15 ways you never run out of blogging ideas

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Image showing a long road captioned never running out of blogging ideas

Whether you’re running a personal blog or a business blog the success of your blog lies in the fact that you are able to publish regularly without running out of blogging ideas.

Regularity may differ from person to person and business to business, but the more you publish, the better people remember you.

Topics discussed in this blog post include

  1. Take ideas from your existing blog posts
  2. Ask questions from your customers and clients
  3. Use newsjacking to make your blog posts more relevant and topical
  4. Maintain an editorial calendar
  5. Maintain an ideas file
  6. Write multiple blog posts at a time without worrying about completing them
  7. Ask your blog visitors
  8. Use Quora to do research on blogging ideas
  9. Create Google alerts
  10. Use keyword research tools
  11. Use the FAQs of other websites in your niche
  12. Use social media and social networking websites
  13. Use news aggregators
  14. Use Google analytics data
  15. Invite guest bloggers to write for your blog

Although, ideally, it is the quality of your blogging that leaves an imprint on people’s minds, it should also be mixed with frequency.

For example, great blog posts published every day are better for your business rather than great blog posts published every week, every fortnight or every month.

This is slightly an old survey but the challenge of producing great content on an ongoing basis remains around 65% (source).

This means that when it comes to implementing a result-oriented content marketing strategy, the biggest challenge faced by small as well as big business remains continuously coming up with great stuff to write about or talk about.

You may have an awesome beginning but soon you start wondering, okay, what to write about?

You begin to run out of blogging ideas.

This problem isn’t just faced by novice bloggers or bloggers who are blogging half-heartedly just because they think that blogging is good for their business without understanding why.

Even seasoned bloggers, the so-called a-list bloggers also now and then run out of blogging ideas.

What do they do?

They have a system.

The same system I use as a professional content writer while coming up with great blogging ideas for my clients.

These 15 ways will make sure you never run out of blogging ideas

1. Take ideas from your existing blog posts

Many of your blog posts have subtopics and you can always stretch the subtopics into full-fledged blog posts.

Even the bulleted lists may contain new blogging opportunities.

For example, I can use this very bullet point to write a blog post on “How to create new blog posts from your existing blog posts”.

2. Ask questions from your customers and clients

In fact this is the best way of coming up with new topics because as long as customers and clients are doing business with you they are going to have one or another issue and some concern that needs to be looked into.

Ask them questions, turn them into blogging format and create new blog posts providing answers to those questions and this is one of the best way of never running out of blogging ideas.

3. Use newsjacking to make your blog posts more relevant and topical

News is always happening.

If somehow you can create a spin in order to contextually attach the news to your business topic it can do wonders to your inbound marketing efforts.

Suppose a big snowstorm is coming up and the news is all over.

Suppose you sell batteries.

How about creating a blog post that advises people how to prolong battery life during such emergencies?

Here is a blog post that explains what is newsjacking and how to use it for content marketing.

4. Maintain an editorial calendar

Sometimes you run out of blogging ideas because you don’t know what to do on a particular day.

If you have an editorial calendar you always have a topic to write about.

In the beginning of every month chart out your editorial calendar and then stick to it. Read here about the importance of maintaining a content marketing calendar.

5. Maintain an ideas file

This is something like an editorial calendar but you can also do it roughly.

You can use Evernote or Google Keep or even something like ToDoist to maintain lists of blog post ideas that you would like to work on.

6. Write multiple blog posts at a time without worrying about completing them

It slows you down when you worry too much about completing a particular blog post.

Once you have lots of topics with you just keep on adding your thoughts as they hit you.

Evernote can come quite handy in this regard.

Create a dedicated note to particular blog topic and then keep on adding text to it or the research data that you need to use with the blog post.

7. Ask your blog visitors

Many bloggers have a dedicated form on their blogs to ask the visitors what all they would like to read.

This is something like crowdsourcing the generation of your blogging ideas.

8. Use Quora to do research on blogging ideas

People post great questions on Quora – the crowd sourced question-answer website with immense wealth of knowledge.

You can go through the questions being asked in your niche and instead of answering those questions on Quora you can answer them on your own blog.

9. Create Google alerts

People are constantly posting content on the Internet and as this content is posted, you can immediately get email alerts with the links and description of the content.

