How to come up with the best blog posts. I write 5 blog posts a week, plus the occasional article for a variety of online magazines and I often get asked how I come up with all of those posts. Last week we talked about How To Blog When You Are Busy, so today let’s discuss how to come up with ideas for all the posts. In the spirit of complete transparency, let me just come right out and say that there are definitely times when I’m lying on my couch with zero ideas, freaking out thinking that it’s over and that I’ll never be able to write another word ever again. The good news is that there are great ways to overcome that feeling.

HOW TO COME UP WITH THE BEST BLOG POSTS

First, breathe. Don’t let yourself get into a total panic because that’s exactly when you won’t be able to think of anything even remotely interesting. Now, if you already have an editorial calendar then pull it out and look at the subjects that you write about and write them down. For example, on Mondays I publish a fashion/style based post, Tuesdays are all about beauty, Wednesdays & Fridays are fitness themed and Thursdays are reserved for various blogging tips and tricks. Picking a theme for a post first helps you to narrow the focus.

Recycle great ideas. If you’ve been writing for a while then you already have a great collection of posts. Look back on them every once in a while and you’ll quickly see where your strengths and weaknesses are. Then simply pick out some of your better posts and see how you can make them even better. For example, I had a post called, How To Buy The Best Running Shoes which was doing really well, so I expanded it into a post called,  How To Choose The Best Running Shoes  which did even better. Later I expanded that post into How To Style Sneakers. See what I’m getting at? There are so many different angles you can take on a single subject.

Pare it down.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stumbled onto someone’s very, very, very long blog post that can easily be split up into several posts. I’ve actually written a few posts where I’ve separated the content into two articles after reading them over.  Instead of writing a bunch of small product reviews, for example, why not write a thorough one for each.

Read, a lot.  When I was younger, a famous theatre director told me that to do his job, you had to know a little bit about everything. Over the years (through film school and beyond), I’ve taken that to heart and it has come in handy in numerous situations. Blogging is exactly the same. I spend the majority of my days reading and trying to soak up as much information as I can. Learning (and by that I mean reading) gets your brain working a certain way that makes you more creative. Besides, the more you read, the more inspired you’ll be.

Take notes.  So I’m a bit old school and I often find that I have sticky notes all over the place but it really doesn’t matter how you take them as long as you are writing all of your ideas down.  Yes even the ones that seem kind of odd because you never know when one might trigger the start of your next brilliant series.

Mind map. There are times when I know I want to tackle a subject but  I keep dancing around what I really want to write without being able to pin point it all down. Or, sometimes I have an idea that starts to spiral out of control (seriously, sometimes it’s like my posts have a mind of their own). That’s when I sit down to a mind map of sorts. I start with my original idea and then just let it start to spiral and pretty soon I have enough post ideas to cover a month’s worth of writing.

If all else fails, there’s always Pinterest. Simply type in the words, blog post ideas, and you’ll find list upon list of ideas. Keep reading until you find the one that hits home and you are good to go.

Keep in mind that running out of ideas happens to everyone at some point. Whether you blog full time or part time or only on occasion, this is a very creative field and your brain does need a break. The trick is to set aside a few minutes every once in a while to focus on your passions and pretty soon you’ll see that the ideas start flowing.

Where do you look for inspiration to write?

For more tips don’t forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST

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caroline

Caroline has worked with international designers in fashion retail and completed professional makeup courses when working in the beauty industry. Her love of writing, photography and film inspired her to work at the Canadian Film Center and then to earn a BFA in Screenwriting. In addition to her blog, Style On The Side, you can see her work in Huffington Post Canada and other international websites.

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