Coming up with blog post ideas is challenging as an online business owner.
You may find that one minute you have an abundance of ideas and you can’t write them down fast enough. Then the next, there’s nothing but the sound of crickets.
Sigh. We’ve all been there.
That said, thinking up blog post topics that attract and engage your target audience is an important skill you need to drive website traffic and grow your business.
And if they don’t come naturally? Well, you just have to go out there and get them.
Not to worry — I’m here to help with this guide to finding blog post ideas for beginners.
Contents
Why Are Good Blog Post Ideas Important?
First things first, let’s be honest, it’s easy to think up a random blog topic. However, coming up with a good idea that gets your business the results it deserves is another thing entirely.
What defines a good blog topic? Well, it will:
- Tie in with your niche or industry
- Fall in line with your core content pillars, i.e., the key themes or subjects that you post about
- Be useful for your target audience and speak to their pain points
- Answer questions or solve problems that your target audience may have
- Showcase your authority in your niche
- Be timely, i.e., be published at an opportune time
Simply put, a good blog post topic builds trust with your target audience. When your target audience trusts you, they will be loyal to you. They will return to your website and interact with it — and may even subscribe to your email list or make a purchase.
(Kerching!)
Where Can I Find Blog Post Ideas (for Beginners)?
Finding inspiration for blog topics is pretty straightforward when you know where to look.
1. Google
One of the first places I head to when I already have a rough idea of a blog topic and need to define it is the largest search engine in the world.
The great thing about Google is that you can input the start of your search term and then it will autofill the rest of it based on what other people have been searching for.
For example, say I wanted to write a blog post on autumn travel for my blog Trendy Tourist, but I wasn’t sure about the specific topic. I could head to Google and type ‘autumn travel’ into the search box, which consequently shows me some potential ideas.
Then if I hit ‘enter,’ I could also use the ‘People also ask’ box for further inspiration. I could even use the related searches at the bottom of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for more ideas.
Handy, huh?
2. Google Trends
In addition to Google itself, Google Trends can be a useful tool for finding blog post ideas for beginners.
You can use the “Daily Search Trends” tab to look at the subjects that are currently trending all around the world.
Alternatively, if you had a loose blog topic in mind, you can input this into the Explore page to see a graph of how this search term has been trending over time. This is helpful for uncovering the relevance of a particular blog topic and whether it would be timely for your target audience.
3. Google Search Console
Don’t have Google Search Console set up for your website? In this case, I’d recommend doing so.
Google Search Console is so much more than a place to fix your crawl errors. You can check out the Performance Report to see which keywords your existing blog posts are already ranking for.
There could be keywords on this list that you haven’t even tried to rank for, which spark inspiration for upcoming blog topics.
For instance, perhaps someone ended up on my blog when they searched for “autumn travel fashion” and I hadn’t written about this subject yet. I’d have my next blog topic sorted!
4. Keyword Research Tools
Keyword research tools are ideal for sourcing both primary and secondary keywords, which you can insert organically into a blog post to boost its ranking on Google SERPs. (This is called Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO.)
Having said that, keyword research tools can also be used to uncover what people are searching for on a certain subject.
Answer The Public is my favourite. Just enter your subject (it works best if you only use one or two words) and then let it work its magic!
It will deliver results in visual form (or you can download it in CSV form) based on:
- Questions
- Prepositions
- Comparisons
- Alphabeticals
Who could ask for more?
5. Social Media Feeds
Sometimes you don’t need a fancy tool for sourcing blog post ideas for beginners. Sometimes you can simply pop on one of your social media feeds and find what you need to get going.
If you follow other influencers in your niche, this can spark inspiration. Or you can actively seek them out by typing a hashtag into the search box, such as ‘#travelbloggers.’
Note that you can discover popular hashtags in your niche in my Instagram Hashtag List as part of my free resource library! Sign up below for the access code!
6. Social Media Explore Pages
As well as researching what’s trending on Google, you can also research what’s trending on social media platforms through their Explore pages.
On TikTok, for example, you can see trending content in the ‘Discover’ tab, which you can narrow down by searching for your niche or industry (like ‘travel’). This could give you some ideas for blog posts that could potentially go viral.
(Yes please!)
7. News Websites
Keeping up with current affairs can provide you with much-needed inspiration for blog posts when you think you’ve covered everything under the sun for your niche.
Follow news websites or social media feeds so that you’re always one step ahead of the game.
That said, try to put a unique angle on what’s already out there. You don’t want to be competing with top news platforms for the number one spot on Google for the same blog topic.
Why? Well, because it’s likely they have a higher Domain Authority and will outrank you. Sad but true.
8. National Holiday Lists
Another way to find blog post ideas for beginners is by researching upcoming national holidays. One of the best websites for this is Days of the Year.
As well as providing blog post topic inspiration based on a certain day, Days of the Year will tell you what’s coming up for the month so you can plan your content marketing schedule accordingly.
You can even select a particular day or month in the future. Convenient, right?
9. Magazines in Your Niche
Flipping through the pages of magazines for inspiration may seem like an old-fashioned notion — but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
There’s something satisfying about holding a magazine in your niche in your hands and folding over pages when something you read sparks an idea.
Similarly, if buying physical magazines just isn’t your thing anymore, bookmarking a page on an online magazine works just as well.
Either way, what people say is true: read more and it will inspire you to write more and, above all else, write better!
10. Social Media or Blog Comments
Audience feedback can be used to create future blog posts.
I mean, think about it: they’ve cared enough about a subject to comment on an existing blog or social media post of yours (or maybe even email you directly). Therefore, the least you can do is listen to them and take action!
For instance, I once had an Instagram feed post comment about a travel outfit I was wearing. The user had said: “I wish I knew what travel fashion staples to take away with me.”
So, guess what I did? I created a blog post about the travel fashion staples you need for every trip.
It’s all about picking up on the issues your target audience are experiencing and thinking of the solutions you could deliver through your blog content. And — spoiler — it works!
11. Social Media Polls
Following on from the previous point, you don’t have to sit and wait for your target audience to give you feedback. You can ask them.
Social media polls are a great way of finding out which blog topic they would prefer to read about over another. Likewise, you can ask them to comment with a problem they’re having or DM you with a question.
Not hearing anything back? A word to the wise: the more you engage with your target audience, the more they will engage back.
12. Other Blogs
Lastly, one of the most popular places to find blog post ideas for beginners is other blogs. It’s likely you have the key competitors in mind for your business, so you may want to check out their blog every now and again to see what kind of traction they’re getting with their posts.
You may also follow other bloggers in your niche that inspire you or are a part of Facebook groups for bloggers.
Even so, avoid flat out copying blog post topics. You need to be as original as possible to boost your chances of ranking higher on search engines. Remember, Google doesn’t like duplicate content (it’s against SEO best practices).
You can always discuss ideas with fellow bloggers, though, to get your creative juices flowing!
Final Thoughts on Finding Blog Post Ideas for Beginners
If you’ve been struggling to come up with blog post ideas, it’s important to realise that this is a common conundrum amongst many creative business owners — no one can be on it all the time.
Like with anything in life, you just have to put in the work to get the results you want.
If you need more help when it comes to sourcing blog post ideas for beginners, you may find my brand new resource helpful: Autumn Blog Post Ideas for Creative Entrepreneurs. Here’s to building the business of your dreams!