At one point, a blogger has to deal with empty content calendars. We’ve all been there before, even the most brilliant bloggers. Read on.

Running out of blog ideas?

Are you stuck?

Bloggers, every once in a while, struggle to write and publish. There is no eternal spring of blog ideas in people’s head and everything on their mind that made them excited to create a blog in the first place might eventually disappear.

At one point, a blogger will have to deal with empty content calendars and stare into a blank word document, trying hard to come up with a topic to write about. However, when you get to this point, do not panic. Remember that we have all been there before, even the most brilliant bloggers.

Types Of Blog Posts

A certain degree of variety can make a blog exciting. Using different styles of blog posts can spice up your page and makes reading more exciting.

Listicles

This is an article whose core is a list of items. Marketers have a love/hate relationship with listicles because they are becoming all too common and some say they lack sophistication and quality. Yet, this is what makes websites like Buzzfeed very popular.

How-To’s

People search the internet for just about anything, including how to do some things. How-Tos are among the most popular content types. With a well-written and informative article, you can easily go viral.

Checklists

Checklists are part of human nature in the quest for the ultimate productivity and obsession with thoroughness. Writing a checklist of something your readers are interested in will ensure to get lots of readers.

Ultimate Guides

The internet being such a rich source of knowledge, you can expect to learn anything and everything under the sun. New trends, uncommon topics, travel, food, and just about anything can be a subject of Ultimate Guides; and people love them.

Tips and Trivia

With ever-new learnings and fun to offer, tips and trivia have always been an attractive and well-dug blog type. Quick, smart, and helpful – people can’t get sick of it.

Latest Industry News

Hobbyists, businesses, and aficionados of a certain industry always love to stay on top of things and new information. Delivering them up-to-date news will surely take your blog far.

Interviews

Featuring an interview with an influencer or expert in your niche is a very effective way to hook your readers. Interview type blog posts certainly pique interests. In fact, this is the reason why most podcasts are really popular.

There are still a lot of blog post and content types that can be used for your blog. However, prudence must be observed when choosing what to use. Some blog types may not appeal to your audience and won’t get or maintain their attention. The internet is a fast-paced realm, after all.  However, feel free to experiment blog topics and find out what clicks to your audience and what doesn’t.

Where To Source Out Blog Ideas

Your head is just one of the hundreds of places where you can get a topic to write about on your next blog. Don’t forget, the internet is the most marvellous resource of information and you should take advantage of it to come up with topics that will command your readers’ attention.

1. Your Audience

There are no better sources of topics that will appeal to your readers than your audience themselves. As it is for them that you write your pieces, they certainly are the experts on what interests them. Ask them for questions they want you to answer and write a blog about it. You will assure to have a never-ending flow of things to write about.

2. Social Networking Sites

Whatever is viral in social media that is related to your blog will certainly interest your readers. That is the reason why they became viral in the first place. Be creative enough to find your way around these viral contents and you will have a blog post that people will love to read. You can lookout for new viral and trendy topics through social listening, or even use platforms that help you determine current and potential future viral topics.

3. Quora Questions

If you can’t ask your readers what they want to know, check out Quora. There, you will find people whose concerns can be similar to your audience. Make these questions the basis of your next blog post by discussing them and providing them with well-thought answers.

4. Books about Your Niche

Books are infinite sources of quotes and specific topic discussions. All famous bloggers have, at one time, referenced entries and information from a particular book related to their industry. In fact, the book itself is an awesome topic on its own.

5. Industry Case Studies and Reports

If you are into breaking down details and providing factual and up-to-date information to your readers, industry case studies and reports are great sources of ideas to discuss. There is an endless potential for entries in studies and reports that you can discuss in more than just one blog post. You can even create a series of posts about them.

6. Other Blogs of the Same Niche

This does not mean copying every topic a competitor blog has. This means keeping yourself updated with what is being discussed in similar niche blogs that are highly popular. You can take out an idea from them and implement it into your own discussion. You can also determine what is lacking and what is not addressed in the current discussion, and focus on it.

7. News and Current Affairs

Human interest stories, politics and economy, business and lifestyle, and technology news are a great source of fresh blog ideas. You can evaluate and discuss in more depth the subjects found in the news, and how it relates to and affect your readers. You will be assured to come up with a blog post that is wonderfully satisfying for you and your audience.

8. Discussions in Your Social Accounts

If you are part of a Facebook group, you already are in an advantageous position to source out topics relevant to your industry. Stay updated on what is being talked about and write your two cents about it.

9. Your Comment Section

When was the last time you took out a comment or two in one of your posts and created a whole discussion around it? If you have never done it, perhaps it is time to consider it. Many effective and popular blog posts talk about actual comments from actual people, therefore creating the healthiest and most interesting of discussions.

10. Other Contents You Published

Repurposing content has become really popular and is still being practised to this day. If you have written an ebook, made a study, produced podcasts, filmed videos, designed infographics, or created just about any other content; you can take the whole topic, or a part of it, and turn it into a blog post. Consider those contents that became very popular among your readers and write about them. This is another opportunity to get them hooked and grow your blog.

11. Topic-Generating Software

There are many software and platforms you can use to generate topics that are relevant to your industry. Platforms like Bottlenose and Buzzsumo are just some of them. Some platforms even provide information, statistics, and suggestions that are really helpful.

The Bottom Line: Creativity and Resourcefulness

There are endless resources for things that you can discuss and write about, far more than what is listed above. It even extends limits beyond the internet. In fact, everyday things can trigger great ideas, your personal experiences being assuredly one of them. If you know how to frame and discuss things that you think matters to you and your readers, you will have an even easier time coming up with things to say.

Creativity and resourcefulness go hand in hand for the effective production of content ideas. Whatever appeals to you can appeal to your audience, and whatever you find valuable can potentially be equally valuable to them. Take out what is relevant and discuss it. Take out lessons from your everyday life and experiences and you will have an endless stream of topics to write about.

In the end, however, what matters is producing content that offers value to your readers. Do not just write for the sake of writing. Give them something that enriches their lives and helps them grow. With this intention kept in your heart and mind, you will always find something to offer your audience.