« 3 Ways To Make Your Blog Viral In Minutes… | Home | Top 100 Most Helpful Twitter Tips… »
5 Methods To Find Blog Topics Quickly…
By Terrance Charles | New Here? Subscribe To Blog RSS...
If you ended up here, that means that you manage your own blog and you already know that blogging is one of the most powerful (CMS) Content Management Systems there is and also one of the best ways to drive traffic. But, sometimes finding a topic to blog about can leave you blank, it happens to the best of us, so I wanted to share with you methods I use to make sure that I always have something useful to blog about.
5 Methods To Find Blog Topics Quickly…
#1 - Utilize Social Networking and Other Media Sites.
The point of social networking is to interact and share information with others. Twitter is one of the most powerful social networking websites there is and because of that, most of your target market and potential customers are already there. It’s simple to find content on Twitter, pay attention to what everyone is talking about from people you are following or by paying attention to the trending topic, the same with other social networking websites.
#2 – Do Something Unique and Buzz Worthy.
The more unique, useful or buzz worthy your blog post is, the better the chance of it being viral on it’s own and driving traffic right back to your blog. Think outside the box, hold blog contest, create a top 10 list, create a debatable topic, give free information of value and overdeliver. The possibilities are endless. If it’s entertaining, debatable, controversial, humorous, valuable, questionable, the better results you’ll receive.
#3 - Step Away From The Computer for a Minute.
I find that doing this, giving myself some time to clear my mind and re-focus, some of my best ideas come to me. Make sure you have a pen and notebook handy so when that topic, title, or idea hit you, you can write it down and work on it later. On a regular basis, I write down atleast 5 blog topics and I choose which one appeals to me the most and which one will appeal to my readers as well.
#4 - Ask Your Readers/Email List for Feedback.
One of the best methods you can use because you are targeting your readers more and the more helpful your content will be for them. Create a poll and ask them, or you can create a website specifically for any type of feedback and add the link to the bottom of your emails so that they can find it easily. Gather up the most frequent questions or the most important questions and overdeliver, and even touch up on the 2nd most important question all in one, or make it another post.
#5 – Model After Other Blog Topics and Create Your Own.
This is a big one. There are thousands of blogs out there in your niche that you can use as an idea for your next topic. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you don’t copy the blog post. Usually when I visit blogs with trending topics or high interest, I model after that topic and put my own spin on it, my own thought’s about it, if it’s already working, why re-invent the wheel.
TIP: A good way to find high interest topics on a blog is by paying attention to how much comments the particular post have, and not just that, but how much questions or interactivity is in those comments. Comments are important, but you can also touch up on that blog post by putting your own unique twist to make it more viral or appealing. Apply these 5 methods above and it will be hard for you to run out of blog topics 
Remember, it may sound basic, but making things too complicated is the first problem.
To The TOP,
Terrance Charles
TerranceCharles.Com
Popularity: 26% [?]
Topics: Blog Marketing / Web 2.0, How-To's, Internet Marketing Tips | 8 Comments »
6:51 pm on August 21st, 2009
Nice list of ways to get ideas Terrance. Finding good topics to write about is something that is constantly plaguing me. Thanks bro!
[Reply]
11:51 pm on August 21st, 2009
This was one of the most inciteful blogs I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks for writing this Terrance!!!
[Reply]
12:41 am on August 22nd, 2009
Some great ideas Terrance – I especially like #3 (Step away from the computer for a minute).
This is always a good idea to refresh the brain and the eyes. In fact at Bible School we were always told to go outside and refocus our eyes between classes. The school was surrounded by beautiful scenery so that was easy to do.
It is always a good idea to take some time at regular intervals to focus on something long distance. This freshens the vision, which also affects the brain. So the mind is cleared too.
Keep up the great work Terrance!
[Reply]
2:24 am on August 22nd, 2009
As always TC, good stuff! Lots of people get stuck on what to write about and how to deliver great content…I know I do sometimes! Every one of those tips are fab!
Something I do (which is pretty in line with number 3) is keep a notebook (full of lots of notes, ideas, etc.) and if I write down topics that I randomly think about (when I’m not trying to think of a blog topic), jot down notes about what problems I see someone Tweeting or writing about/having issues with/confused about, write down problems I see on websites I’m browsing, write down something hot and new I saw was just released, etc. Some of my best ideas come from not even ‘trying’ to think of a blog topic but just by noting things I notice as my day progresses and I do my normal surfing and Tweeting. (some of my other ‘business’ ideas come to me that way too).
Then I can go back and review my notes when I’m ready to write and can usually come up with something based on my observations throughout the day/week.
My notebook goes EVERYWHERE with me because I often have ideas when I’m out and about and not even thinking about my blog or anything else. And by the time I get home, I will surely have forgotten if I didn’t stop and jot it down.
Great article TC!!!
TTYS!
Karen J.
Social Media Maniac
@areaK
[Reply]
5:02 pm on August 23rd, 2009
[...] 5 Methods To Find Blog Topics Quickly… | Terrance Charles DOT Com terrancecharles.com/blog/2009/08/20/5-methods-to-find-blog-topics-quickly – view page – cached If you ended up here, that means that you manage your own blog and you already know that blogging is one of the most powerful (CMS) Content Management Systems — From the page [...]
3:14 pm on October 31st, 2009
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by AJ2000: RT @TerranceCharles: 5 Methods To Find Blog Topics Quickly… http://bit.ly/JRKs0...
3:59 am on November 23rd, 2009
Thanks for sharing these tips. The final tip is really something new for me. It did not come to my mind still. I will try to implement it.
[Reply]
11:20 am on December 17th, 2009
Nice one Terrance, great info.
I tend to take a look at tweets that have numerous RT’s for ideas as well.
All the best,
Steve.
[Reply]