Have you ever been stuck for blog post ideas?
If you’ve been following Mostly Blogging for a while, I would imagine you know how to avoid writer’s block.
Since this blog published How You Can Immediately Overcome Writer’s Block, 37 generic templates for you to fill in to get “unstuck” for ideas, you should easily be able to literally play fill-in the blank in order to get your creative juices flowing. This article updates that post.
All the blog post ideas in this list apply to any blogging niche. You can compose these 25 blog posts quickly in case you are ever stuck for time. The best part– these blog post topics are so engaging, they all have potential to result in abnormally high page views resulting in a viral blog post for you.
At the end of the article, you will find two bonus tips.
Consider these comments by blogger Jeanette Hall:
If you have a story to share, then please share it with the rest of the world. We are waiting with bated breath for your creations. Please don’t make us wait any longer!
Where or when will you begin?
The longer you put it off, the more pent up frustration you will experience! Hemingway had to start somehow, didn’t he? Imagine what your favorite author must have gone through to start his/ her writings.
No better time than the present, in my humble opinion. Were you scared when you picked up your first pencil as a child? Did it hurt? Unless you got instant blisters from your kindergarten days of writing attempts, it probably didn’t!
Quit hiding from your inner thoughts of failure. The only way you can guarantee not failing is by never giving it a try. That is the WORST type of failing by my way of thinking, basically wimping out! Why not go for all the gold?
Blogger Joy Healey raises another point of concern. Suppose you are able to come up with a brilliant post topic given enough time, but you just don’t have that kind of time? Not everyone thinks quickly under pressure.
According to BecomingPress.com, “Coming up with new blog post ideas can be very overwhelming and it can definitely cause us to sometimes suffer a serious case of writer’s block!”
A checklist of blog post ideas you can use to avoid writer’s block:
- Review a place you’ve seen. Travel is one of the most popular blog topics. If you write about one of those topics, people are more likely to read your post.
- Write about trending photos. If the photo is tagged with one of the nine most popular trends, photo posts will result in higher page views than any other posts. Listed in alphabetical order, those trends are: Beauty, Crafts, Home Decorating, Fashion, Fitness, Food, Kids, Pets, and Travel.
- Write content that is relatable. Seinfeld was one of the most popular TV shows of all time due to the relatable situations the characters found themselves in.
- Write content that is thought-provoking. One of my most successful posts (Idioms: To Use or Not To Use? That is the Question) asked people to consider whether idioms should or shouldn’t be used in blog posts and other types of writing. People took sides. It actually became a debate about free speech and other civil liberties.
- Write content that is unusual or outrageous. I once wrote a parody of blogger stereotypes (8 Types of People Who Should Not Be Blogging) that fell flat. I was heavily criticized by a population of my readers. Not wanting to offend anyone, I felt awful. However, the page views were so high, I realized what many people know: controversy breeds high page views.
- Share Something Shocking I was just beginning to blog when I started reading articles about the most sucessful way to be a blogger. After all, you do something, you should do it right, I always say. I had read my friend’s book about being a perfect parent. My daughter said I couldn’t be perfect; I explained in my post 3 Lies Your Children Tell You that I disagreed with my friend– parents shouldn’t have to be perfect. As a new blogger, I was surprised to see the page views on that post grew increasingly higher by theday. People still read the post; it still gets traffic. Although the comments were minimal, people were, andstill are, definitely reading my post. Reflection: The headline was the key to the success of the post. Parents wanted to know what the three lies were, and if their children were telling it to them.
- Publish a quote post. Write content that is short or simple. Don Charisma of DonCharisma.org is successful at this. He offers a quote, and people offer interpretations. Quotes are short, so busy people can still engage.
- Write a post about topics that are taboo. At the time of this writing, popular blogger Jason Cushman finished a two-year run writing about taboo topics. Although he has recently changed his theme, his taboo topics garnered him a whopping 55,000 blog followers.
- Write a post containing gossip and offer details on the rumors. Did someone say Bill Cosby? After I wrote the post Where There’s Smoke There’s…, my readers spent time offering their opinions about Mr. Cosby’s guilt or innocence regarding his sexual misconduct allegations, and the page views soared even though I was new to blogging with few permanent readers.
- Write a funny post. Every time I go to Austin’s site (Moviewriternyu.wordpress.com) he has an engaged community. Lucy Mitchell from Blondewritemore.wordpress.com is so funny, she actually received the award once at the Blogger’s Bash for the funniest blogger.
- Write posts that evoke emotions. Recently, I visited a blog containing a post about a homeless man who lived under a bridge the writer met while on vacation. There were so many comments and likes it was clear the post was getting high page views. People were using social media to try to raise a collection for the man. Uplifting posts like this do better than negative articles.
