If you want an EASY way to come up with great blog post ideas, you'll love this tip! Not only will it give you endless content ideas, it will make blogging a total breeze. 🙂
"Stop Blogging, Start Talking."
Blogging can be difficult. Talking is EASY. Especially if you love your topic! But how do you come up with those great blog post topics that you can whip out in quick time - consistently? I'll show you!
Responding Is Easier Than Writing
When you sit down to blog, it feels like you're talking to yourself. A one-sided conversation can be difficult. It's much easier to respond than it is to write.
Let me show you what I mean, and how easy it is...
Step 1: Search For Niche Forums & Groups
Some of my absolute best blog posts have originated as responses to emails or discussions in forums & groups - or even phone calls. If you ENJOY your topic, you probably have no trouble talking about it if someone asks you a question.
Whether it's in person, on the phone, via email or just a question you see somewhere on the web - the response likely comes natural for you without even thinking.
Don't you wish blogging were that easy?! It can be. 🙂
Quick Exercise: Go to Google and type your niche + forum. I have a low carb blog, so I search: low carb forum.
Yes, forums are "old school". Follow along anyway - you'll love this exercise!
Don't be picky. Just click on any forum you see in the results. I'll click on the first one and just have a quick look...
That's the whole point of this exercise, by the way: QUICK. 😉
I clicked the first result, scanned over the main page of the forum, and chose a category. I chose "New Members" then clicked on the "Newbies Questions" subforum to browse the topics:
Look for something that sparks an immediate "I know the answer to that!" response in your mind. Bingo - there's a fast blog topic. You might look through a few threads and read the discussions to get a feel for the depth of the question, or even the state of mind of your ideal reader.
Step 2: Respond To Questions / Topics
You may find it easiest to post a reply right there in the forum. That mindset (responding) is easiest, so just click "Reply" and start typing your response in the composition window. You know your topic, so this is easy! Just type away.
This literally took me only a few short minutes because I knew I could provide a very detailed response and offer some very specific advice for the situation:
Tip: DON'T submit your reply in the forum. You may find forums you want to join, and discussions you want to respond to there, but the purpose of this exercise is to come up with quick & easy blog post ideas...
Step 3: Paste Your Response Into WordPress
After getting into "conversational mode" and typing up a quick topical reply, copy that - and go paste it into a new post on your blog.
Now you can simply edit it for a broader audience, add a good Title and some intro text - and of course include your closing and call-to-action. 🙂 Easy!
Try it! Whip out a quick blog post... today!
Do a search on Google for a niche forum, or go to Facebook and find a group on your topic. Just use the search bar at the top and type in your topic, then on the search results page click "More" to filter it to show only Groups on that topic.
You'll find TONS of topics, questions and discussions that may make for GREAT blog posts! Tip: Draft every single idea you like directly in WordPress. That way when you sit down to blog, you'll have a list of drafts (and topics) to choose from.
I challenge you to give this method a try, and use it to write a blog post TODAY.
Then leave a comment with a link to your new post! 🙂
Maybe you already have a million blog post ideas, and your real issue is finding the TIME to blog... Struggling to find TIME to blog? Read this!
Ooh- while I was capturing that screenshot above for you, I peeked into a Low Carb Facebook Group and found the first four discussions were about groceries and organizing your refrigerator "as a low carber". That sparked a great blog post idea!
I'm off to blog, lol... *cheers*
Best,
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About Lynn Terry
Lynn,thanks for the great information,I have created a file on my hard drive called LynnTerry Tips and I copy your links for future references.sometimes when I am stuck for ideas I now just have to refer to this folder .
Great idea, Michael! 🙂 Did you try this quick exercise? I would love to see the blog post you came up with.
Hi Lynn,
I can't begin to count the moments when I've created blog posts as a result of a "comment" I meant to leave on someone's blog. I've done this countless times in the last year; it soon became second-nature.
I also look at the comments left on my blog, and find there are many conversations shared by visitors that I could expand on and turn into another mind-riveting blog post, too! I assume you've done this as well.
Forums are great for blog post ideas, but so is Facebook! If you belong to a particular group, there are tons of people asking for help. Use these questions for blog post fodder.
- Bonnie
Smart, Bonnie! I do the same thing, and have even repurposed a conversation on a flight. 🙂 Content ideas are literally everywhere, all the time. It's a matter of bringing your end of the conversation... to your market. Simple as that! *cheers*
Nice tip. A very good way to make sure that you are writing blog posts which answer questions that your audience really have, and not what you "think" they want to know. Off to do some research for my next blog post.
Exactly. 🙂 It's still a good idea to use keywords, and to optimize your content for keywords people are searching, but people use the web differently now. They go straight to their social groups, whether that be their friends on Facebook, or their topical groups & communities.
More and more people "ask their friends" or prefer real / genuine feedback - versus something that may not be objective. Even the general public is a little more wary of reviews found randomly in Google, and even Amazon reviews - which can be "purchased".
In my own low carb Facebook group, people will often ask what seems like a "basic question". The response "Google it!" is considered offensive (and has resulted in some ugly blowouts, lol) because they state they realize they can do that... but prefer to get real feedback or experiences from real people. 😉
I've never done like this. hopefully in the future I could apply. See you again to listen to his article info-very good for its information.
Thanks Lynn
Why wait to apply it in the future? You can do it today! 🙂
That was a very valuable tip, Lynn. The discussions on forums are sometimes even better than actual conversations - sources back a point better than any gesture would. 😉
I'm really going to give this a try, thanks for reminding us that great blog topics can be just a few clicks away!
- Syed
Thank you Syed - I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Have fun with it, and happy blogging. 🙂 *cheers*
I've had at least 2 times that I can recall where you have used this method on my conversation with you, solid information Lynn.. Thanks for the reminder!!!
It such an easy way to blog as it puts you in that conversational, personable writing mode. 🙂 Those must have been GREAT conversations! We haven't talked in awhile... I hope things are going great on your end! *cheers*
This was a very helpful post. Thank you for the ideas. It is really hard sometimes to keep coming up with them.
I'm glad, Jessica. 🙂 If you need more helpful ideas, see this screenshare where I show how I do Fast Easy Content Marketing. You'll love it! You get to watch my screen as I walk through how I do things myself. Enjoy! 🙂
These are some great tips for finding blog post ideas. One thing I'm hesitant about though is covering topics that has written about a lot. Most newbie questions are usually around those topics.
Yes, its a good idea to cover them anyway but I'm usually thinking of future traffic potential from ranking in search engines as well.