Just Google alerts can keep you going for many months without running out of blogging ideas.

10. Use keyword research tools

By using these tools – some free and some premium – you can find various combinations of keywords relevant to your niche and this can help you create blogging topics.

Remember that it’s important to create blog topics with your main keywords as much as possible without needlessly stuffing them.

A good example of an online keyword research tool is the Google keyword planner.

11. Use the FAQs of other websites in your niche

Regularly visit the websites of your competitors and see what all topics, especially in the FAQs section, they have covered and then create blogging topics out of those questions and answers.

12. Use social media and social networking websites

You can use something like Hootsuite to create a dedicated column posting updates about your niche.

For example, I’m constantly getting new updates on “content marketing”, “content writing”, “SEO content” and so on in a separate column and from that column I get lots of blogging ideas.

13. Use news aggregators

News aggregators like Feedly, Alltop, Prismatic and Flipboard can constantly supply you with new blogging ideas in your niche.

Some of these platforms also tell you how popular some of the topics are and you can create your blogging ideas accordingly.

14. Use Google Analytics data

If you have a blog you also must have Google analytics script on it that tells you what sort of traffic comes to your blog.

One section in your Google Analytics also tells you what keywords and search phrases are drawing traffic to your blog and you can use this information to create blog content.

15. Invite guest bloggers to write for your blog

This happens when your blog has become a bit known in your niche and people would like to highlight their content on your blog.

For this you need to cross a certain threshold level but once you have done that, it is a great way to make sure that you never run out of blogging ideas.

In fact, once you start inviting guest bloggers you will have to exercise discretion and be careful about what to publish and what not to publish.

Once you have seriously started blogging it’s just a matter of being sensitive towards receiving new blogging ideas.

I have personally observed that when I am blogging regularly I rarely run out of blogging ideas because consciously and subconsciously I’m constantly looking for new things to write about.

Making your content writing inclusive: step-by-step guide

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Inclusive content writing

Inclusive content writing

What is inclusive content writing?

It means using a language that respects human diversity.

Inclusive content writing is sensitive towards

  • People with disabilities.
  • Members of the LGBTQ community.
  • People of different ages.
  • Minorities
  • People of different socio-economic status.
  • Different religious groups.
  • Marginalised communities.

Main points covered in this blog post

You can use inclusive writing practices to write

  • Email campaigns
  • Blog posts
  • Informational articles
  • Social media posts
  • Web pages
  • Landing pages
  • White papers
  • Case studies

And every other material you use for business communications.

Here is a Conscious style guide that can help you make your writing more inclusive.

You may get customers and clients of different ages, colours, unconventional genders, ethnicities, language backgrounds, cultures and sexual orientations.

Inclusion also means being sensitive towards diverse physical abilities, mental abilities, and regional and socio-economic backgrounds.

Through your writing you can make sure that no one feels excluded.

Yes, I can understand that suddenly handling so much diversity may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

You can also view this inclusive writing guideline from the University of Idaho that explains good writing for the following categories:

  • Abilities/disabilities
  • Gender and sexual identity
  • The race, ethnicity, national identity, and religion
  • Indigenous people

Why incorporate inclusion in your content writing?

It is the right thing to do.

We live in a multidimensional world.

Fortunately, these days we also live in a world that is much more accepting than it was even 15 years ago.

People should be able to live the way they want to live (as long as they are not harming someone by their actions and tendencies).

They shouldn’t feel excluded.

They shouldn’t be marginalised just because they have different physical abilities, or they come from a different background or race.

When they read your content, they shouldn’t feel that their beliefs are being questioned or stereotypes against them are being reaffirmed.

Hence, it is your social and ethical responsibility to incorporate inclusion in your content writing.

It is not that you don’t want to make your writing inclusive.

In many cases exclusion is not a conscious decision.

There is a concept called “implicit bias” that refers to “the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.”

The above link says that you can act on the basis of prejudice and stereotypes even without intending to do so.

We store all our biases and stereotypes in the subconscious.

It is in our subconscious where 98% of our thinking happens.

Our subconscious helps us take automatic decisions.

What are the benefits of making your content writing inclusive?

Inclusive content writing helps you portray your brand as a forward-thinking entity.

It improves your relationship with your customers and clients.

