This post is an excerpt from the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook
Ever run out of things to write about on your blog?
If your answer is yes – you’re not alone.
One of the biggest challenges facing bloggers with blogs that have been around for longer than a few months is to come up with fresh content on a regular basis.
Today your task in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge is to do an exercise that will identify a range of post ideas that you can use when stuck for an idea in future.
The key with this process is not to put yourself under pressure to come up with completely new and out of the blue ideas for every post you write. Instead – this process taps into what you’ve recently written on your blog and helps you to identify ways to extend those ideas.
The beauty of this is that you actually end up building a sense of momentum on your blog where your posts build upon and relate to what you’ve previously written rather than just writing a collection of posts that don’t really build in any one direction.
Here’s the mind mapping method that I’ve used (note: I’ve talked about this previously so it could be familiar to some).
1. The Set Up
Get a whiteboard, piece of paper, note book, tablet pc or something else to write on (there are also various mind mapping tools and software options out there – but I find a pen and paper can work just fine) and draw five circles across the middle of the page. In each circle write the titles of the last five posts on your blog (if you want to do this more comprehensively go back further and do it with more posts).
2. Extend Your Previous Posts
Now take each post in turn and spend a few minutes brainstorming on ways that the post could be ‘extended’. Most posts that you write will be able to be ‘extended’ in any number of ways including:
- picking up a question or idea that a reader asked in the comments on that post
- exploring the opposite point of view from the post
- taking a ‘news’ post and writing an ‘opinion’ piece about it
- taking a ‘theoretical’ type posts and writing something that helps people to ‘DO’ it
- expanding upon ideas glossed over in passing in the previous post
The list could go on – really it is about finding ways to take ideas in a previous post and expanding upon and extended them.
For each idea draw a line out from the circle, draw a square (or use a different color) and write the idea inside of it.
The key at this point is to let yourself be as creative and outside the box as you want. Any idea is allowed at this point.
Let me take an older post of mine (why you should use AdSense on Your Blog) and show you how it might work:
At this point I’ve got 7 potential new posts to write that extend upon my original one – coming up with them took me 2-3 minutes – if I were doing this seriously I’d give it more time and come up with 20 or so posts.
These ideas are logical next steps for readers wanting to explore this topic – some of them based upon actual questions by readers. Do this with the other four posts you’ve written and you’ll have plenty of ideas for new posts to cover in the coming week or two.
3. Extend Further
You might want to stop this exercise at this point if you feel you’ve got enough topics to keep you going – however while you’re in a brainstorming frame of mind – why not take it a step further and think about how you might extend the topics you’ve come up with. The beauty of thinking forward even further is that you could quickly come up with a further 10 or so posts and be able to map out the next few weeks of blogging.
Lets do it now with the post above – just for fun (click to enlarge).
You can see that I found some posts easier to extend than others. This is OK as not every post is in need of a follow up one – while others will have multiple next steps (some will even have a longer series of posts that you could run).
You can take this exercise as far as you’d like into the future (you get the idea I’m sure so I won’t keep going).
From the example above you can see that I’ve come up with 15 ideas (not bad for 5 minutes of brainstorming) – some of them for multiple posts (series and ongoing weekly columns). Do it with more than one post and you will find that you’ll often come up with more posts than you can actually use on your blog.
The key when you do it is to let your creativity run wild (because it can take you in some wonderful directions) but then to be ruthless in culling ideas that don’t actually add anything to your blog. Remember – everything that you post on your blog either adds to or takes away from your blog’s perceived value – so not everything that you come up with should make it through to the front page of your blog.
Your Task Today
Your Task Today is to come up with a list of at least 10 future topics to write about. At this point your list should be not much more than the topic or title of your post. If you’re feeling inspired you might like to choose one of them to begin to shape into an actual post – but don’t feel you need to do that yet. Tomorrow we’re going to take the list of topics and help you to take them to the next step by creating an editorial calendar for your next week of blogging.
PS: Another Approach to this Exercise for New Blogs
I know that some bloggers doing the 31 Day challenge have very new blogs and perhaps don’t have too many posts in their archives to base mind mapping upon. If this is you – you can take the same principle but instead of making your five starting circles previous posts – make them ‘categories’ that your blog might cover.
For example if your blog is about personal finance you could make your starting circles sub topics of that overarching topic. They might be ‘budgeting’, ‘saving’, ‘investing’, ‘credit’ and ‘Career’. Once you’ve got your categories or sub topics – you can then pick up the exercise at step #2 with extending those sub topics into post ideas or topics within the sub topic.
Update: Share your ideas and see how others are doing over at the forum post for the 31DBBB Day 11 Daily Task!
