We all experience writer’s block at some time. Whether we have a blog post to write, an article to create, or a book to plan we eventually reach a point where we can’t think of anything more to say. Here are ten tips for coming up with new ideas.
- Use the News tab in the Google Search Engine to discover the latest news in your niche. You can also search for “niche name blog” to find the latest topics mentioned on blogs in your niche.
- Read the comments below blog posts and articles in your niche. They often include further thoughts, opinions and point out any errors in the article which can inspire new content.
- Take a look on Twitter to see what topics are currently trending.
- Look for complaints and problems appearing on social networking sites and forums. If you can provide a solution you have a topic you can write about.
- Use mindmapping to connect topics in your niche. You may find connections that inspire ideas or you may find that as you dig deeper into a topic you’ll get more topic ideas.
- Find magazines in your niche (virtual or hard copy) and look at the titles on the front pages. This will show you topics that are currently trending. If that doesn’t give you enough inspiration put the titles into Google and see if the results are more helpful.
- Do you have any previously drafted or unfinished articles? Search through your hard drive, notebooks, or wherever you would create drafts and see if you can uncover something that you could now finish. Perhaps reading this type of material will give you ideas for improvements, alternative angles or perhaps an opportunity to write an updated piece of writing.
- If you have been an expert in your niche for some time it may help to step back and regard your niche as if you were a newbie. Are there basics or terms commonly used in your niche that you could explain?
- Visit a forum or Facebook Group related to your niche and see if there are any topics that are receiving a lot of comments. Particularly look for topics that are generating a lot of debate.
- Is there an anecdote from your experience or from someone else’s that you could use to illustrate a point? Stories involving people in your niche are more likely to hold the attention of your readers than a dry, factual article.
This is a list of just ten possible ways to identify topics. Are there any ways of coming up with topics that have worked for you?
16 responses to “10 Ways To Come Up With Topic Ideas”
Hi David,
good points- with this in my mind I will never ever have content problems.
This was our topic too in the QSC 3.0 video- our points were google solutions for your own problems or have look what is in peoples mind in the FB group.
Keep on postin:-)
Jochen
Hi Jochen,
Glad you liked the post and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Hi David,
I like your post on ways to get the creative juices flowing once again if you have a bit of a blockage. Lets face it its a big world out there and there should always be something we can get our teeth into.
Best wishes Des
Hi Des,
It’s true, there are so many possible topics you’d think we’d never run out of ideas.
Hi David
Your article is a godsend to people like me who suffer writers block most of the time (and procrastinating).
I got lots of ideas from it and will be keeping the list close by all the time.
Thanks again
Annette
Thanks Annette. Glad you found the list useful.
Hi David,
Thanks for a helpful post.
I usually manage to keep the creative juices flowing, and if all else fails I publish / talk about a motivational video from one of my favorite speakers.
However, you have reminded me that I have a whole batch of draft posts waiting to be finished off, because whenever i get an idea I just jot the bones of it down in a draft post, ready for when I run out of ideas.
Enjoy the rest of your week, Joy
Hi Joy,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and thanks for the motivational video idea too. I’ll be adding that to my list.
Hi David,
What a great list of suggestions! I will print off that list for future reference! I tend to look at what people have posted in facebook, many of which are youtube postings to get ideas. I liked the title of your free ebook–it hit home with me– so I opted in!
Glad you like the list Barbara and thanks for opting in. I hope you find both the list and book useful.
Hi David,
Great info! This is my nemesis. Trying to figure out what to write. Once I have a topic in mind, it’s a no-brainer. I tap away furiously on my keyboard until I’m done, and the content seems to flow out….
It’s just the decision on what to write about. I suppose another though it to create a different kind of post. Perhaps a screen-capture video, explaining how to do something, or a talking-head video.
Well, I know I’ll be back to this article when my creative juices run dry.
Cheers!
Thanks for stopping by to comment Tony.
Yes, format is another variable to help mix things up, and if you can do videos you can also do audio posts.
Hope the topic list proves useful if you need it in future.
Was drown this post because I am actually looking for what to write for my readers next week.I usually go with the blog hopping and forum tips. but the news tip is kind of interesting. Will be taking that for a ride.Thanks
Hope it turns out useful Boris. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
Hi David,
Thanks for sharing these different ways to get content.
Sometimes we may watch an educational television show or documentary that is on the subject matter of our niche.
This can also spark off some ideas for content too.
That’s true. Sometimes you can even get ideas from shows or presentations unrelated to your niche that suggest a different angle for looking at your topic.