It appeals to a broader audience.

Happier customers main more sales.

According to a Zendesk study, 54% respondents said that they prefer to do business with companies that prioritize diversity and inclusion.

Zendesk survey screenshot

A Microsoft Advertising research found that 64% people are more trusting of brands that represent diversity in their ads.

69% admitted that brands that represent diversity seem more authentic.

Microsoft study screenshot

People with diverse backgrounds have immense buying power these days.

Irrespective of ethnicities, sexual orientations and physical and mental abilities, billions of people are doing online shopping.

We live in a globally connected world.

People in different parts of the world can easily, individually, talk about your business.

They can form opinions.

They can demolish reputations.

They can be unimaginatively loyal.

By making your content writing inclusive to become a part of a global community.

You don’t want to miss out on this massive opportunity just because you’re not careful about your language.

With just a single expression you can alienate a big chunk of your market.

Once people move away from business, especially due to a negative experience, it is very difficult to bring them back.

How to make your content writing inclusive?

This is how Salesforce defines inclusive marketing (and inclusive content):

We define inclusive marketing as creating content that truly reflects the diverse communities that our companies serve. It means that we are elevating diverse voices and role models, decreasing cultural bias, and leading positive social change through thoughtful and respectful content.

What is inclusive language?

According to Wikipedia, inclusive language encourages you to avoid expressions that can be deemed as sexist, racist, prejudiced, biased, or denigrating to a particular ethnicity or a group of people.

Here is how Hubspot defines inclusive language:

Inclusive language is the words and phrases you use that avoid biases, slang, and expressions that discriminate against groups of people based on race, gender, socio-economic status, and ability.

It is advised that you don’t identify someone’s race, gender, orientation, ethnicity, or disability status unless it is specifically needed to make a point.

Step-by-step guide to making your content writing inclusive.

Make your writing gender neutral

Unless you are specifically talking about a male or a female, avoid expressions that exclusively cater to a particular gender.

Instead of “chairman”, use “chairperson”.

Instead of “mankind”, use “humans”.

Instead of he or she, you can use they.

The world is fast becoming inclusive.

People used terms like “policeman”, “fireman” or “businessman” because these were, once upon a time, exclusive domains of men.

Now people of varying genders are in all professions.

You can’t possibly include every gender in your writing expressions, so it better be gender neutral.

Stop using ableist vocabulary

In your writing, avoid using expressions like “crazy”, “crippled”, “lame”, “dumb” and “stupid” (just a few examples).

Knowingly or unknowingly, such words can be used to stigmatize, dehumanize, and institutionalise people with physical and mental disabilities, according to Harvard Business Review.

Make your writing accessible

Accessible writing has two meanings:

  1. Text readers should be easily able to read what you have written.
  2. People of varying reading abilities should be able to understand what you are writing.

How do you achieve that?

  • Write short sentences.
  • Use professional but simple words.
  • Avoid industry jargon.
  • Avoid using abbreviations that are difficult to interpret.
  • Use bullet points to break down important pieces of information.
  • Writing in active voice.
  • Cut out unwanted information.
  • Keep your paragraphs short.
  • Use lots of subheadings to make it easier to skim through your content.

If you want you can use an app like Hemingway.

It analyzes your writing and tells you if your sentences are too difficult or too long.

It highlights complex sentences.

Hemingway app screenshot

It uses color coding to highlight portions that are difficult to read, using too many adjectives and adverbs, using passive voice, and may have simpler alternative words that sound better.

It makes suggestions so that you can keep your readability around Grade 6, which is easier to understand and yet, not oversimplistic.

Design a style guide

If you work with multiple content writers, it can become a hassle to pay for every writer regarding inclusive writing.

Instead, you can design a downloadable style guide containing step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate inclusion when writing.

Here is an inclusive writing style guide from Google.

At many places it is also called “diversity style guide”.

Inclusive content writing is more than being politically correct.

It shows you respect individual differences.

You show respectability towards cultures, gender orientation, ethnicity, and regions.

It shows your commitment to socially conscious practices.

By putting in an effort to make your writing inclusive, you show your willingness to include the greatest number of people when you communicate.

How can content writers benefit from AI writing tools?

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How can content writers benefit from AI writing tools

A few days ago I reviewed an AI writing tool.