Want More?This task is a sample of one of the tasks in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook – a downloadable resource designed to reinvigorate and revitalize blogs. Join over 14,000 other bloggers and Get your Copy Today. |
10 Post Ideas? It will take time for me as I alraedy have 5 drafts lying for publishing. And i am using extending approach with many posts already!
I will brainstorm and post comment here once I come up with 10 ideas!
Mindmapping helps a lot, even if its just on a piece of paper.
Yet another great post Darren.
Personally I like to mind map these types of things. Although I have good mind mapping software on my computer, nothing beats the whiteboard or the legal pad!
It’s actually how I’ve done my last few posts and I already have about four more on the go.
Keep up the good work (although I suspect you have all these posts completed and with post-dated publishing!)
Great ideas! I really like the way you explained it with your chart and bubbles!
Making a calendar of my future posts is certainly something I should do, and will from now on!
Thank you again for this inspirational post!
wow – where do you come up with this stuff :-)
it’s really about having a strategy right?
I love this idea.
This is by far the most useful of the programme so far (and some of the other days have been pretty useful too!).
I’ve been looking for a way to generate ideas rather than the random way I do it so far. It’s worked to date – except for those moments when I have a brilliant idea while I’m in the shower and by the time I get to pen and paper .. I’ve completely forgotten what it was.
Thanks for this Darren. Much appreciated.
Darren-
I like the idea of having ideas for blog posts out ahead. I also feel that by having an “editorial calendar” makes the blogger more professional.
Thanks for getting so many bloggers “fired up” with this 31 day project!
thom
http://www.thomsinger.blogspot.com
ARGH! This is my big down fall!
If I get an idea I have to write it then or I loose all interest. If I wait, then when I do try to write, it comes out as crap.
Kinda Now or Never thing. Maybe it is because my mind normally goes 50 directions at once and if I do have it focused on a topic I have to take advantage of it.
Never been good at Mind Mapping – guess I have to get a GPS for my brain.
Thanks Darren for this, as a blogger I had never really thought about mind mapping my posts before. Thanks for the great idea.
I copied down 10 themes that I seem to be writing on most of the time and will mind map these. Even already have them written down on a sheet of paper which I will carry today, when I go out.
I never thought of extending posts. Wouldn’t the readers get bored?
Excellent post Darren – mind mapping is a great tool to use – an alternative form of brainstorming – visually representing previous posts allows you to formulate offshoots which can be posts in their own right.
I am interested in pension/retirement planning and having done this exercise with a recent post I have identified no less than 87 areas on which I can expand and write posts!
This is fantastic Darren thank you – worth every penny I paid for this course :)
I just applied it to the one blog I struggle to come up with ideas for (the scuba diving one) and in five minutes I had 20 post ideas.
It’s so easy and so quick.
I can’t wait to learn more about the making of an editorial calendar for a blog. Coming up with one for my blog will make me more confident about my blogging. And it’s what a professional blogger should come up with. Gives a blog secure legs to stand on and as you aptly put it – giving and building momentum to one’s blog.
Darren, I have come up with 10 posts! Here they are:
1. How to Write Blog Posts in Sleep. -A fresh idea that came to mind just now.
2. Why You Should Start Tweeting – I have been observing that most of the readers of my blogs are not on Twitter. So, this is a post educating about Twitter, use of Twitter for Bloggers and soe Twitter resources.
3. How to Add (custom)Social Bookmarking Icons to WordPress theme? -Plugins add boring social bookmarks to posts. I had added custom ones to my theme and now, readers want a tutorial on it!
4. How to Add Drop-Down Nabigation Menu to WordPress -Another Reader request.
5. How to Make List Posts Stand Out – While list posts are good for promotion, longer ones tend to be boring and do not appeal much to eyes. In this post, I will discuss how to make them look better.
6. No Ideas for Next post? 10 Magnetic Techniues to Attract Ideas -10 Techniues that I personally use to get post Ideas quickly.
7. Google Ad Manager Tutorial: Manage Ads Effectively – Recently, I moved to Google Ad Manager from OpenX and to be honest, found it a bit complicated. This will be a small tutorial on basics of Ad manager.
8. How to Add Logo to WordPress Theme – Recently, I did a tutorial on designing a professional logo. This is extension on adding logo to themes that do not let edit Header image through functions pahe.
9. Long Posts! Are they Effective? Recently, a reader wrote a very long guest post and others complained that it was too long. I analyzed post for reasons and I will discuss these in this post.
10. HeadSpace: Ultimate meta Manager for WordPress – I use HeadSpace SEO plugin to manage meta information. This plugin has oads of other features as well but they are hard to find and set up for newbies. This is a basic guie to this plugin.
These are my 10 post ideas!
