If you feel stuck when generating blog post ideas, you are not alone.
Many successful bloggers or website owners had your experience when finding blog topic ideas at some point.
Itās normal to feel boxed in a corner and stare at your blank screen. This is more common for business owners with a new website.
To get organic traffic from Google and prove your expertise to your audience, you need to create useful blog content consistently. But without blog topics, you wonāt even have content to optimize for SEO.
In this guide, youāll learn 17 actionable ways of generating valuable blog post ideas. Ready to type something on that blank screen? Letās move.
9 Tips to Find Blog Post Ideas for New Websites
1. Competitor Ideas
Every blog or website owner has a competition. And if you are unsure of your competition, the good olā Google can help.
So, letās assume you are a life coach with a new and beautiful website. You can find your competitors by using various search parameters like popular ānicheā websites or popular ānicheā blogs.
Examples
- Popular life coach websites
- Popular content writing websites
- Popular digital marketing blogs
- Popular chiropractor blogs
After clicking any of the search results, go to the blog section. Sometimes, it could be called articles or some fancy name.
Source: melnoakes.com
Check some blog post topics and note them if they are an excellent fit for your audience. You can also check if the keywords can get you free organic traffic from Google using keyword research tools like SEMrush and Ubersuggest.
Letās see if the keyword āself-care tipsā is worth your time.
This is a profitable keyword that can get you up to 6,600 organic visitors from Google. How cool is that?
Now, all you need is to create unique blog topics around the keyword and optimize your blog post for SEO.
Caution: Do not copy your competitors. This helps you avoid the embarrassment of dragging your brand through the mud, wasting time, and possibly get sued.
LinkedIn is a goldmine for finding blog post ideas. Although only a tiny fraction of LinkedIn users create content daily, these contents are actionable.
You can follow popular Linkedin hashtags in your industry to get blog topic ideas.
To get the best from LinkedIn, you need to be an active user. Also, you need to follow lots of leaders in your industry as a single post can have many comments with even more useful blog post ideas.
Hereās an example from Camille Trent asking freelancers about tools they use. As a freelance writer, this is a great place to get lots of blog topic ideas.
Source: Camille Trent on LinkedIn
To ensure you donāt lose posts and content ideas on LinkedIn, you can use the LinkedIn save feature by clicking the three dots in the top right corner of a LinkedIn post.
3. Facebook Groups and Polls
With over 1.85 billion people visiting Facebook daily, this social media platform is a fountain flowing with content ideas. However, you might not find blog post ideas in your regular feed.
So, where are the beans spilled? ā Facebook groups.
You can find Facebook groups in your niche by using the Facebook search feature.
Once you are in a group, like LinkedIn, you can save an excellent post by clicking the three dots in the top right corner of a Facebook post.
It also helps if you are an active member of any group you join. This way, people will be more receptive to reply to your posts like polls. You can use these polls to generate blog topics for an interested audience.
Unlike LinkedIn, you can save posts in different collections. This helps you organize posts according to specific topics.
4. Quora
Quora is a place where you can get done-for-you content. What do I mean?
Many persons who use Quora have questions that experts like you answer. Quora gives you an inside scoop of your prospective customersā thoughts. It also lays bare their problems and how they type a search string into search engines like Google.
The first step is to register on Quora to get an account. Afterward, search for anything related to your practice, for instance, meditation.
Click the search result and select questions under the by type section.
There you go. These are some of the exact ways persons will search for queries related to meditation on search engines. You can also explore other sections like answers, posts, profiles, and so on.
5. Amazon Look Inside
Some books on Amazon have a look inside feature. This feature shows the table of content of a book and a few pages to whet your appetite to buy.
But we arenāt buying books, at least not today.
Depending on your industry, the items in the table of content of a book may or may not be straightforward.
Assuming you coach kids, hereās how you can use this simple strategy to generate blog post topics.
- Go to Google and search for this string: best sellers in ānicheā Amazon
- Example: best sellers in kids anger management Amazon
Source: Amazon.com
- Click look inside
Source: Amazon.com
These topics provide a ton of information you can expand on. You can check other books if the authorās content isnāt straightforward.