I even published a blog post using this AI writing tool.

Writing tools powered by artificial intelligence use a combination of machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to understand the context of what you want to write and then generate quality content.

In total, artificial intelligence is a big market.

It is predicted that by 2024, it will reach $500 billion.

AI is already being used extensively as virtual assistants, chat bots, insurance processing, and Google search.

AI-powered content writing is a new development.

An AI content writing tool can help you quickly generate lots of text that then you can write according to your requirement.

This way, as a content writer, you can save hours of grunt writing.

Bulk content can also be created for SEO purposes.

But ever since the Google helpful content algorithm update has been rolled out, many SEO experts are going to be cautious about using AI writing tools directly to generate bulk content.

Can content writers benefit from these AI writing tools?

They definitely can.

If you feel threatened by the onslaught of AI writing tools, there is no need.

As of now, these tools are far away from writing like humans.

Like you, they don’t have a unique writing style.

They write well.

There are no grammar and spelling mistakes.

In near future they may even do research to get relevant data when writing articles and blog posts.

But if they are doing the work of content writers, why would someone hire a content writer?

Why not simply work with an AI writing tool?

Many people may choose to do so.

Lots of grunt writing will be done by these tools.

By the end of the day writing is a creative process.

An AI writing tool can write like a content writer with average abilities.

It cannot write like a professional content writer.

The one blog post that I generated lacks emotion and style, and hence,  I published it in the name of another writer, and not under my own name.

Some advantages of working with AI writing tools

AI writing tools definitely come with multiple advantages and that’s why there are so many of them these days.

I’m listing some advantages below.

AI content writing tools are good for creating outlines

Creating an outline can be a tedious job.

You may need to gather points from different websites and blogs and then craft your outline.

When I was trying out the Scalenut AI writing tool it asks for some keywords.

Then it asks for the main headline.

Beneath the main headline, you need to enter 200-500 characters about what you want to write.

Then it automatically generates a list of topics and subtopics that you can cover in your article or blog.

For example, it presents you with 5-6 H2-level subheadings.

You can move them up and down.

You can remove them one by one.

You can add your own H2-level subheadings.

You can similarly add your own H3-level subheadings.

It also showcases similar blog posts and articles published by other websites.

It has an interface that automatically makes you write an outline for your blog or article.

Even if you don’t want the AI content writing tool to write for you, it is good for creating outlines and doing some initial SEO research.

Unfortunately, I can no longer use the Scalenut AI tool because when I tried to subscribe it asked for a credit card.

I have a debit card but I don’t have a credit card.

I have contacted them on Twitter, but they haven’t yet responded.

You can scale up content writing

Sometimes your blog or website requires you to make multiple updates in a day.

You can either spend hours writing content, or you may need to hire multiple content writers.

With an AI content writing tool you can generate 1500-2000 words in a matter of a few minutes.

It may not be a perfect article or blog post, but it gives you enough material to edit and reform.

In the time it takes to manually write a single blog post, you can write 3-4 blog posts.

Personally I feel how well your AI content writing tool writes depends on your niche or your field.

I haven’t had a chance to try out various professions with the AI writing tool that I tested.

I tried topics like content writing and copywriting and for that, it was generating decent content.

What about accounting?

What about topics like engineering, medicine, architecture and other topics that require expertise?

What about writing a movie review or a product review?

Most of the AI writing tools are not offering preview without a credit card.

This is a bummer.

Therefore, I haven’t been able to try various topics.

But you can certainly scale up your content writing if your AI writing tool generates good content on your topic.

Make more money as a content writer

Again, this is subject to how well your AI writer writes your content.

But if you can generate lots of content and then revise it according to your writing style, as a content writer you can work much faster.

Most of my clients hire me not just because they need content, they are looking for content in my style or in my voice.

When you can work faster, you can take on more assignments and this way, you can make more money.

You need to keep in mind that your subscription cost may go up as you use more words.

In particular subscriptions, some AI content writers offer up to 10,000 words and some offer 100,000 words.

It depends on which AI tool you use.

An AI writing tool can help you overcome writer’s block

A good thing about AI writing tools is that they don’t suffer from writer’s block.

Writer’s block is a state of mind when you are unable to write.

Suddenly, ideas cease to come.