I keep an ideas journal for my blog, because as a full time Mum I don’t always have the time to write when inspiration hits! The journal means I always have ideas up my sleeve for the days when I have blogger’s block too. I like the idea of mind mapping to extend some of my posts at http://mysquiggles.com though, so will give that a go!
This is a great blending of mindmaps based off the foundation of what you’ve previously published. I love it. Thanks so much for the concept!
Now, I just have to fashion that time extension machine so I can get done the ones I already have in que to write…
Once again, a great tip to improve our blogs. I have mapped (and started drafting) 6 articles. 5 more are still in my head and will be added as empty subjects to my list of unpublished posts on my blog.
– 2 Book reviews
– 1 How-To DIY
– 2 More information about a subject
– 1 Describe a technique i used on one of my photos – In Detail (with a poll before)
Best regards,
Michael Nielsen
http://www.photofolio.dk/ – http://www.photofolio.dk/blog/
What ‘s been great about the 31 days project is that I’,ve been able to generate ideas for posts from your daily task.
Now with the lessons learned from this task the possibilities are endless.
My mind is racing and I haven’t even started mapping out my posts.
Greg
I actually have been doing this one well already!
I’ve got a list of so many great ideas, I just can’t get ahead on them. I still am writing the article a day in advance for the next day, but hope to be able to jump ahead sometime soon!
@dareen Rowse
10 posts idea is great ,that’s good concept to think of future posts as they will be helpful when short of ideas,writing posts from readers comments is great
Interesting use of mind mapping. haven’t really used it in planning my blog posts but will try it out as it seems to really help the ideas flow.
Here are my ten – GREAT exercise… I do brainstorming once in awhile, but had never thought to do that by “extending” previous posts. My immediate five previous were a little tricky for some reason, but I know if I go back a little farther there are some good ones with lots of follow-up potential.
1. Challenges that tall riders face.
2. What to do when you’re ready for a bigger bike.
3. Scope and purpose of Christian Motorcycle Association.
4. Why are “Bike blessings” so popular?
5. Summary of latest accident safety data
6. In favor of helmet laws
7. Season’s niftiest new helmets (retro look is in!)
8. Feature on Marian “Miss Showtime” Peterson, road captain of all-male Los Angeles MC
9. Feature on Donna Palladino, star of “Ride Like A Pro” videos
10. Ride report from one of my planned Iowa destinations for 2009
No doubt, this is indeed one of your best post on the 30 day challenge Darren !!
Excellent tips .
very useful tip Darren. Yes it feels many times that your head has become numb. You post will help to clear the rut. Thanks for sharing
Great post Darren. It’s good to see mind mapping as a technique for generating new posts.
If people are finding it difficult to create full post titles than concentrate on building up single keywords from your 5 original posts. Keep to 1 keyword per branch and you should be able to generate the same number of post ideas as Darren did.
Don’t discount keywords if they don’t make sense at first, expand on them and you’ll soon find that have a relevant place as a post idea because they relate to other keywords.
Happy mind mapping everyone!
Great suggestion once again.
I find that working with pencil and paper for this kind of brainstorming actually gets me thinking differently than I do when I am in front of the computer. I’m sure there is some science to say that it taps a different part of the brain.
I’ve learned to carry paper and pencil everywhere I go. This is a great exercise for those few moments when I’m waiting for something or in a boring meeting, etc. Having ideas down on paper also means I’m never frustrated trying to remember some great inspiration that came and went again from my mind.
Thanks once again.
I’ve done this on my blog and had tremendous success with it. I also keep a clipboard next to my computer. As I come across and idea that I want to write about on my blog, I write it on my clipboard, so that I always have topics at my fingertips.
Another idea that I’ve seen other blogs do, and that I’m doing right now is come up with a theme for several posts. The one I’ve seen on another blog lately is “Community.” My blog is about fiction writing and reading, so my latest theme-related posts are about characters and emotion.
Thanks for all the great ideas. I’m really enjoying 31dbbb!
again another wonderful post , Darren
A few more ideas to get sparks for your new posts.
1. Stumble thru your niche
2. Go thru tweets
3. Just google with your niche keywords
4. Read blogs of your same niche bloggers
5. Read the comments you got for earlier posts.
6. Listen to the questions you get on your daily life
these helps a lot to get more ideas
This is a great idea. Why didn’t I came up with it?
I will not take my last 5 posts to do this but I’m going to check out my stats to see which post were the most successful. These are the best to follow up on, I guess.
Thank you Darren for another great lesson. I especially love the mind-mapping aspect of it – putting ideas or thoughts down on paper in a bubble or graphic format is always a great idea! I always have a notebook next to my computer which I use regularly to scribble down new ideas for blog posts so I have a pretty extensive list of ideas for upcoming posts. With this lesson, taking the five latest posts and expanding on them, I’ve come up with quite a few more!
