Thinking up unique blog post ideas can seem like a struggle, especially when it feels like blogs have covered just about every topic under the sun.
Is there such a thing as a “unique” blog post idea anymore?
How do you write fresh, interesting, and search engine optimized content your audience actually wants to read?
If you’re tired of wracking your brain, don’t worry.
There are actually tons of ways to come up with unique blog ideas without relying on your own creativity.
Writer’s block is nearly universal, so even the greatest minds have come up with their own “hacks” for coming up with post topics on a whim.
In this guide, you’ll find 25 different ways to come up with blog post ideas so you don’t have to keep banging your head on your keyboard.
1. Audience Surveys
One of the best ways to come up with blog post ideas is to ask your audience what they’re interested in reading about.
Not only are you then certain to come up with topics they are interested in, but they’ll likely be topics their search for, too.
You can use surveys like Google Forms to ask your audience what they’d like to learn more about.
You can send this survey to existing clients, social media followers, or other contacts in your network. Their answers could translate into some interesting blog post topics.
2. Google Autocomplete
When coming up with blog post ideas, most business owners flock to Google to type in their focus topic and see what comes up.
But before you complete your search, you can use Google’s autocomplete feature to generate topics you might not have thought of before.
In the image above, you see that the search for “marketing tip” auto-suggests terms like “marketing tips 2019”, “marketing tips for social media”, and “marketing tips for real estate agents”.
All of these could be turned into their own blog posts (as long as they are relevant to your niche and audience).
3. Answer the Public
Answer the public is a free visual keyword research tool that generates an expansive list of questions related to your focus topic.
Each of these questions could be something your audience is searching for and therefore could constitute some interesting blog post ideas.
4. Competitor Research
Sometimes a little competitor research will result in some “Why didn’t I think of that?” blog post ideas.
That’s because – even if you’d hate to admit it – sometimes your competitors come up with some pretty good blog post topics.
You can venture to your competitors’ blogs to scope out what they are writing about or use tools like SpyFu to generate a list of keywords your competitors are targeting in their content.
5. Related Keywords
If you’re well-versed in SEO, you’re likely familiar with the process of researching keywords that are related to your focus topic. But, just to be thorough, it’s worth mentioning it again here.
Keyword research tools like SEMrush and Keywords Everywhere will generate a robust report of related keywords, that you can then turn into possible blog post ideas.
This will save you lots of time compared to trying to come up with related topics on your own.
6. People Also Ask
Another built-in Google feature that’s helpful when coming up with blog post ideas is the People Also Ask section.
When you do a Google search of a topic, the search results will sometimes include a People Also Ask section that contains a list of questions and answers that people often search for.
You can turn these questions into possible blog post topics or incorporate them into your post, either as an FAQ section or by answering the question within the text.
7. Google Trends
If you want to capitalize on a rising trend, turn to Google Trends for possible blog post ideas.
Not only can you find topics that people are actively searching for, but you can find “Related Queries” that branch off of your initial search.
8. Pinterest
Pinterest is more of a search engine than it is a social media platform, which makes it an amazing tool for finding creating blog post ideas.
You can look to the “Trending Ideas” section to find trending topics, or start of your search with a single keyword and see what comes up.
The Pinterest search results will consist of a mix of blog posts, images, and videos.
Discover what other brands are posting about to think of some smart blog post ideas of your own.
9. Interviews
Are there any industry experts you’d like to interview for your blog? Conducting interviews is a great way to provide value to your readers.
Reach out to prominent figures in your network to see if they’d like to be interviewed.
Sometimes it’s as simple as emailing them a list of questions, having them type out their responses, and then posting the entire interview up on the blog.
See an example in this Search Engine Journal interview with Seznam.
10. Guest Posts
User-contributed content can help you bulk up your blog, especially if you struggle to come up with your own blog post ideas.
Simply add a contact form to your site asking for guest post submissions or post about the opportunity on social media.
Look out for contributors who can offer expert tips or a unique perspective.
To maintain top-quality content, be sure to have guidelines laid out and pre-determined whether followed outbound links are allowed in guest posts.
11. Reader Stories
Along the same vein as accepting guest posts, you can do a call out to your audience to contribute their stories as well. These may not be SEO-friendly articles, but they can be highly engaging and sharable.
For example, Search Engine Journal’s Friday Focus column consists completely of contributors’ stories, thoughts, struggles, and lessons from life.
12. A-to-Z Posts
Want to get the creative juices flowing? Trying drafting up an “A-to-Z” post.
This idea involves thinking up talking points that align with every letter of the alphabet and consolidating those into a post.
For the SEO industry, for example, “A” might stand for “Alt Tags”, “B” for “Backlinks”, “C” for “Content”, etc. Then, you cover these topics within your article for a nice overview of your main topic or industry.
13. Quora
Quora is an online forum where people can post their questions about a wide range of topics and source answers from the Quora community.
While responding to Quora questions is a common way to attract links, you can also look to these questions for potential blog post ideas.
Do you see the same few industry-related questions popping up?
It may be time to cover the topic on your own blog.
14. Reviews
If your business is active on social media and/or has listings in online directories, then you’ll likely have a few customer reviews.
If so, you can often dig through these to identify topics to cover on your blog.
For example, one common praise you might see is “Great customer service!”, in which case, you could write a blog post like “Why Customer Service Matters for [Industry]” or “X [Niche] Platforms with the Best Customer Service”.
Clearly, your audience cares about customer service, so it may be worth writing about.
15. Forums
Like Quora.com, there are other online forums where users post their questions in hopes of getting responses from other users on the forums.
