You can actually find blog post ideas!

For most blogs to be successful, they need to have at least 3 posts a week. There are a few rare occasions that a writer can get away with once a week or once a month, but that is usually because they are already famous and people would read them no matter what. For the average blogger, consistency is key. And, in order to be consistent, a blogger needs to come up with lots of great ideas to share with their reader. Luckily, most blogs have a wide variety of topics they discuss. For example, while this blog is mostly about business ideas, writing, blog design, blog management and social media, it also stems off into funny marketing ideas, news stories, random anecdotes from my life and interesting photography and art. Having this many topics to write about gives me a lot of space to find great ideas and a lot of different places I can search for content. But, after two years of experience writing and coming up with blog posts, I have discovered a couple ways that I can count on to consistently deliver ideas:

Reading other peoples blogs. Other writers work can be helpful in lots of ways – it can give you something to argue against, add to or look at from a different angle. It can also jump start your mind onto different areas of the same topic. I read about 30 bloggers daily, including Ike Pigott, Steve Woodruff, Suzanne Broughton, Ari Herzog, Jon Buscall and The Incslingers. In addition to business blogs, I also read a lot of humor blogs, like Faliblog, and AwkwardFamilyPhotos. While I don’t usually use their posts as starting points, sometimes the topic or idea behind the humor will stem an idea (if not, at least I’m laughing!). In fact, I have used an image from awkward family photos (turned out it was @emilyquestions son!) in a post.

Searching through flickr’s creative commons. You can browse through photos that other people have taken, all over the world, and you can use most of those images as long as you give the author credit for using it (and you’re not making money off it). This one can take time though, as searching by keywords is tough. But, I have definitely wound treasures there and I have written entire posts just because I want to use an image I found. Today’s image is from one of my favorite photographers who shares her work on Flickr – D Sharon Pruitt – I have used many of her shots in past posts.

Taking in a change of scenery. I recommend taking a short walk everyday, outside if you can, to see what is new around you. Are the flowers blooming? Is there a new decoration in someones office? Simple changes in your environment can create a mental release, allowing you to gain a new perspective or motivate a new idea. I also recommend that if you’re going to get out and wander, bring your phone or a camera, so you can snap a picture if something really motivates you to share. It is always better when you can visualize what spurred the idea rather than having to try and remember it all the way back to your office.

While the above three do tend to consistently deliver for me, there are still days that I hit rough patches and even the ol’ standbys aren’t working. On those days, I get a little more inventive. Here are just a few of the things I have tried to get some new ideas for blog posts:

• Call someone to talk about life.
• Listen to music, and sing.
• Take a shower.
• Do laundry.
• Clean the house.
• Go for a drive.
• Garden.
• Watch a stand-up comedian (love Tosh.O)
• Color with crayons.
• Scream. Loudly.
• Ask your twitter friends.
• Don’t write a post.
• Re-organize my office.
• Send emails.
• Change clothes.
• Do accounting.

The most important thing to remember, is no matter where you come up with ideas – keep writing! The more you jot down ideas, notes and potential topics, the easier it will get to turn them into real blog posts.

What other ways do you find blog ideas?

Related posts:

1. What is the right length for a blog post?
2. 10 blog post topics that anyone can use
3. Your mind is filled with new ideas…