That’s a great way to write your blog.
Another way that I recommended which is almost the same as yours, is to write your blog like a book.
The categories will be like the chapters of the book, where you follow though time.
This is what I feel like it too. Your idea is great too, if you have new sub-niche in your topic. This will work very well.
It will be better if bloggers plan what the topics will be, surrounding the theme.
http://www.WebsiteMakerNovice.com
What if you still have tons of ideas in your head? I’m already posting daily and thinking about posting even more often just to get things out there..
But I realize that wouldn’t help with getting more viewers… I could write several posts each day at the moment. Every post snowballs into ideas for two more posts…
I think I’ll just write them for now and have a few as backup for the off-day when I don’t have my laptop with me.
Your approach to getting new ideas looks a bit like a mindmap I must say. Great idea, now where did I leave my whiteboard. My writing desk is becoming more and more an organized are to write on and to get new ideas.
This is definitely a useful thing to do, not just today but as an ongoing thing.
Believe it or not I actually have a list of over 200 article ideas (some more extensive than others) and I add to it as often as I update my blog so I can’t see myself ever running out of ideas. To be honest, my actually problem with this method is that I can never decide which topic to write about next as there are so many to choose from.
It comes down to knowing your niche inside out as to how much you can write about. Don’t know it too well… then get reading and learning! :)
Thanks,
Sam x
Thanks, Darren! This is a great idea – kind of like mind mapping for your blog. I sometimes get stuck for ideas and this technique looks like it will work well.
A real good idea Darren , thanks for the tip. Well i have been working on my blog though its not published just writing and drafting many ideas i could and then working them out . Each day a new topic , a new brain storm and that would help me build a successful blog . Thanks for the all the tips so far .
Healthy Regards
Sudeep
OMG Darren! It’s 9 am here and I’m already thinking! You cannot do that to me man! ;)
Thanks! I have enough posts for the next two months already!
I have been trying to keep a list of ideas as they come up. But, this will be a great exercise to jump start more topics.
Thanks for the great tip – it’s just more proof that I need a white board for my home office!
I like the idea of this lesson~ To predict, plan, and see further ahead.
I think it’ll work for both series or non-series post as well. Sometimes I think the biggest regret that I have, was not jotting down the ideas sparked while I was writing for the present post. You just never know when it’ll come out. Even you can’t think of 10 now, start working on the ones you had currently; you’ll be amazed how fast your mind starts to update and brainstorming on its own.
Another great post, I am working on my list now.
I like the idea of this lesson ~ To predict, plan and see further ahead. It’ll work well both on series/non series posts.
At times, it was my biggest regret for not jotting down the ideas sparked while I was working on current post. Even if you don’t have 10 now, advisable to start working on the ones you already had; you’ll be surprise how fast the mind reacts, and start brainstorming on its own.
@wchingya
Social Media/Blogging
I really liked this post, I think that this topic is one of the major challenges in having a blog. This brainstorming excercise is ok, but you have to be careful in not becoming to repetitive and try to keep each series different to what you already have written.
Also if you cannot get 10 ideas with this excercise you can always see what others are writting and news articles to develop new ideas.
This process has been around for a long time to help in organizing writing projects. Thanks for joggin my mind to apply it here.
Do this three days in a row and you will find your mind has been working on the topics while you’ve been doing something else.
Hello Darren and all
What a great idea, mind mapping. I now keep what I call an “idea bank” in a notebook for post titles or subjects. If I ad the mind-mapping technique to it, I should never run truly dry of blog material. : )
This is a really clever way to generate new content. I am going to try implementing this technique at my writing site to help me brainstorm addition posts. Thank for the great tip Darren!
This has been one of the best suggestions I have seen so far. It seems like you could even expand on this idea and just writing down news bits or other themed items and then expand your way out it into a flurry of posting Ideas. Thanks for another great tip Darren.
Great idea. I come up with ideas and complete posts with no trouble at all for a few days, then my creativity takes a leave of absence and my mind goes totally blank. This method will hopefully keep the ideas flowing a little smoother.
Thanks for this great information, Darren! I use mind-mapping all the time, but I never seem to get as in-depth as I’d like. Using your “system” I was able to generate TONS of ideas for future blog posts.
Can’t wait for the editorial calendar post tomorrow!
Darren – Really impressed with your series of posts for 31BB. The goal for each so far has resonated strongly and you back it up with practical steps. Thanks! Hoping for some thoughts on writer’s block after you’ve worked out the topics.
yeah. i got it! thanks for sharing! =)