Here, you can see what other people in your industry are buzzing about so you can hopefully source some blog topic ideas.
16. Facebook Groups
Facebook is home to tons of Facebook Groups, often consisting of hundreds to thousands of members,
You can find groups about nearly any topic, from knitting to SEO to dog walking to mental health.
By joining industry-related groups, you can discover what questions people have or even ask them what they’d like to know about your chosen topic(s).
17. Instagram Stories
If you have an Instagram account, you can post a Story that gives your followers the opportunity to ask you questions.
Within the features of Instagram Stories, you’ll find an option to add a question box where followers can submit their questions directly to you. Then, you can address these questions on your blog.
18. Team Interviews
Perhaps your team has some knowledge to share with the world.
If they are open to it, conduct interviews with your team members to help your audience get to know them better, gain some more insight into your business, and learn helpful tips from different departments.
19. Case Studies
If you want to prove that you don’t just talk the talk but also walk the walk, it’s worth it to put together some awesome case studies for your business blog.
Your readers and potential clients will love to know what kinds of results you’ve gotten for your other clients.
Talk about the history of the business, the work you did, and how all your hard work has paid off.
Case studies can also present some solid opportunities to target “examples”- or “case studies”-related keywords.
20. Conference or Event Overview
Did you recently attend a local event? Or maybe you went to an awesome SEO conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand?
Share your experience and takeaways on your blog.
Not everyone will get the chance to attend these events, but they’ll still gain value from reading about what you learned and how they can apply the lessons to their own businesses or life.
Plus, if people are searching for the event, you may be able to take advantage of that organic traffic.
21. Resource Post
Consider compiling a resource post that consists of your favorite industry tools, ebooks, videos, etc.
Your readers are likely on the hunt for the best resources to help them grow their businesses and improve their lives.
These posts can also be great if you have the opportunity to make a bit of a commission through including affiliate links.
22. Behind the Scenes
This your audience could benefit from getting a “behind the scenes” look into your business?
If it would be of interest to your readers, do a rundown of how you started your business, how it works, or even how they could start their own business.
Don’t give away all your trade secrets, but these types of posts can definitely be interesting and value-packed.
23. Favorite Industry Blogs
What are your favorite industry blogs buzzing about?
Any hot topics worth writing about on your blog?
If you think the topic will be of interest to your readers, write up your own take, tips, and takeaways.
24. Gift Guide
If the holidays are coming up, it may be time to write up an industry-related gift guide.
What tools or gadgets should everyone look out for this season?
What items are likely to be on every SEO pro’s must-have list?
25. Year in Review
As the year comes to a close, think about what lessons you’ve learned.
- What can your readers take away from the previous year?
- What trends should they look out for the following year?
- “Year in review” posts have the added benefit of being able to target New Years-related keywords to attract some of that annual traffic.
Bonus: More Blog Post Ideas
Hopefully, these 25 blog post ideas were enough to get the wheels turnin’.
In reality, there are near-endless possibilities – even when it feels like most topics have been covered before.
Have fun with it and see what you cam back of these additional blog post ideas:
- Bucket List: What’s your business bucket list? What do you want to achieve 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years from now?
- Industry Quotes: Write a roundup post of your favorite industry quotes.
- Open Letter: Need to get something off your chest? Publish an open letter about a topic that’s important to you.
- Blogging Series: Cover complicated topics in a multi-part blogging series.
- List of Your Favorite Tools: What tools do you use in your business every day? Do you recommend them?
- Checklist: Write a blog post about the X things someone has to have before they start a business, travel to Thailand, build a tiny house, etc.
- 100 Things Post: Share 100 facts about your industry – particularly facts readers might not have heard before.
- FAQs: Cover the most common questions you receive from your past and current clients.
- Expand on a Topic: See a gap in how your competitors are covering a certain topic? Elaborate in your post and turn it into an ultimate guide.
- Q&A with Team: Ask your social media followers to submit questions for you to ask your team and then cover their answers in a blog post.
- Industry Memes or Jokes: Everyone loves a good meme or joke. Do a roundup of your favorite industry-related funnies.
- Roundup Posts: Reach out to industry experts for their take on a chosen topic. Include their feedback in an “X Experts Discuss…” roundup post.
- Holiday Guides: Is there a holiday trend your audience should know about? How should they approach their marketing strategy, email marketing, etc. during the holiday season?
- Book Review: Write a review of your favorite industry-related books, including some key takeaways.
- “A Day in the Life”: What does it look like to work for your company? Give your readers a glimpse into your daily life on the job.
- Expand on Live or YouTube Videos: Turn Facebook Live or YouTube videos into blog posts, elaborating on the main talking points.
- Product Reviews: Publish reviews of common products or tools used in your industry.
- How-To Guides: Break down complicated processes into step-by-step how-to guides.
- Current Events: What’s happening in the world today? How does it relate to your industry? What do readers need to know?
- Industry “Hacks”: Cover some uncommon industry “hacks” your readers may not have tried before.
- Blog Contest: Post about a contest (for example, a Halloween costume contest), recruit participants, post about the results, and offer a prize to the winner.
- Questions on Twitter: Venture to RiteTag.com to search for hashtags that could translate into some interesting blog post ideas.
- Social Media Comments: Comb through your social media comments to see if there are any questions or topics that are worth being covered as a blog post.
- Industry Publications: Look out for the latest news, summarize the findings, and offer your take in your own blog article.
- Special Events and Updates: What has your business been up to? Any upcoming events? Keep your readers in-the-know by updating your blog.
Image Credits
Featured Image: Pixabay
All screenshots taken by author, November 2019
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