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Prospecting for Blog Post Ideas

Prospecting for Blog Post Ideas

metalAs an eleven-year-old boy I saved up my pennies for a metal detector. The thinking was that I’d easily make back the $80 by uncovering hidden treasures in the backyard or at the beach.

I never did snag that ancient relic to earn fortune and a morning spot on the Today Show. But I did find my fair shared of nails, barbed wire, loose change and dead batteries. This stuff might seem like junk now, but as a kid, I was fascinated by all of these ‘riches’
under our feet.

Ever notice that it sometimes takes more time to come up with a topic to blog about than to actually write a post? There’s a solution – dust off that metal detector and start searching. Here are a few ways I personally like to find buried treasure – aka – blog post ideas.

DRILL DOWN – Put on your micro-goggles on and instead of blogging about the beach, blog about a grain of sand. Examine things closely and new possibilities will reveal themselves.

TIME LIMIT – If you find yourself struggling to find something to write about (a tell-tale sign is when you search the Web incessantly for ideas and end up adding movies to your Netflix Queue), give yourself a time restriction to come up with something – or step away entirely. Many people find that ideas come to them when they are not searching for them.

EXERCISE – Increase your heart rate and get those endorphins rushing. Clarity of mind can lead to new ideas and fresh thoughts. Many of my blog post ideas come in the middle of my aerobic exercise routine.

TAKE AN OPPOSING VIEWPOINT
– This is a great way to spin existing content and give it your own bent. Don’t be afraid to challenge other bloggers by taking a counter-argument. Not only can you create compelling content, but you can grab the attention of bloggers who are more popular than you.

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PICK ANOTHER MEDIUM AND FIND AN ANGLE – If I am enjoying a book or television show, I will challenge myself to tie a blog post into it. That way I get to write about something I enjoy that already has a built-in audience.

How do you come up with blog post ideas? Here’s hoping you uncover gold!

View Comments (8)
  • Good article.

    What works for me is :
    Reading other bloggers blog posts.
    Checking out Google trends
    THe new Google Real-Time Search is a wonderfull thing to see how big a keuword or phrase is.
    Read the news.
    Listen to some music. It’s amazing how music can inspire you.
    Comment on other blogs. Often I find my comments turning into extended posts.
    Have a long lie in the bath.

  • I think there must be some scientific reasoning behind taking a hot shower and perhaps releasing endorphins. It seems all my great blog ideas come about in there and then I have to madly rush out (modestly of course) and get my great ideas down before I lose them.

    Also if exercising is a great way to get some ideas flowing this should be a great motivator for bloggers to do more exercise other than the obvious ones of being healthy, staying fit and maybe losing some weight.

    There are so many ways people can generate ideas though. Looking at other peoples blog posts and peoples comments is something I’ve started doing lately, there is a lot of ‘gold’ out there ;)

    BTW I really liked your grain of sand metaphor – focusing on a specific topic than a broad one is much more powerful.

    Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com

  • Great post! I have been realizing lately that it does take me a while to come up with an idea for a post, so I haven’t been posting as often. I’ll have to try out some of your tips. Thanks!

  • Great that you pointed it out; it is more difficult and time-consuming to come up with a post than actually writing it.

    As for me, I just write anything that comes to mind afterwhich try to edit or make some revision in order for the content fit my blog.

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