- Write posts that center around a problem. Posts that arouse fear or frustration get many page views. Then, provide the solution in your post.
- Write posts that remind the reader of their disappointments or their dreams. Then, tell the reader in the post how to achieve those dreams and avoid their disappointments.
- Write an uplifting human interest story. These are posts readers will want to share. You know your readers. Most readers like to share posts that have strong content that will help their readers. Research shows people like to share positive content.
- Teach people how to do something. This is why DIY (Do It Yourself) bloggers are so successful.
- Write a post offering a fresh perspective. For example, if you’ve already supported a point, write a post arguing the counterpoint. My first viral post offered a fresh perspective. Most blog posts state if you get on the first page of Google, you will get blog traffic. My post described how you can get on the first page of Google before you have blog traffic. This “fresh-perspective” post (“How to Increase Your Blog Traffic Using Google Analytics) garnered me such high page views, I was convinced I had found my niche — blogging.
- Write a case study post where you could include stats. Include links to the influencers that conducted the research that produced the stats. Then, ask them to share your post. In contrast to this post’s headline, you can’t conduct a case study in one day. However, you could explain someone else’s case study. Be sure to link to the author as a source of the study. People love to read case studies since they can replicate the steps to achieve the same results.
- Write a Top 10 post. Explain why these 10 made your list. Your post will be different than anyone else’s since no one has the same 10 favorites. People love to read other people’s Top 10 posts, according to Joy Healey. Even a Top 5 Favorites post has merit, according to Healey.
- Describe a mistake you made that relates to your blogging niche. Bloggers love to read about other people’s mistakes and how to avoid making them. My post 87 Blogging Mistakes You Should Absolutely Never Make, did so well, it was linked to and featured on other blogs. My mistakes posts receive such high page views, I have a Pinterest board just for my posts about blogging mistakes.
- Write a comprehensive guide that will help bloggers in your niche. Use the word “Guide” in your headline. Guides are so valuable to your readers, I have a special section in my right sidebar for resources that include guides. Readers like guides so much I have a special Pinterest board for guides and a Flipboard magazine for resources that include guides.
- Write a comparison post. I published a post comparing the merits of being self-hosted and not self-hosted. You could compare two tools, two movies (if you’re an entertainment blogger,) two places (if you’re a travel blogger,) and so on.
- Write an interview post. Interview a blogging influencer in your niche. Send the influencers the interviews when you are done and ask them to share it out if they have a free moment.
- Publish a Frequently Asked Questions post. Go through your comments, publish your readers’ questions and the answers you gave. If it’s just a matter of copy-pasting, this is a great format when you’re in a rush. I often use this format during the summer when I’m vacationing.
- Write a review. Find something helpful to bloggers in your niche. Offer your opinion and why you have it. I’ve published book reviews, website reviews, and product reviews that all relate to my niche– blogging.
- Publish a best of the week roundup post. Go through your emails and draw from blogs you subscribe to. In 2015, Best of the Week link roundups was a series I published each week.
Bonus: Blog Post Topics You Should Write But You Can’t Write Today
Write an Expert Round-Up Post I spent many hours compiling the information for How to Be a Successful Blogger: 19 Experts Share Their Secrets. Was it worth the time? Absolutely. It was one of my top performing posts! Find well-respected bloggers in your niche. Write them on their social media. Ask them just one question; most people have time to answer one question. It should be a question your readers want to know. I asked, “If you could only give one piece of advice to bloggers, what would it be and why?” To my delight, not only did the experts disagree with each other, but my readers and I spent a week debating the answers as well.
Ask your readers for blog post topics they want to read about. Find out what your readers want, and get them the answers. If you don’t know the answers, learn them from knowledgeable people in your niche. Then, you can link to those authors. According to Ryan Biddulph, asking your readers what they want to read and then publishing posts on those topics results in “mass” traffic.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, some of these blog post topics may sound like the same advice you’ve heard before, while other blog post topics may sound novel.
Whichever is true, there should be some post ideas that you are willing to try that you haven’t tried before considering the wealth of choices.
You have 62 ways to overcome being stuck for a blog post topic between the original article which contained 37 ways to fill in generic templates to come up with blog post topics and this article containing 25.
Whichever blog post topics you choose, try to keep your content evergreen to bring traffic to these posts year after year.
My suggestion: Bookmark this post. You never know when you will be stuck for an idea and low on time. If you bookmark this post and the original post offering 37 ways to avoid Writers Block, you will have 62 ways to avoid Writer’s Block. With all the blogging tasks you need to do, dealing with Writer’s Block shouldn’t be one of them.
Readers, please share so other bloggers stuck for blog post topics to write about can use this checklist.
Do you have any additional ideas for blog post topics? I look forward to your answers in the comments section.
Related Post:
How to Easily Beat Writing Procrastination