You cannot think of good words.

You cannot form sentences.

You feel stumped.

In such situations, an AI writing tool can help.

First of all, it asks you questions in such a manner that you are forced to use at least some imagination or creativity.

For example, it will ask you to enter a headline or the title of your web page or blog post.

Then it will ask you to enter a few introductory words.

Based on this information it will present you with an outline.

Even after that if you’re not feeling like writing, you can generate 1500-2000 words to play with.

By the time you are through with the interface, your writer’s block will be over.

Here is a nice blog post on how to generate content writing ideas with an AI writing tool.

What are the disadvantages of using an AI content writing tool?

There are certainly some risks involved when you choose to depend solely on an AI writing tool.

Here are a few disadvantages that you may encounter when using an AI writing tool.

Risk of plagiarism and inferior quality

How good a writer are you yourself?

Can you easily differentiate between quality content and inferior content?

I will tell you why it matters.

When you work with a “human” professional content writer, you can rely on him or her for writing high quality content.

Even if you’re not an experienced writer yourself, you know that you are getting good content because it is being written by a person, manually.

Solely depending on your tool’s judgement can fill your website or blog with lots of inferior quality content.

Can you trust the developers of the AI writing tool?

What if they are simply plagiarising content from other websites and blogs?

It may be difficult to make out whether they are actually using AI and natural language processing to generate text or they are simply extracting text from other websites.

Suppose your command over the English language (assuming that you are writing content in English) is not good.

Can you make out if the language used by the AI writing tool is up to the mark?

What about Google’s wrath?

These days Google is coming down heavily upon websites and blogs that use automated tools to generate lots of content just to improve search engine rankings.

The latest Google algorithm update specifically targets such websites.

What is an AI writing tool but a software that generates text automatically?

Google hasn’t laid out all its cards, but what if its algorithm can make out if you have used an AI writing tool to generate lots of text fast?

Your search engine rankings may suffer irreparably.

Google may be a big reason why many people won’t be using AI writing tools, at least in the coming few months, until the dust settles down on the latest update.

No creativity and imagination

Human creativity and imagination are limitless.

You give me a topic and I can write on it in 10 different ways using the same information.

I can tell you an anecdote about a certain product or service.

I can use storytelling to drive in a point.

I can make a joke.

I can be funny; I can be tragic, and I can evoke fear in the same piece of writing.

An AI writing tool cannot do that.

Its writing is boring and drab.

Even if it tries to be funny, it sounds like an inexperienced writer.

This is one of the biggest reasons why people who really value quality content won’t be using AI writing tools.

My suggestion would be, if you want to use an AI writing tool, use it for research, compiling ideas and creating outlines.

Don’t use an AI writing tool if you are not an experienced content writer because otherwise, you won’t be able to judge its quality.

Also, be careful of what AI writing tool you use.

There are many in the market.

As it happens with every fad, every kid on the block wants to develop the next killer AI writing tool.

Some of them may be resorting to “shortcuts”.

Use a tool only when it is endorsed by authoritative people and publications.

Here is a list of some good AI writing tools.

Google has started rolling out the helpful content update

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Google helpful content update rolls out

Google helpful content update rolls out

In a new announcement on August 25, Google says that the company has released the August 22 helpful content update.

The release may take around two weeks to take effect.

If you think your website or blog may be impacted by the new Google helpful content update, you will need to carefully observe if your traffic increases or decreases.

You can keep a tab on the above link to know when the update has been fully rolled out.

If by then there is no big difference in your traffic, you are fortunate, and it means that your website or blog hasn’t been impacted by this major update.

If you are hit by the update, Google says that it may take months to recover after making changes according to the update.

The update is meant to help people find “high quality content” through Google.

The algorithm will be specifically targeting websites where the content seems to have been written primarily for search engines, without providing much help to humans.

The new algorithm update, for the time being, will only affect English-language websites.

Such rollouts are not fool proof.

Even those websites may also be hit that have useful content on them, but the content has been written in such a manner that it draws traffic from search engines.

In that sense, everyone needs to keep his or her fingers crossed.

The algorithm will have a sitewide impact.

It means even if a few web pages and blog posts that seem spammy to Google are found, the rankings of even good web pages and blog posts will be negatively affected.

