11 things to do when you have no blog post ideas

You sit patiently at your laptop waiting for amazing blog post ideas to appear – nothing. You make yourself a fancy coffee – nothing. You stare at your blank notepad – STILL NOTHING! Don’t panic, we’ve all been there. Before you hurl your laptop out of that window, STOP! I can help you come up with a bunch of new blog post ideas, I promise.

 

But first, an apology…

Before I launch into the good stuff, I feel I need to apologise. If you’re a regular around here then you may have noticed that I’ve been a little absent on the blog of late (OK a lot). Don’t think the irony of this post has escaped me! However, the reason for my temporary departure from the blogging world definitely wasn’t a lack of blog post ideas, that’s for damn sure. I have plenty of them!

So what happened?

An unexpected job offer is what happened. One of those jobs that are so hard to find when you’re a Mum – during school hours, flexible and what I’m actually qualified to do. I mean, I wasn’t looking for a job, but when life hands you lemons, you make Gin and Tonic don’t you? But sadly it does mean that I have significantly less time to blog and my dream of starting an online business is just a little bit harder to reach.

I thought maybe I could be one of those women that has it all. You know, one of those ‘successful career, runs an online business, gets up early for yoga’ types. All whilst being the perfect wife and Mum obvs!

Turns out I am not one of those women.

Nope. I’m more of a ‘coffee guzzling, arrives at work from the school run looking like Hagrid, has a constant feeling that I’ve forgotten something really important’ type. Oh dear.

Anyhoo, I’ve rabbited on for far too long. But one thing my little blogging break has taught me is that you don’t actually need to post every single week without fail to have a successful blog. In fact if you’re in desperate need of a break from your blog, I encourage you to take one! In the past couple of months, despite no new blog posts I’ve had more visitors to my blog than ever – mainly thanks to Pinterest.

So my advice would be that whilst creating regular content is important, writing good quality content and promoting it in the right way should be your priority.  

You have no blog post ideas, now what? 

Back to the whole reason you clicked on this blog post. If you’re struggling for blog post ideas, what should you do? Here’s a list of 11 things that have helped me generate an entire year’s worth of content.

1# Step away from the laptop

Sometimes the best blogging ideas come to me at the most inopportune moments. So ditch the laptop and get some fresh air. Go for a walk somewhere inspiring, listen to some good music and don’t forget to take your phone so you can dictate any brain waves that you get along the way.

2# Google

It’s true, google really does have the answer for everything. Even blog posts ideas! There’s a few ways google can help you out. Type a relevant subject into google and it will start coming up with regularly searched terms relating to that topic.

Google analytics can show you which of your posts have been popular. Have a look at your top 10 posts and see if you could write something along a similar line.

Google trends will give you a heads up on what’s currently trending online, which may provide inspiration. You can also search topics relevant to your niche and see how popular they are, as well as related searches.

3#Brain storm

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a damn good list (and an excuse to buy new stationary). So grab that pad and pen and get scribbling. Think about who your key audience is, how can you help them? What blog posts have been popular in the past?

Tip: Start with your niche and then write a list of all relevant subtopics and just keep on going. 

4# Refresh an old post

If you’ve been blogging a little while, you’ll undoubtably have a few posts rattling around from the early days. You know, when your audience mainly consisted of your Mum? Ah, back when you thought you could just ignore SEO because the magical google elves might just take pity on you and do it all for you. Well let me tell you they do not, damn you google elves.

It’s time to revive that post, add new images, liven up the content, key word the hell out of that baby.

Tip: Use all the skills you’ve learnt since you started blogging and apply them to your old post until it’s as good as new.

5# Get a pal to guest post

One of the best things about blogging is that you tend to make a whole bunch of blogging pals along the way. People who have the same interests as you from all over the world – it’s amazeballs! So why not see if you pal would like to share one of their blog post on your blog? It’s win-win because you get fresh content and they get to share theirs with a whole new audience and a back link to their blog.

Tip: If you’re not sure about having guest posts on your blog, why not create an interview series? I’ve featured lots of brilliant bloggers in my About your house series. 

6# Write a round-up post

This kind of post is ideal for when you are a bit stuck for content. For example something like 11 amazing Christmas crafts on pinterest.

OK I’m going to be completely honest with you, round-up posts are a bit lazy. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Most of us bloggers work bloody hard on our blogs, purely because we love blogging! Every now and again a round-up post can be great – they are among the most popular pins on pinterest. If you’re looking to drive more traffic to your blog, create a great pin, share it on pinterest.  It will work wonders!

Tip: Make sure you get permission from bloggers to use their content. Post a request on a Facebook group for relevant bloggers to take part in a round-up posts.  You’re likely to get lots of responses quickly. 

7# Review something

Have you tried something recently that you think your readers would love? Tell them about it in a review post! 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Tip: If you’re interested in working with brands, don’t forget to tag the company when you share your post on social media. They may ask you to review some more items for them! 

8# Share blogging tips

In my experience most bloggers LOVE reading about blogging! No matter what your niche, you’re bound to have picked up some great tips for blogging along the way. Why not share them and help your fellow bloggers out? Some of my most popular posts are the one’s where I ramble on about blogging! They’re pretty long, but I’ve tried to add in as many tips as possible and they went down a storm.

Tip: List posts (like this one) are ideal for making your points clear, concise and easy to read. 

9# Write a follow-up post

Which leads nicely to follow-up posts. Hit up google analytics and see which of your posts are the most popular. Then see if you can follow on from them. Given that 5 things I wasn’t expecting when I started blogging was so popular, I went on to write 5 more things I wasn’t expecting when I started blogging . And guess what? It was even more popular than the first post! It’s OK to recycle your blog post ideas.

Tip: Make sure you link your follow-up blog post in the original post and vice versa to increase your page views. 

10# Write a post about the blogs you enjoy reading

I’m pretty sure like me you can rave for hours about the blogs you love to read. So why not tell your readers about them too in a blog post? Last Christmas I really wanted write a blog post, but time was limited and I really wanted to prioritize spending time with the family – so I put together a post wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and sharing my three favourite festive posts.

Tip – Always credit the blogs you’re sharing.

11# Portent

If you haven’t visited this site before, it’s definitely worth a try. It’s half genius and half bonkers, but it’s ideal if you’re looking for some quirky blog post ideas. You simply type in a subject and hit enter and it randomly generates a title for your content.

I’m not sure I’ll be writing ‘Why cushions beat peanut butter on pancakes’ any time soon. Maybe if I get really desperate?! But you can keep refreshing until you get something you like, or replace certain elements of the title so that it make more sense. Most definitely food for thought!

Check out portent here

I really hope this list helps generate some great blog post ideas! If you have any more tips, I’d love you to share them in the comments below.