40+ Ways To Find Great Ideas For Your B2B Blog
Let’s face it, thinking up something that’s worth 5 minutes of someone’s day is harder than it sounds. It doesn’t take long to run out of ideas. To help you and me overcome this inevitable barrier to blogging greatness, I’ve compiled this list of more than 40 ways to find fresh blog ideas and get inspired.
Tools For Finding Ideas
1) Google Search
Need ideas? Just start typing industry keywords into Google’s search bar and you’ll get suggestions from Google. You can always just do a google search for a topic and see where it leads you.
2) Competitor sites
Take a look at what your competitors are writing about. Are they addressing things that you aren’t?
Google Alerts allows you to get an email alert every time content is published on a certain topic. Type in a few topics and save any links that look interesting. You can use those links for a roundup post or to spark other blog ideas.
4) Feedly
Feedly is a great tool for keeping up with your industry. It’s a RSS feed reader that allows you to read all your favorite blogs in one place. Save posts you especially like to Evernote and pretty soon you’ll have a priceless vault of blog-spiration.
5) Keywords you’re already ranking for
You can find this information in Google Analytics in the report: Acquisition > Search Engine Optimization > Queries.
Google Trends allows you to compare keyword search volume over time for any keywords you want. Want more insights into how to use Google Trends to get content ideas? Click here.
If you have a Google Adwords account, you automatically have access to Google’s Keyword Planner. Type in a keyword and Keyword Planner will give you hundreds of suggestions.
8) BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo shows you the most popular posts on a given keyword or website. Scan some of the most popular posts and see if they give you any ideas.
9) News Sites
Browse some news sites like The New York Times, Huffington Post and the Washington Post. Look for current events that relate to your industry or that could be used as a metaphor for an industry phenomenon.
10) SemRush
Type in a competitor’s website and see what keywords they are ranking for. These can serve as good topics for a blog post.
11) keywordtool.io
type in a keyword phrase and this tool will give you hundreds of related keywords.
12) Serpstat
It does the same thing as keywordtool.io except it filters out question related phrases.
13) Faq Fox
Type in a keyword and a few sites to scrape and this tool will scrape these sites for frequently asked questions and give hundreds of great topics.
14) Social media groups
Social media networks that have groups like Linkedin, Reddit, Facebook and Google+ can be a great place to find blog ideas and keep up with industry news. Join some groups and browse discussions making notes of any interesting articles or topics.
15) Industry events
Industry events are a great way to connect with other professional, learn and get ideas for blogging and for your business.
This tool is a great way to keep up with breaking news and trending topics on the web. It’s a Google Doc that imports information from Twitter, Google, Youtube, Reddit and more to help you know what’s trending instantly.
Idea Generators
17) HubSpot’s blog topic generator
Type in three nouns and this idea generator will spit out 5 headlines. The results aren’t always the best, but it’s a great way to get the wheels turning.
18) Portent’s topic idea generator
This generator requires just one keyword and spits out headlines in one click. Don’t like a head line? Just hit refresh and it will come up with a new one.
19) Impact’s Blog Title Generator
Impact offers a more freeform topic generator that allows you to edit the phrases and conduct a true brainstorming session. They even have a little window for you to doodle on – maybe a little over the top, but I like where they’re going.
20) Build Your Own Blog Idea Generator
You don’t plug any keywords into this tool, it just spits out some headline ideas for you to make your own.
21) Inbound Now’s Blog Title Idea Generator
Similar to the previous generator, Inbound Now’s doesn’t require a keyword, it just spits out headline blueprints to be built upon. They also have a search bar to find articles related to specific keywords.
Enter a keyword and get 25 headline suggestions.
Blog Ideas
23) Update and repost an old blog post
If you’ve been blogging for awhile, you probably have old blogs that used to be great but have gotten a little out of date, or you’ve learned something since you wrote it. Either way, sprucing up and/or adding more information to an old blog and reposting can give you more bang for your buck. Don’t forget to 301 redirect your old blog to the new version.
24) Write an aggregate post
Aggregate posts are a great way to shine attention on quality blogs that may have been forgotten. An aggregate blog pulls together related posts on a subject. For example, if you have a lot of posts on blogging, you could compile your best ones into “A Marketer’s Complete Guide To Blogging.” List the articles with a short description and link to each piece and boom, your done.
25) Create a top 10 post
Create a post on the top blogs to follow, top influencers in your industry, top podcasts, top companies, you name it. It doesn’t have to be ten, it can be any number you choose. Top posts stroke the ego of the people you’re covering. If you mention someone, their company or one of their articles, reach out to them and let them know, they will be flattered and may even share it with their network.
26) Write your opinion on a popular post
It will only take you a second to find a post with celebrity status with BuzzSumo. When you’ve found a piece that strikes a chord, put tell the world your opinion, put a spin on it or detail the positives and negatives.
27) Cover an event
Is there an event coming up that’s relate to your industry? A little detective work on Google will probably reveal that there is. Give people tips on speakers to watch or ways to prepare. Are you attending an event? When it’s over, compile your notes into a post detailing takeaways from the event.
28) Write a classic post
Connecting an industry topic to something of substance like history or classic literature is a great way to show off your smarts and give your topic some context. One of MLT’s writers did this in her post: Why B2B Marketers Should Listen To Thoreau.
29) Do an interview
Let’s face it, your not an expert on everything in your industry. Do you work with people who’s strengths are your weaknesses? Jot down some questions and record your coworker or friend on your phone, transcribe and… voila! A blog post is born.
30) Write a series of posts
Series posts are great because you don’t have to think up a new topic every time you write one. You could write a series post covering different ideas in a book, or breaking down different steps in a process.
31) Review a book
Reviewing a book related to your industry is a great way to learn to take people along for the ride. Is it worth their time? As I said above you could make your book review one post or break it up into a series.
32) Review a product
Similar to a book review but about a product. Is there software that your industry uses? Tell people whether or not it’s worth their time and money. Are there other cheaper/better alternatives?
33) Write a humor piece
Tasteful humor is a great way to mix up your blog publishing schedule. Have a humorous take on current events? On an industry problem? Show it to a friend and make sure it’s not offensive or hurtful to your brand and hit that publish button.
34) Invite guest bloggers
Blogging is meant to be a community endeavor. Finding allies in your quest for blogging greatness is never a bad idea.
35) Write about your mistakes
People in your industry can learn from your mistakes and will appreciate your honesty.
36) Write a warning piece
Is there a problem or mistake that your product or service solves? Warn people about that problem or mistake and show them some easy fixes. If you can find a non braggadocios way to slip your product or service in as one of many solutions, more power to you.
37) Write about your problems
That’s actually how I had the idea to write this blog; I couldn’t think of anything to write about!
38) Make a prediction
What does the next year hold for your industry? Make a prediction. Too scared? Take a look at what the experts are predicting and piggyback off of their predictions. When the year is over, write a piece about where you were write and where you were wrong and why.
39) Highlight the past
If you’re getting close to the end of the year or a season, write a post looking at the year and things you learned and ways you grew. Combine this with a top ten post and you could write a post on “Top 10 blogs of 20__.”
40) Share statistics
It’s hard to argue with numbers. Need to write a post about influence marketing, but aren’t sure what to say? Search “Influence marketing statistics,” write down the most shocking and persuasive ones and then provide an interpretation.
41) Still need ideas? Check out Chris Brogan’s 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write.