The types of content impacted by the algorithm may be

  • Shopping-Related Content
  • Tech related content
  • Educational material
  • Reviews websites
  • Arts and entertainment

These websites mostly have click bait content supposed to generate traffic.

What is the primary purpose of the Google helpful content algorithm update?

Google wants its users to be able to find high-quality content.

Many searchers are frustrated that through the search engine when they click certain links, they contain meaningless content, simply aggregated, or written, for higher search engine rankings.

These web pages and blog posts provide no value.

This is bad for Google.

People using the search engine won’t blame websites and blogs containing low quality content.

They will blame the search engine for not being able to find helpful content.

It is the job of the search engine algorithm to differentiate between low quality and high quality content.

Although Google tried to tackle low quality content through its Panda update, it has been more than a decade since it was rolled out.

Inferior quality content is still being published, crawled, ranked, and indexed higher.

Through the new update, Google wants to reward useful content that has been written for humans.

It wants to make it easier for search engine users to find useful content.

What to do if your website is hit by the Google helpful content update?

For this, you may like to read How does Google define “Helpful Content”?

The problem with this update is that

  • Even for a few pages, the impact will be sitewide.
  • Even if you remove the offending pages and blog posts, it may take several months for your website or blog to recover.

Will Google tell you because of which pages or blog posts your website is being penalised?

This information is not yet available.

What you can do is, you can quickly go through your website and blog and check pages and blog posts that you think are overdoing SEO.

If there are certain pages and blog posts that provide little or no value, you can remove them or you can mark them as “no-index”.

You can also rewrite them to make them more valuable.

You need not worry if you feel that you are already publishing content that helps people.

As I have written above, such algorithm updates are not foolproof and sometimes even those websites are hit that don’t deserve to be hit.

 

Google “Helpful Content”: what about SEO content writing?

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SEO content writing after Google helpful content update

SEO content writing after Google helpful content update

Once Google’s new “Helpful Content” algorithm update kicks in, will you be focusing on SEO content writing?

Sure, you want your content to be helpful to your audience.

You want to keep your visitors engaged.

You want to inform them so that they can decide in favor of your product or service.

But many businesses work with content writers for SEO purposes.

There are many writers who provide SEO content writing services, including yours truly.

Many businesses and entrepreneurs hire me because they want me to write SEO content.

Google says merely writing for SEO is bad.

You should write human-first content.

Precisely this is the reason Google has named its latest algorithm as “Helpful Content” because it will be penalising websites that publish low quality content simply to improve search engine rankings.

On the other hand, it will be rewarding websites that publish quality content that really helps the readers.

What type of SEO content writing services do I provide?

Update or no update, my focus is always the reader.

I do write my content in such a manner that its easier for search engine crawlers to crawl it, analyze it, and then index it appropriately.

For example, I use the main keyword in the title because I know that for search engines titles are important.

I use the keywords in the first 100 words because again, keywords don’t just represent an SEO opportunity, they also represent the query people are using to find your content.

It means, using the language that people use when they talk about your product, service, or business.

Using your keywords is still important but use them as words that truly represent your central idea.

For example, for this blog post, I’m using the expression “SEO content writing”, but it doesn’t mean if I want to optimize my blog post for this expression, I use it repeatedly.

I make it appear naturally.

It appears where it should, otherwise it doesn’t.

Is SEO content writing still relevant after the “Helpful Content” update?

Don’t be afraid of writing SEO content after Google’s new update rolls out.

Writing content to improve your SEO doesn’t mean you cannot focus on your human readers.

Keep them your priority.

Write content for people.

Make it easier to scan.

Let your meta title, main headline, and subheadings, truly represent the central points of your web page, article, or the blog post.

Don’t try to cram everything in a single piece of content.

Write on focused topics.

For example, if you want to write a blog post on search intent, you should also write smaller blog posts for different types of search intents.

It is important to write compelling headlines to write effective content.

You can write a blog post just on how to write compelling headlines.

This way you will be able to increase the subject depth of your website or blog.

On Google people search for precise topics.

They ask specific questions.

Provide answers to those specific questions and don’t dillydally just to write bigger blog posts or web pages.

Even if you have been using some SEO tools to make your content search engine friendly, don’t worry, as long as it provides the information people are looking for.