As I’m sure you know by now, a consistent content creation schedule is essential to a successful website. Unfortunately, as is bound to happen from time to time, you may find yourself with no idea what to write about. Idea generation can be a real challenge — coming up with new and interesting content ideas that both capture readers’ attention and engage them isn’t always the easiest of tasks.

Luckily, there is a solution!

If you feel like you’re all out of ideas, consider diving into the following rabbit holes to find inspiration for your next great article.

Blog Comments

Have you ever noticed your blog posts leaving your readers with more questions? While this isn’t unusual — you can’t stuff every bit of information into one article about a particular subject —  it is a fantastic way to come up with content ideas for future pieces.

It’s important to regularly scroll through your comments (even in older articles) to see what questions pop up. Anything that can’t be answered in a sentence or two would make a great subject for your next post. This is especially true if you find yourself answering the same question time and again, as that’s a pretty clear-cut sign you need to clarify some things.

Q&A Sites

If you can’t find anything in your blog comments, it’s time to check out question-and-answer sites like Yahoo Answers and Quora. These sites give you an inside look at what people are interested in reading about related to your industry, as well as their most burning questions. If there’s a large number of questions and answers surrounding the same topic, an article written about it will be sure to find a large audience.

Social Media

There are two lists you should create on Twitter and Facebook. The first is a list of your ideal readers (these can include your best customers). As you follow them, keep an eye on what content they share and reply to. These are the topics you should be covering on your website.

Your second list is industry influencers. Watch how other users interact with them and what questions they ask. Often, influencers too busy to respond to every question — that’s where you can step in and save the day.

Hashtags are another great way to find ideas for content. Search and follow the most popular hashtags in your industry. Be on the lookout for buzzwords, questions, and articles with a lot of engagement.

Finally, look into Reddit if you already haven’t — it’s a content idea goldmine. Industry subreddits will be chock-full of questions, popular articles, and boisterous discussions surrounding just about everything. You’re sure to come away with an entire list of subject to cover in your writing.

Industry Publications

No matter what your industry, there are bound to be at least a handful (if not hundreds) of sites that publish news, trends, and other pertinent bits of information to do with your trade. Browse through these sites on a weekly basis and watch for the articles with the most engagement. Once you have an idea of what the hot topics are, you can create content that either expands on what’s been discussed or has a different viewpoint entirely.

Another place to look for industry news is the library. Yes, you read that right, the library. Contrary to what you might believe, if you haven’t been to one in a while, libraries aren’t dying out. Public libraries still see 1.5 billion visits every year — that’s roughly four million visitors each day! Chat with the reference librarian at your local library and ask where you can find resources targeted at your specific business. You never know what nuggets of helpful information may be hidden somewhere in those shelves!

Your Competition

You should never be afraid to look to your competition for new content ideas. By no means should you plagiarize their work, but finding inspiration from them is completely acceptable. You can use their content as a jumping-off point by touching on points they didn’t, offering a different perspective, or just flat out disagreeing with them. Whatever you do, just be sure to keep things original.

Brainstorm

When all else fails, there is always a good old-fashioned brainstorming session to hopefully spark your creativity! Whether you use a whiteboard or a piece of paper, writing things down by hand is the key. You’ll remember your ideas better if you write them out by hand rather than using a word processor.

The good news if you’re flying solo is that brainstorming doesn’t have to be a group project. Start by writing a main theme in the middle of your surface. Then, chart related themes, ideas, or questions around the central idea. Next to these smaller themes, outline even more related topics. Connect the ideas with lines.

If you’re stumped on what might be relevant to your main theme, do a little word association. When you look at your central idea (or subtopics), jot down a few words that you immediately associate with the said theme. No matter how silly these words might seem, they may be just the thing to spark an idea or two!

Conclusion

In order to stay competitive in today’s market, it’s imperative you have to stay on top of content creation. But quantity is only half of the equation. You also have to address newsworthy and interesting topics in a way that grabs your readers’ attention. When you’re constantly churning out article after article, it can be easy to run out of ideas. However, a quick glimpse into industry publications, trending topics on social media, or even your own comments section, will be sure to break your writer’s block and get you back on track to creating fabulous content.