Feeling stuck when it comes to creating content? Here’s some tried and tested ways to keep the creative juices flowing even when you’ve run out of steam and keep those blog post ideas coming!

Coming from both a blogger and a VA’s perspective, I can attest to the following statement for myself:

Having content ideas continually flowing can be very challenging.

I run 2 sites – this site here and then my home decor site, Living Letter Home where we share our DIY and home renovation shenanigans. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got so much content I can’t keep it all organized and then other times I feel like I’m twiddling my thumbs.

Luckily, I’ve compiled a list for myself that helps me eliminate brain blocks and I’m sharing my cheat sheet.

The Ultimate Guide To Never Run Out Of Blog Post Ideas Again

Have a niche

If you’re having issues with things to say to write a post, having a niche will help you. When you have a ton of different avenues you’re trying to write about, it’s confusing.

Not only to you, but to your reader. If you want people to visit you, they have to know what to expect. If you’re sharing recipes one minute and then trying to give parenting advice the next, they’re not going to be able to trust your information. (Pssst. Neither will Google which is super important if you’re trying to rank on their search engine)

Having a more narrow focus will make coming up with blog topics easier and you will gain an audience that will be loyal to you. Think of your favorite blogs. Are they all over the place or do know what to expect from them? People love being able to trust you and recommend you to their friends.

Think like your target audience

If you want people to come visit your site or use your services or try your recipes or attempt that super simple DIY project, think like them. What do they want? What are they doing? How do they spend money? How do they spend their time?

You really have to think like them to know what they want. Don’t just copy what other popular blogs do. That won’t work for you. You may get away with copying a piece of content or two, but eventually people will just stop coming back to your site if you sound like any other blogger.

Your main goal in content should be solving a problem. What problem can you solve for your reader? This is the lens through which every blog post should be written.

Pro tip: Never write a blog in first person. Unless you are telling a personal story, your blog should always be reader focused, in second person. No “I did this,” “I did that,” “I went here,” “I went there.” Even if you traveled on a vacation, do not write a post saying “What I Did In Disneyworld” unless it is something that your readers can benefit from.

Let’s look at these titles:

“How I Refinished My Cabinets” vs. “The Easiest Way To Refinish Cabinets”

“My Dominican Republic Vacation Recap” vs. “How To Travel To The Dominican Republic for Less than $250!”

“Cooking My Grandma’s Biscuits” vs. “Most Flaky Biscuits You Will Love”

“How I Potty Trained My Kids” vs. “Potty Training Tips: 3 Days To No More Diapers!”

Think about which of these you’re more likely to click and why.

People don’t care what you do, where you go, or how you do things unless they see the value in it for them.

Type questions into Google

Get into the head of your target audience. What are they searching for? Think about the time of year or season. What’s on their minds? Ask questions that they would be asking.

Consider the season

I’ve alluded to this before, but pay attention to the season. Every niche can have seasonal content. There are the big ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but what about international holidays? Are you an Asian American and you travel abroad for Chinese New Year?

Maybe share your readers must do things in China while there celebrating the Chinese New Year. Or if you’re in the party planning and entertaining niche, why not show how to throw an authentic Chinese New Year party in the states?

Create posts around freebies or printables

Even if you’re not a graphic designer, you can create some gorgeous free things for people to print.

You can use a free tool like Canva to create these or you can even use a Google word doc! It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to be something. You can create the printable, then write a post about what the printable is, how you use it, and (remembering to add value) why they should use it too.

I’ve created a ton of printables and it has given me a lot of content to work with. You can sign up for our email list and I will send you the password to access all these free printables 🙂

Subscribe to emails of people in your niche

Paying attention to email marketing is the quickest way to do your own little case study to find out the types of blog posts that your peers in the same niche are doing.

If something hits your inbox that sparks an idea, make sure you write that sucker down. Even if it’s just a word or 2. Just have it in writing so that you can flesh out the topic idea when you have more time to devote to it.

Browse Pinterest

Again, stick to your own niche, but really pay attention with what’s going on with your peers on Pinterest. A lot of business topics are evergreen (meaning, not seasonal; evergreen topics are good any time of the year) so you don’t have to necessarily think in a season always, but Pinterest can give you a really good idea what people are searching.

Think of a very broad topic in your niche and then search Pinterest to see what is currently trending. Or you could even use things like the Pinterest Trends Tool which is one of my favorite ways to see what topics are trending and when!

Create lists

How many blog posts have you read that were simply sharing a list? Just in case you haven’t noticed, you’re reading one right now! 😉

I love creating lists. It’s a great way to share content that’s digestible and easy to follow. I’ve created lists on my site like a list of my favorite business tools that I pay for, a list of ways to support a small business without spending money, and things you absolutely need to avoid when starting your own small business.

Here are some ideas of lists you can create content around:

• X number of ways to do something
• Things to avoid before you do something
• List of projects to complete in a weekend
• X number of recipes that all have something in common (i.e. 30 minute meals, all side dishes, sheet pan meals, etc.)
• Checklist relating to your niche
• X number of ways to do something easily/cheap/free/better

I will never forget asking my blog mentor a few years ago how she kept coming up with the insane amount of content that she did and it was always SO GOOD. She said just to start with a very simple content calendar and a way to plan out your posts and soon enough, you’ll start thinking in blog posts.

I didn’t believe her, but gave it a shot anyway and sure enough, several months into actually working on creating valuable content on a consistent basis and I had content planned almost a YEAR in advance.

Starting a blog can be difficult, but once it’s started, keeping it going is also tough. If you haven’t started your site yet and are just looking around at your options and considering this, I really suggest having at least 5 posts drafted and written prior to going live.

And if at all possible, start putting these content planning ideas in to play and you’ll set yourself up for blogging success!

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, I actually offer a personalized content planning template and ideas based on your niche. I can give you helpful blog post ideas, specific to your niche and give it to you in a done for you spreadsheet that will help you along the way, including social media content marketing! If you just need help getting off the ground and then use this post as a guide moving forward, I can help you for less than $30!

Have you tried anything like this before? If so, share the results with me in the comments below! I’d love to help you out!

About Carmen

Seldom found in regular pants, Carmen in her natural habitat is usually covered in crumbs and stays busy dodging questions from her 4 year old daughter and dodging wooden pretend food from her 1 year old son. She has an irrational fear of fish (seriously, they're terrifying) and a very rational love for big t-shirts.