You can use this process for any niche provided you find a relevant book with a clear table of content.
A plus side to this method is, the authors have done the legwork for you. They have done their research. And if the book has a ton of positive reviews, it can only mean one thing āpeople resonate with the book content.
Caution: You could unintentionally plagiarize some portion of a book into your blog post by purchasing and reading it before writing your post. So, write your topic of interest, do your research, and write your posts before reading the book (if you want to).
6. Google Autocomplete
Google autocomplete helps to make your search faster. The feature works by using real Google searches that are common and trending.
For instance, a coach that counsels people could search grief counseling and Google will make some search predictions.
You can confirm if people are searching for these keywords by using your favorite keyword research tool.
And you can add some fun to the process of generating blog post ideas with wildcards.
You can add wildcards like an asterisk (*) and underscore (_) within or after a text to get autosuggestions.
7. Magazines
As an avid reader, you can get lots of inspiration from magazines with excellent content.
Online or offline magazine? ā it doesnāt matter. The information will be rich enough to provide you with trending topics you can use for a blog post.
Source: Libraryofprofessionalcoaching.com
You could find magazines online by using this string:
ānicheā magazine.
Examples
- Coaching magazines
- Dog magazines
- SaaS magazines
- Marketing magazines
8. Team Members
Your team members could be an excellent source of blog topics if you donāt operate a one-person business.
All you need to do is ask.
Getting blog post ideas from team members is excellent if their job requires regular communication with customers.
Do you have a social media manager in charge of your Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook messages? ā ask for their input on blog topics.
Their contribution can help you humanize your content, write what interests your audience and increase your following.
9. Client Testimonials
Did you begin your business before creating your website?
Have you made some clients goā¦wowšā¦friggin awesomeš„?
Then get a testimonial and use it.
Your testimonials can serve as great tools for blog post ideas after youāve asked the right questions.
Once you have your replies from previous clients, identify their pain points. Write posts that address their worries and weave the testimonial in on how you are the best solution.
Have you found a blog post idea as you read this?
Then start writing once you finish the rest of this post.
If you sleep on it, you might procrastinate and never get it done.
And if youāre super-busy or canāt handle the writing process, then talk to us.
Onwardā¦
8 Ways to Find Blog Topic Ideas for Existing Websites
I am positive the tips above have given you an excellent headstart to finding exciting blog post topics. After your first blog post goes live, you can use the following tactics to get more blog topic ideas in addition to the ones above.
1. Online Surveys
If you ask your audience a question, they will likely answer. Using online surveys to find blog post ideas gives you an idea of what your audience wants to read. It also validates any blog idea you have.
You can use any of the following tools to create an online survey
- Survey Anyplace
- Survey Monkey
- Survey Gizmo
- Survey Planet
- SoGoSurvey
- Typeform
- Google Forms
- Client Heartbeat
- Zoho Survey
- ProProfs Survey Maker
When creating surveys, it helps if you ask around ten questions. According to survey monkey, the median length of questions for their paid surveys is ten.
Hereās what might happen if you decide to disregard their advice ā you could have low completion rates of your surveys.
According to another survey monkey research, the chances of completing a survey by a respondent sharply reduces with each additional question up to 15 questions.
2. Email Subscribers
Like online surveys, your email subscribers could provide lots of direction for your blog posts. After all, you are writing for them.
If you donāt have email subscribers, you can entice them with a well-written and designed lead magnet.
Are you curious to learn how to ask for your subscribersā input?
Hereās a sample email you can modify.
Email subject line:
(first name), quick question, please
Email body:
(first name), I need your help ā¦ + I have something for you.
As a member of my online community, I want to ensure you get only the best content.
Can you spare about 2 minutes of your time for a quick survey?
The survey has multiple choice and yes or no questions.
You can find the survey by clicking here.
Once you finish the survey, youāll have access to schedule a private call with me and get 30 minutes of my time (for free, of course) to discuss anything related to what I do.
Sounds good?
Letās get started with the survey.
Assist me, (first name).
