You’re probably reading this because you’ve run out of article ideas to write about.

Hey, we won’t judge you.

Actually, we’ve been there too, and know how stressful it can be to generate blog post topics that are actually worthy of being written about.

Sometimes creative juices just aren’t there, and you can’t wrap your head around a specific topic when trying to understand how to get people to read your blog.

This is a normal occurrence and you shouldn’t worry too much!

When this happens, you don’t need to let your creative blocks prevent you from brainstorming ideas. When it comes to blog post topics, there’s always more to write about.

Accessing niche topics within your industry is all about using the right tools to get there.

Here’s how we choose our article ideas when those creative juices run low based on blogging best practices.

Preemptively Make A List

If you don’t have a list of blog post topics, start one now while also noting possible article ideas.

Having a list of topics to pick and choose from when it comes time to write can save you a lot of stress. Your future self will definitely thank you for it.

Even better is making a structured list of blog post topics by the theme of the month. This way you can have a content theme month to month, and you’ll have the ability to write multiple pieces of content within the same theme throughout the month.

When you find yourself low on creative power, you’ll have a source of blog post topics to refer to so you don’t have to spend much time figuring out a topic to write about.

Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.

How to Structure a Blog Post Based on Your Goals

Knowing why you want to post is a major factor in generating a great blog post idea.

Without a goal in mind, why even post a blog?

Are you posting because you want your fans to see more of your content?

Or are you posting because you want fresh content on your site for SEO purposes with the intent of increasing organic traffic?

Either way, your goal needs to be defined so that your blog topics are worthy of being written about.

One great way to figure out your blog posting goals (if you haven’t already) is by learning how to structure a blog post that is unique to your niche.

Dominate Your Niche

Before you dominate your business’s niche, you need to fully understand every avenue of your industry.

If you think that you’ve written content for every part of your business, you’re wrong. There’s always more to talk about no matter the industry.

Whether your business involves food, marketing, lifestyle, etc… it doesn’t matter. There’s always going to be unexplored content in each industry just waiting to be tackled, this is how you get people to read your blog.

Even if you think you’ve exhausted every possible avenue of your business, you probably haven’t.

If you happen to reside in an industry involving technology, this especially applies to you. Technology is always evolving and there will be a plethora of content to talk about at all times.

Research Your Competitors

Sometimes you just have to respect the fact that your competitors are doing the same thing you are.

But, are they really? Dig deep and figure out what your competitors are talking about in your industry. Is there something your business can add to the conversation?

If so, now is your time to showcase your companies’ take on the matter. This is your companies’ opportunity to brand itself.

If your company is worth its metal, you should have no problem writing a blog post that is richer in content than your competitor’s post.

You shouldn’t be afraid to gather ideas from your competitors, so long as you’re not copying their content. You shouldn’t run into any problems here if your goal is to write a better copy, that’s more informative, and is more engaging.

When it comes to your competitors, odds are they might be doing some keyword research too. Maybe they’re not, but it never hurts to take a look at the keywords your competitors are targeting.

There are plenty of ways to see your competitor’s targeted keywords. If you have an SEO tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush, you can do so through the organic keywords section after looking up a competitor.

If you don’t have access to SEO tools, just go on your competitor’s home page, or whichever page you anticipate they are trying to rank on Google. Once there, copy all of their content to your clipboard and paste it into a word counter.

On the right, you’ll see one-word keywords, two-word keywords, and even three-word longer tail keywords.

Typically you’ll find the essence of what their content is about in the 3X keywords, so be sure to check there.

Create a Mind Map

Creating a mind map is one of the best ways to get great content in an easy way. Similar to a bubble map, a mind map will help you explore different areas of your business by building out on ideas until you arrive at specific niches within your business.

When you run out of article ideas in one area of your mind map, switch to another branch and exhaust all possible avenues.

Mind map of the elements of digital marketing

Ahref’s Content Explorer

As stated before, Ahrefs’ is an SEO tool that is useful for keyword planning and research, but did you know they have a content explorer that can help you create content?

It’s seriously helpful too. All you have to do is type in a broad topic of any sort, and thousands of blogs and contentful posts will show up, ready for you to take inspiration from.

Not only can you see content similar to what you’re writing, but you can also see what type of traffic your competitor’s blogs are capturing.

If you want to know just how much organic traffic these topics receive, Ahrefs’ content explorer does the job very well.

Ahrefs’ content explorer

Look at Hashtags

If you’re still struggling to even find a broad topic to write about, consider finding popular hashtags in your niche.

Hashtags are a great way to see what people are talking about on the internet, and if your topic is relevant to a popular hashtag, it’s likely to gain some traffic, especially if posted on social media.

One of the best places to find hashtags is through a hashtag finder like Hashtagify.

If Nothing Else, Tell A Story

If none of our other tips have helped you so far, and you still can’t seem to figure out how to get people to read your blog, fear not!

Everyone has a story. If you have one, write about it and post it. If you’re writing blog posts for your company, tell your companies’ story.

Your customers would love to know more about the ins and outs of your company, why you offer the products and services you do, case studies in the form of stories, etc…

One benefit of writing about a story is that storytelling caters better to human emotion than any other type of content.

People want to hear about funny, sad, and downright weird stories that can be about anything.

Your content strategy could do well by adding in a unique story every once in a while that pertains to your niche.

Conclusion

It’s not the end of the world when your mind can’t instantly spawn blog post ideas. Your brain isn’t designed for that.

Our goal here is to save you some time in that regard so you can spend time doing more blog writing and critical thinking.

While we want you to follow these tips to make your life easier, we also have some other tips that could help you too.

Here’s a rapid-fire list of some other blog post topic strategies.

  • Get someone to guest post for you.
  • Create an infographic and write a blog post around it.
  • Do market research in your industry and then write a blog post about it.
  • Interview people in your workspace.
  • Write about news in your industry, or about the news that affects your industry.
  • Write about any promotions you have coming up.
  • Go on content platforms like Quora and Pinterest for ideas in your industry.
  • Update your old content, revitalize it, and push it live.
  • Ask social media what they want to hear about. (Use Twitter, Reddit, or Facebook)
  • Put your business’s press release into your blog. If you’ve got any company updates you want to share, do it here.
  • Make some predictions about your industry and write about them. If you’re right, you’ll be hailed as a clairvoyant, and if you’re wrong, nobody will remember you wrote it.

We hope we could help you find a blog topic or article idea to write about. We know how tough it can get to come up with great blog topics, and hope you’ve found one for your next post.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth strategy of how to write and rank a blog post, check out our guide on how to capture traffic with an SEO based content strategy.

Categories & Tags
Blog, Content Marketing, SEO