25 OF THE BEST BLOG POST IDEAS FOR BEGINNER BLOGGERS
I think most of you would agree with me when I say that coming up with blog post ideas is one of the hardest parts of being a blogger.
Content is the foundation of what we do and what we give to our readers and one of the constant pressures we feel is coming up new title after new title. Having fresh ideas can really get to us.
I’ve been a blogger for almost three years and as of a couple of months ago I started blogging seven days a week, and I’ve been freelance for around twelve months, where I’ve got a few websites that I contribute to.
So I can safely say that there are days when I go completely blank and can’t come up with any ideas.
Has this happened to you?
You’re planning your editorial calendar for the month and you can’t think of a single topic idea for any of your categories!
While one of the best parts of being a blogger is the fact we’ve got free range to blog about what we want and come up with our own topics, this can also be very time consuming.
So, as we do in exercise, we want to work smarter, not harder. Which means today I’m giving you a huge list of blog post ideas that you can use for your blog and other projects if you have them. Make sure you bookmark it so you can save it for inspiration - and let’s get right to it.
P.S. If you want 47 more fill-in-the-blank templates, make sure you download this free worksheet!
#1 | Use a free tool
I don’t know about you, but whenever I read content from other bloggers, my inspiration always starts flowing and I find I can come up with lots of different topics. A headline generator is just as good to use.
There are loads of different ones like Tweak Your Biz, HubSpot’s generator, or SEOPressor. They all work differently but still give you fantastic results.
All you need to do is look through the topic and headline ideas the generator has given you and note down the ones you can write a post about on your blog.
#2 | Go Through Your Archive
Believe it or not, your archive is where all the magic happens and is one of the best places to come up with blog post ideas.
One of the best ways to do it is with your most popular posts. You want to find these in Google Analytics and analyse them. These are the most popular posts on your blog for a reason. What you want to do is go through your top five of all time and see what other content you can create based on your original idea.
It might mean doing a follow-up post or taking each sub-heading and giving it its own post. But it’s always great to look through your older articles to see if you can add any new knowledge or perspective.
#3 | Keep tabs on your competitors and other blogs you like
Don’t think you’d be wrong to do this. The best bloggers always grab ideas from their competitors and blogs they like to read.
For example, with this blog, one of my categories is Career. When I read about Anna’s career journey on her blog, I thought hey - this is something that would fit perfectly on my own blog!
I also read a lot of blogs about blogging, writing and freelancing and sometimes I see articles and think, yep - I can definitely do a post on that subject.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that. Because we all do it. And if you think about it, most blog post ideas have been recycled I mean. How many articles have you read listing blog post ideas?
#4 | Read posts on what you blog about
Part of being a blogger is knowing about the top trends that are going on in the categories you blog about. This helps you learn new skills and also lets you come up with new ideas that you know will be of interest to your audience.
For instance, I have to make sure I keep as up to date with social media as possible. So I always read a post or two from these blogs:
Whether you’re a beauty blogger, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger or something else - it’s always worthwhile finding some good reading material in your industry.
#5 | Take a different perspective
Most original ideas have gone, that’s true. We’ve all seen posts about what’s in my bag, how I got X follow on Instagram or how I edit my photos. It’s hard to find something nobody has heard of.
What you can do instead is provide a new perspective. We’ve all grown an Instagram following. What is it about your story that’s unique?
Take your own experiences and put them into an idea that’s been done before. This will give you an entire new blog post.
#6 | Turn an Infographic or slideshow into a blog post
Head to Pinterest, search for infographics and loads will appear. Why not find one in one of the categories in your blog and use it to inspire a blog post for your readers?
#7 | Make notes from podcasts you listen to
You take notes from podcasts, online courses you do and meet-ups you attend, right? Turn this into content you can use to help your audience.
#8 | Do an action plan
We all want to learn new things. How-to articles are the most read thing on the internet for a reason. If you’re good and successful at what you do, people will want to know how you’ve achieved these things.
What better way to do this than on your blog?
I’ve used this a lot in content on ABOH and it helps others to get to where they want to be. My Blogging Breakthrough eBook is a perfect example.
#9 | Use your hobbies
It’s important as bloggers that we live as who we are. The more we do and enjoy, the more we can fill our blogs with.
Whatever your hobbies are, you can draw inspiration from these to create blog posts. Crafts, walking, watching films, reading magazines, cooking, playing music - if you think deeply about it enough you can use elements of your hobbies to create post ideas for your blog.
