas to write about. Just like the above two options you could include this survey in your email list, on your social media, or add it to a couple opt-ins or blog posts.
Get creative on where you place the survey and I think you will have better success with it!
For a period of time, I had a question on “what’s your biggest struggle” to my feature plan form. Bloggers can sign up to be featured on Mom Blog From Home and when they submitted their blog information I had a question on there asking them what their biggest struggle was as a way to get feedback from them.
It didn’t take long to find out what most bloggers struggle with and so I was able to take that question off and focus on what I knew they needed.
I also added a similar question to my Facebook Group. When they requested to join they had to answer questions and one of them is intended for feedback on what they struggle with so I know how I can help my readers!
6. Read through Facebook Groups and Tailwind Tribes
Facebook Groups
Speaking of social media, reading through all of the different Facebook Groups in your niche is another great way to come up with blog post ideas!
I am in several Facebook Groups in my niche and there are always people asking questions and needing help and advice. Each one of those questions is a perfect blog post idea!
My niche is helping people blog so there are always questions on how to do that, so naturally, each one of those is a blog post idea.
However, let’s say you are in the cooking niche then you could join Facebook Groups such as the Instant Pot group I am apart of. I joined it to learn more tips and tricks about my instant pot and there are over a million people in that group!
There are so many questions being asked. Even if your niche isn’t based only on instant pot recipes you still could fill a need that people have by having a blog post on how to use or how to care for your instant pot!
Or start following others in your niche and you can get inspiration from them or see what their followers are asking for help on!
Even if you are a part of the Facebook Groups that talk about blogging there are still hundreds of other people in those groups that all have different niches. You could make a post in there and ask all those bloggers for ideas on blog posts in your niche!
Everyone is more than happy to help in those groups! That is exactly why they are created! To help each other! You can join my Facebook Group right here! Or follow me on Facebook here!
Tailwind Tribes
The same goes for Tailwind Tribes. There is a chat box in Tailwind Tribes and you can ask other Tribe members for ideas and I’m sure you would get all kinds of responses!
Plus, while you are in there you can check out all the other pins that members have shared and you are bound to find inspiration in there as well! Join my Tailwind Tribe right here! If you don’t have Tailwind yet and you want to try them out you can use my link right here!
Not sure what Tailwind is? Read how I use Tailwind and Pinterest to send traffic to my new blog!
7. Keep Notes as You Write and Read
As I write blog posts or read other blog posts, ideas will always pop in my head of another great blog post I could write. I have even decided to write blog posts just like the one I was reading because I felt like there was more I could add to help my readers on that particular topic.
I love to continue to learn and try new ideas out with blogging so I have a whole list of all those ideas I want to share with my readers. As I look back on my list I will come up with even more ideas.
Sometimes you just have those days where it feels like you have come up with 100 more ideas of blog posts you could write. Other days you feel like you are stuck and can’t seem to think at all.
That’s when I try the methods above or like I said I love to learn and to help break through that wall I will pick back up where I left off on an ebook or course.
I purchase the Genius Bloggers Toolkit every year and it is packed with ebooks, courses, tutorials, printables, you name it! All worth thousands of dollars but once a year it goes on sale for normally around $97. So it literally is a no brainer for continuing education in blogging.
Special Offer!
(Depending on when you are reading this! Ultimate Bundles is having a flash sale on the GBT on April 8-9th 2019!! Normally this bundle is only available one time a year in October! This bundle has 77 products worth $5,867.88 for only $97! These products include 15 eBooks, 41 eCourses, 9 printable packs and workbooks, 5 templates, 5 stock photo sets, and 2 membership sites and again it’s all on sale for only $97! Check it out here!)
So, I will scroll through all of my options and pick one I have been wanting to learn more about and then as I go through I come up with a list of ideas to write about!
Anytime inspiration strikes make sure to write down your ideas. I have made the mistake several times of thinking “oh, I’ll remember” and I never do. So now I just pull out my phone and make a note in my notes app.
This also works super well for when I am out somewhere and I have time to work on a blog post but I don’t have my computer or paper. I just pull up my notes app and read through my blog post ideas and start writing one of them.
Then later when I get home I can easily transfer it to WordPress and make a few changes and additions and be done!
What about you?
Do you have any other methods to come up with blog post ideas? I would love to hear them!
Happy blogging!
Vanessa