If you want to come up with a blog post idea that attracts attention, knowing your audience is key. Although there are a lot of different ways to uncover their interests. In fact, some platforms are more effective than others. Not to mention, content creation isn’t a one-size fits all process.

What makes a blog post idea “good”?

Overall, a good blog post idea establishes intimacy and trust with your audience. Because it shows a transparent view of how your company operates while expressing empathy for your customer’s greatest challenges. Here are some sources for blog post ideas that have worked for me lately.

1) When you’re low on blog post ideas, find a community where the website you’re writing for is getting praise

The first time I wrote for the Saatva Mattress Sleep Enlightened blog:

• The editor was happy
• I was happy
• And the published version of my article made me look great.

So, I expressed interest in writing more articles for them in the future. Then, the editor responded with enthusiasm, and I started to brainstorm new ideas. After my first article was published, I emailed a small list of potential ideas for blog posts. The only reason it was a “no”? The blog had already published articles about the subjects I was interested in writing about.

A bit of time passed and then I started to train for a 5K running event.

My research triggered a great idea.

Because there’s so little online about sleep and the training process for runners specfically. Soon after that, I learned that a running magazine voted Saatva Mattress the best mattress for runners.

Then, I found out that the only article on the Saatva blog that was running-related was a press release about being voted the best mattress for runners. You know that cliche writing rule: “write what you know”? Although Saatva has some praise and credibility in the running community, nothing on the blog talked about running.

So, I decided to put my amateur athlete thinking cap on and pitch Saatva an article on how sleep affects the training process. The editor of the blog loved it! Next thing I knew I was interviewing a professional athlete about her training routine, and adapting the transcript for the Saatva blog.

2) Come up with blog post ideas that humanize the story, the image, and the individual

Storytelling is an underrated asset for blogs of all genres. According to Luana Spinetti:

Your topic is the tool and the environment, but the human is the protagonist. If you want readers to get an interest in what you’re trying to say or to convince them to buy, help them find themselves in the human of your story.

Blogs that didn’t appeal to me for more than a second have one thing in common: they are the opposite of this.

Because they overlook the true value of conveying an authentic, raw image. Once they do this, their articles are a clone of trending bloggers and topics. Suddenly, people are reading something that they could have easily found somewhere else, and the hours of hard work is essentially worthless.

For example, if you run a coffee blog, publish true stories of people who have benefited from your advice, products, and community. Because this will hook the readers through adding real people to the conversation.

A great example of this is Groove. After doing an A/B test, they found that 300% more readers scrolled to the bottom of the page, and average time on page was 5 times higher when the intro included a simple story.

A recent Buzzsumo analysis of my bylined content shows that my articles focusing on personal experiences are my most shareable content:

3) Remember patterns identified in conversations with your target audience

When I joined a co-working space, I met people who made my target audience more than just an image in my head. Because when I talked to them, I realized that they’re my target audience. In fact, I was so aware of this, that I bought a custom design mug with:

• My blog logo
• A brief description of what my blog typically covers
• And my blog URL

Then I left it in the area where people go when they want tea or coffee. Ever since, I’ve occasionally had people approach me at my co-working space that want to talk about something I wrote on my blog.

Even if you’re not lucky enough to interact with your target audience in person, you’re likely talking to them somewhere else.

They might be your customers, or social media followers, or people who attend your events, for example. If you’re not already doing this, note any important questions, comments, or feedback that came up in your interactions with your target audience.

Because if a handful of people are asking the same question, chances are someone’s googling it,  or someone will ask you the same question in the future.

But the most important point of all to remember is this…

If coming up with ideas for blog posts is tough for you, there’s plenty of material out there for future content. You just need to start paying more attention to the conversations and events that happen in your industry on a regular basis.

Let's chat

Please add a comment below if you'd like to discuss this topic. – Rosie