Easy, right? While you can send online surveys to everyone, your email subscribers give you a better chance of getting quality data.
3. Google Related Searches
When you search for information on Google, Google generates related searches similar to your search string. Youāll find them at the bottom section of search results. These related searches are excellent sources of blog post ideas.
You can also find lots of these related searches with the also-asked tool.
Once you get on the website, you can register and search for your keyword of interest. Also, set the region to your country of interest.
Your search will provide useful blog topic ideas, as seen below. You can also click the plus sign in the blue circles to get more blog post ideas.
4. Google Trends
Google trend is a tool that shows the interest over time in a set of keywords.
This tool helps you find trending topics in your niche that you could refine into blog posts.
Google trend is also excellent because it shows the regions that are more interested in your chosen topic. So, assuming you want to run an ad to your written blog post to attract more website traffic, this is a resource to identify where people initiate their search.
5. Google Alerts
Google alerts is an excellent tool that does many things, including providing useful blog post ideas. You can use this tool as your internet watchdog to police your brand and prevent some form of theft. Youāll need a Google account to use this tool.
Once you have a Google account, search for Google alerts on any search engine and create alerts for topics you wish to track.
Google will send you emails showing the results from their tracking, including your name if you are tracking it.
6. Blog Comments
The more authority you build online by consistently posting blog content, the more you receive blog comments. This is why many established leaders in your niche amass tons of comments on every blog post.
For instance, the digital marketing niche has respected industry leaders like Neil Patel, Brian Dean, Ryan Deiss, etc. Every post by these individuals gets lots of shares and useful comments.
Source: backlinko.com
Lots of blog ideas could be lurking within these comments that you can build on.
Once you build a loyal audience by posting consistently and having them subscribe to your email list, you can get lots of blog comments. These blog comments could give a further hint about what your audience wants to read. After you find such topics, you could do further research and begin writing.
Donāt ignore your blog comments. An insightful reply could give you blog post ideas that could lead your prospective customers down the sales process.
7. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful tool for identifying top-performing content. It enables you to see content with the highest number of views and how users behave on your website. Armed with this information, you can create more content around your high-performing blog posts.
Without analyzing your content, you wonāt know those that perform well or poorly. You can get a handle on how Google Analytics works by visiting the Google analytics academy.
Once you know how it works, hereās how you can find your content with the highest number of views:
- Visit analytics.google.com
- Click behavior >> site content >> all pages
8. Google Search Console
Google search console is another excellent tool that helps identify more keywords you can rank. You might have written a post to target keywords like:
- On-page SEO
- Self-care tips
- Mesothelioma lawyer
When you visit Google search console, you might discover that you are ranking for other keywords around your intended keywords. Take these keywords and use them to create useful blog topics. All of these come together to help you rank better in search engines.
So, how do you find these keywords?
- Visit https://search.google.com/search-console/about
- Click start now
- Click performance
Conclusion
These blogging strategies work regardless of your niche.
Implementing the strategies for a new website will quickly fill your content calendar with useful blog topics.
As you publish your first, second, and third posts, youāll get better at how content works. It is important to always rely on what your audience want. Create surveys if you have an audience, even if itās only ten persons. These people subscribed because they love something about what you do.
If you donāt have an audience yet, you can rely on these strategies to get blog post ideas.
Two Small Ask
- Do you like everything youāve just read? Please let me know in the comments.
- Do you have friends with a new website or someone that struggles with getting blog post ideas? If you think this post will help them, please share it.
Precious Oboidhe is a B2B SaaS content strategist and writer for hire. If you need help with strategizing and creating assets for the different stages of your content marketing funnel, get in touch.
Very good info Precious, thanks heaps.
Thank you Patrick. I am glad you like it.
What a fantastic list! No. 5 is genius (Amazon)! Canāt wait to use that tip š
I am happy you found this list helpful. Thank you for the kind words.ā
Thanks for the post, nice information about blog-post-idea .it is really helpful.
I am glad you found it helpful Priya. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Interesting guide and ideas that site and business owners can follow through it.
Thank you.