#10 | Get on Quora
This is a tool that will save you so much time as a blogger when it comes to content ideas. I love it. It’s basically a platform where people can ask questions about anything and everything. Here’s how you use it.
You want to search for the categories that you blog about and add them to your home feed. So for me, I’d follow the categories of social media, marketing, blogging, career etc. Then, you go through each category to see what questions people are asking. You can also just use the search bar to type in a keyword and get ideas from there.
The point is that you can take questions that people genuinely want to know the answer to and answer them in a blog post. You can’t beat that!
#11 | Do a reveal post
Made a really impressive cake? Started your own project? Completely renovated your kitchen? Share this with your readers. Doing this really lets people in on who you are and what you enjoy and shows the what you’re interested in.
You can also do this with a monthly review of how blogging has gone for you over the past month to remind old readers and new how great you are ;)
#12 | Ask a question on social media
Twitter and Facebook are the best places to do this. Don’t worry about hearing crickets - I bet someone will always answer your question. You can use the feedback you get to create one or even two blog post ideas.
#13 | Show things from your real life
This is something I’ve started doing a lot more of and I’m so glad I made the decision to do so.
Whether it’s funny stories about your family, tales about your pets, holidays you’ve been on or things you generally get up to at the weekend - these can all be turned into content ideas that your readers will be interested in.
#14 | What haven’t you written about?
Surely you haven't covered every topic in each of your categories - I know I haven’t! So think about what you haven't covered yet or what you could expand on. Broaden your knowledge and think outside the box.
#15 | Write how you did something for your blog
Have you created something new for your blog? If you have, write about it! When I was creating the 101 Websites Series, I thought it’d be great to write about the process of going about it and it proved to be really popular. I’m planning to do the same with the process of creating an eBook.
#16 | Write a list post
Popular, easy content that you should definitely take advantage of. Hannah Gale is great at writing list posts so head there for inspiration. The most popular post on my blog is a list post. If you’ve not tried it before, give one a go.
#17 | Ask for guest posters
Sometimes, you’re just too busy to create content for your blog. But you don’t want to let it go silent. So what do you do? Ask for guest posters. You’re still providing lots of value to your readers whilst taking some of the pressure off yourself for a bit.
This is exactly what I’m in the process of planning for a few weeks in June and August when I go on holiday. And all the ideas I know about have never been seen before on this blog. They’re original, personal and exactly the type of content you’d enjoy seeing on ABOH. Schedule a tweet once every other day and put a notice on your blog saying you accept guest posters. Then watch the requests come in.
#18 | Write your goals
Lots of bloggers do this and they always work really really well. But instead of doing a monthly or weekly general series, you could make it even more specific. You could do it about a certain project you’ve got going on at work or at home and base it around that. Asking your readers to share their goals will also deepen your connection with them.
#19 | Reflect on the past
How have you got to where you are now? What have you learnt along the way? I’m sure you could write many different posts about your journey so far! It’s always fun to look back and see how far you’ve come. I’ve done this with a few posts on this blog and they’ve always really resonated with my readers.
#20 | Do a giveaway
A giveaway is a great way to give back to your readers, because let’s face it, they’ve helped your blog get to where it is today! This is always a great way to increase your community over on your social channels, and your email list too.
#21 | Write about your survey results
I got so many ideas from the reader survey I did at the end of last year. Your readers are willing to give you feedback and you can turn this feedback into blog posts.
#22 | Review something
Has something really helped you out lately? A certain product or tool? Write about it. Tell your readers why it will help them.
#23 | Make a list of your favourite blogs
People love these kinds of posts. They love seeing what blogs you both like that are in common and even seeing if they’re feature themselves.
You can also do this with blog posts themselves. Amanda does this and this month, she’s sharing about 200 links in just one round-up!
#24 | Start an interview series
A great way to fill up a spot in your editorial calendar every month is to feature someone else. I’ve started doing this with my Career series and it serves as a great source of inspiration for my readers.
#25 | Write about why you love blogging
There can be a lot of negativity and jealously in the blogging world. It’s up to us to embrace as much positivity as possible. Write about why you come back to your blog day after day. Share with your readers why it’s so important to you. It’s fascinating and feels good not just for your readers, but for you too.
So if you publish a blog post every day, that’s nearly a month’s worth of content for you. Or if you blog weekly, that’s 2 weeks worth of content ready for you to experiment with!
Don't forget to download your list of fill-in-the-blank templates!
Do you have some more blog post ideas I didn’t mention? What's your favourite idea on this list? Let me know in the comments!