Imagine this: you’re sitting at your desk, searching your brain for the next great blog topic idea. Your mind is blank, and you feel like all the good ideas have already been used. Maybe you’re coming up on a deadline, or maybe you’re just trying to fill up your editorial calendar.
Sound familiar? Not to worry, this is one of the most common problems with blog writing.
Some days, an amazing blog topic seems to come to us out of nowhere, and the post practically writes itself. But other times, whether it be that you’re up against a time crunch, or a particularly strong case of writer’s block, you could use a little push.
This is why blog topic idea generators are such useful tools.
With just a bit of help from you, these sites can provide you with a long, thorough list of topics that will keep your blog going and even spark your imagination to get back to that creative place and writing like typewriter Kermit.
Chances are, you already have a few keywords in mind that pertain to your business. If this is the case, topic generators can be very effective in working alongside you to round out some more content ideas that will bolster those keywords into a full-blown blog post.
1. HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator
HubSpot’s blog topic generator is a great choice for when you have a primary and secondary keyword, and you want an array of topics that focus on those two options.
For this list, I chose the words “mutts” and “treats.” Obviously.
(via HubSpot)
2. Portent’s Content Idea Generator
Portent’s content idea generator is similar, but rather than taking multiple keyword ideas and generating multiple topics, it will instead create a title for you using the keyword that you enter, AND identify the importance of each section of that title.
(via Portent)
When you’ve had success with these topic generators, bookmark them for later use. Next time you’re pressed for time, you’ll have those resources at your fingertips.
3. Quora or Reddit Forums
If you’re less sure about what you’d like the content of your blog post to be, forums such as Quora and Reddit can be great resources to tap blog ideas ripe for the picking.
(via Reddit)
Reddit’s format is similar to searches on Google in that it shows a headline of sorts that you can click on to reveal the content of the users’ discussion of the topic of your choice.
(via Quora)
Quora’s format, on the other hand, is a bit different from Reddit, showing you the top result with a list of related questions, and different ways to filter your results.
These sites contain spaces for people to ask questions about everything under the sun, so check out what people are asking about, and write up a post that answers their questions.
Then, go back and post your full response to the forum in response to the question. This easy win will give you some free content promotion, leading people to your site to take a look at what you have to say.
4. Google
Google will always be an incredibly helpful tool in brainstorming blog topic ideas. With even the simplest of searches, you can find pages and pages of examples to work from.
Even though the results you’ll get will largely be other blogs and articles, if you find one that you can improve or expand upon, take the initiative and go for it.
(via Google)
With the right tools at your disposal, coming up with a blog topic idea is just a few clicks away. (Less, if they’re bookmarked.)
There is an astonishing number of topic generation sites out there, and while these four (five, really) are our favorites, they represent just the tip of the iceberg.
Happy brainstorming!
