15 Tips for Generating Blog Posts Ideas

Last updated on 26 November 2024

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Sometimes it’s hard to even begin generating blog posts ideas!

I know the feeling! How often have you sat down to write something for your blog and had your fingers poised over the keyboard…and nothing happens?

Too often, right? Sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to think of things to write about. Over the years I’ve found I’ve gone through seasons of bursting full of ideas, and seasons, where you might find a picture of a sunrise with an inspirational quote slapped on top of it … if you’re lucky. I’ve found, however, that every low, off-ideas season is followed by one with lots of ideas. Inspiration and ideas will come, even if it takes a little bit of time. If you’re new to blogging, please don’t let lack of ideas stop you. Take a deep breath. Keep blogging. To help you out a bit, I’ve made a list of 15 things you can try to help generate blog post ideas. (Psst! There are bonus tips too!)

1. Keep a notebook with you

At all times. Or make sure you have a good note-taking app on your phone or tablet – something that you take with you everywhere – so that when you’re out and about and you have even an inkling of an idea, write it down. Don’t wait until you get home or ‘until later’; you’ll forget and there goes a potential blog post.

2. Make a list or a brainstorm

Lists are fantastic things. I love them. If I’m stuck for ideas, the first thing I do is I make a list of all the things that I love. And then I’ll turn that list into a brainstorm, and branch off from those ideas. You can do this on paper, or in OneNote, or something similar, like Evernote, or rock a Word document. Anything really. Make sure you keep this though. If you’re stuck again later, you can always come straight back to this and see what you write, or even add more.

3. Read other people’s blogs

Read other people’s blog, first and foremost, because you love to do it, but also because other people’s inspiration can become your own. You may be reading a blog post and it might trigger an idea or a memory that you can turn into a post. If you do end up doing something very similar to someone else, make sure you do credit them, even if it’s just ‘I saw this fantastic post the other day by Blogger’s Name, over at Blog Name, and thought it was brilliant’; something that acknowledges them and their ideas. You’ll find that people don’t mind you borrowing their ideas and doing something similar, as long as you link back to their post.

4. Take a walk

Get out of the house, away from the computer, and just take a walk around your neighbourhood, or go into the centre of town. You’d be surprised at what wandering about can create. You might pass by your favourite cafe. Pop in. Get a coffee and a slice of something. If you don’t get any ideas while you’re sitting there, write about the cafe! Suggest it as a place to check out if people are going through your city. While you’re writing it, think about what your other favourite places around your town are. Write about those. No cafe? No problem! Simply walking around changes your scenery, and a bit of fresh air is good for the brain apparently.

5. Write a series

If you have a great idea for a post, ask yourself: Can I turn this into a series? If the answer is ‘yes!’ then you’ve got yourself x amount of posts already in your mind. You can post these once a week for a month, or every day for a week. Another option is seeing what people like, and writing a post that is similar each month.

6. Prompts

There are so many websites out there with writing prompts. While often designed for short stories or novel ideas to get you going, they can easily work for blogs too.  There are a bunch of blog-content-prompt websites too, like Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator and Portent’s Content Idea Generator. You may not end up using whatever it is they suggest, but it may give you ideas for something else.

7. Read a magazine

Flicking through a magazine (whether it’s today’s or last year’s) can be a great way to find inspiration. You might see an article about new summer fashions; write a post about your favourite summer outfits, or that one time when you made a really big fashion error and no one told you about it, or even things you don’t like about summer fashion. You might see a page on new albums that have just been released; get a hold of that music, listen to it, write a post about it. Scrap those ideas altogether – rip the magazine up! Make a collage! Blog about it!

8. Scroll through Tumblr or Instagram

Something with pictures. I find that images often spark an idea in my mind, whether than be to make a collection of the awesome things I’ve found on Pinterest or someone’s Instagram photo that reminds you of that one time … blog about it. Speaking of which …

9. Pinterest

Let Pinterest inspire you. Turn your scrolling and pinning into something you can use for your blog. Whether it be to try out a recipe, or a DIY, or to create an inspirational or mood board, the list goes on. Pinterest is a collection of all the amazing things on the internet, and it’s so brilliant. You might as well make the most of it!

10. Ask your blogging friends

Make a survey or simply ask your blogging friends what kinds of posts they enjoy reading. You might find that there are actually quite a few things that you might quite like to blog about, but hadn’t really thought of it before.

11. Ask your real-life friends

The majority of my real-life friends don’t actually read my blog. Why is that? Maybe I should ask them. If you ask the people in your life what kinds of things might draw them into reading someone’s blog on a regular basis, you might be able to create posts that are new for you, and also draw some of your friends in. Think of a series you start where you interview your IRL friends about a topic. There’s nothing better than having a supportive network around you, especially when it comes to blogging. Some people don’t get it; make them get it.

12. Read a book that’s not your usual genre

I could just say ‘read a book. review it’ and that’s a great idea, and I do that a lot. A lot. But if you want to do something new, why not try reading a book that’s in a genre you’ve never read before? Write about not only what you thought of the book, but what you thought of the experience reading it. How was it? Did you enjoy it? Perhaps you’ll never pick up another autobiography again…?

13. Listen to new music

I know someone who only listens to Taylor Swift. Only. And I’m not saying TayTay is bad! I love cranking up the volume and dancing to 22, even though I’m way past that age, and wishing I was Juliet in Love Story. But if you’re someone who has quite a narrow music collection in terms of genre or artists, try branching out. Have a listen to other genres and artists. If that’s too much to ask, check out Discover Weekly on Spotify, or find an artist you enjoy and see what similar artists are connected to them. That way, you’re sticking within your favourite genre but you’re listening to a new range of artists. You may even find your new favourite. After listening to a bunch, are there artists or albums you prefer to others? Why? Blog about it!

14. Look out for the little things

There may be things or places you see every day, but have never really thought about them. It could be that old antique clock sitting on your mantel, or that cafe you grab a muffin from every week. What’s mundane and the same to you may be incredibly interesting to others. Tell us about that old clock. Let us know why it’s that cafe you go to every week. What makes them special or great or important to you?

15. Months and Seasons

The year and its seasons and events are a great place to get ideas. It seems like every month there is a different holiday, celebration, event or seasonal something-something. What month is it right now? What is happening this month? Is it New-Year-post January? St-Patties-post March? Is winter coming? Summer? Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about October and the wonders of Northern-Hemisphere autumns and Halloween?

I hope those ideas have been of help! There are so many more ways to help you come up with blog post ideas, but there’s some to get you going.

Want even more tips?!