5 Ways to Get Ideas for Articles, Posts, and More!
When I’m talking to people about writing articles, blog posts, and other things either for link building or just for their blog or newsletter, a lot of them ask me “What am I going to write about?” Well, I think it’s a valid concern, and it’s one that I run into from time to time as well. Sometimes you’ve written about a topic so much that you can’t think of what else to write! So here are some resources you can use for getting ideas for your next blog post, article, newsletter, etc.
1- Other Blogs
Get familiar with some of the best blogs in your industry. Subscribe to them, read them frequently. See what they’re talking about and come up with ideas for your own purposes. While you’re there, leave a comment to get involved. Chris Brogan mentioned on his blog yesterday (25 Ways to Build Your Community) that you should be subscribed to 100 blogs in your industry as a way to build community. It’s a great idea, and if you’re reading that many blogs you should be able to come up with some ideas.
2- EzineArticles.com
When it comes to article directories, EzineArticles.com is one of my favorites. Just go over there, browse through the topics that they have and find the category that is right for your topic. Read through some of the articles and get some ideas.
Now granted, some of the articles are written much better than others, but look around for a bit and you’re bound to come up with some ideas.
3- Alltop.com
This is one of Guy Kawasaki’s new projects, and I think it’s a pretty good one. Here’s a description from the site itself that explains what Alltop.com is all about:
Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. Tell us what you’re interested in, and we’ll bring you stories from the best websites and blogs on the topic. All the topics, all the time.
So similar idea to using EzineArticles.com. Just go over there and browse through and find the topic that is right for you. Then read some of the best blogs that are in that industry! This is also a great way to find blogs to get involved with as well.
4- Your Own Blog!
People don’t really think about this one much, but it’s not a bad idea to write about something that you’ve already written about. I read a post today from Copyblogger (9 Little Known Traits of Successful Bloggers) that talked about this. The idea is that your blog is not like a book; people don’t read it from start to finish. So go back and find something you wrote about a long time ago and write about it again!
5- News Sites and Google News Alerts
Sometimes you can get great ideas from the news. Use Google News or Yahoo News and see if there is anything going on in the news that relates to your topic.
With Google News you can also set up News Alerts. News Alerts will send you an email any time the keywords you choose are used in an article. This is a great way to keep yourself up to date on what’s going on in the news in your industry.
So there you have it. Now you no longer have an excuse for not being able to come up with something to write about! Use these tools when you hit those moments of writers block. We all hit them from time to time, but if you’re keeping up on what else is going on in your industry then you don’t have to just rely on the ideas that come off the top of your head.
If you have any other ideas for places to get ideas, please share them below!
Related Posts
Should Your Business Have a Blog Attached to the Site?What is RSS?
Video: SEO vs. PPC
Articles List
3 Tips to Better Manage Your Time








Wow. What a nice post!!! I like your way of writing. Really smart. Really informative post. Thanks for sharing this in your post with us. Waiting for your next post like this.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:52 am
glad you liked it!
[Reply]
I also like the idea of using content selling webites like http://buyprivatelabelcontent.com. They seem to offer everything that an online business needs ….especially useful for people like me who don’t have much time but want to make some money online by buying content and adsense websites etc.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Yeah, I guess you could do that, but I’d still recommend developing your own material. You’ll show up better in the search results.
[Reply]
Nice post - not too long but with some great ideas in there! I personally find that subscribing to many blogs within my niche does the trick in terms of generating new ideas for content… you just have to be careful not to get into the habit of repeating what’s out there and instead ensure that you put an original slant on it.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Yeah, don’t just copy and paste. Use these tools above just to come up with ideas, but then still make it original content!
[Reply]
I have two blogs and the news alerts make great posts, articles, etc for one but for the other I really struggle. The other site is a very niche site that I cannot find much material on the internet regarding since it is more of history, so I end up hitting the library for that one.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am
That’s one I didn’t mention. Libraries, wikipedia, and other reference sites and places can be very helpful as well. I guess it sort of depends on your niche!
[Reply]
Its always good to know you are on the right path. I subscribed to some Google alerts just this morning
Thanks for this post - good timing for me. And no endless waffeling to get to the point either.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Google alerts really can come in handy. I also use them to let me know when my own sites are getting mentioned out there.
[Reply]
On my blog, we have a circle of blogs writing then same thing, so we pretty much rewrite what they wrote with new content and just slap it with a VIA whoever wrote it first.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 14th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Hey, that’s one way to do it. I’m guessing that not all of you will show up well in search for those articles, but at least your readers get something.
[Reply]
Wow!! nice post that cleared my sense of writing articles. With this i can expand my knowledge of writing. Thanks mate
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 14th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Glad it helped!
[Reply]
I usually write articles for my school newspaper, and I always lack of Ideas, your tips is sure to work.
Thanks Again, and Great Article!
[Reply]
I enjoy carrying a pad around with me so that when moments of inspiration hit, or when people ask questions that would carry over well to a blog topic, I can jot them down before I forget!
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 15th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
That’s a great idea. I should honestly do something like that. In fact, I used to but then got out of the habit.
[Reply]
Thanks for the insight in to where you get your ideas from. I have wanted to start a blog for a while, but ideas seem to be the main stopping me and always considered that blog owners just had the gift of the gab. Now I see its a combination of both, as long as you put your view on a subject or interpret it in your own way then I guess its unique. I like Leon’s idea also, I used to do the same thing when I designed logo’s would carry a note pad around and when I had inspiration sketch it down, but have never connected that with writing.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 15th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Leon does have a great idea. The other thing about a blog is that you’ll find that if you’re writing about a topic that you either don’t know much about or don’t care much about, you’ll have a hard time coming up with things to write about after the first couple of weeks. So make sure you choose something you actually know about and like!
[Reply]
Accepting the fact that you need help from others too is one way to broaden your knowledge on different things.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 15th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Good point! Use your circle of friends and associates and get ideas!
[Reply]
The thought of rewriting my blog never occurs to me, but it make sense, most readers do not read the end of your blog, since it is not a book. Good tip!
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 15th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I give credit to Darren Rowse for that one!
[Reply]
I get alot of my ideas from Google News alerts. I had not heard of Alltop before so I will have to check this out for a few posts ideas.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 20th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Alltop is a pretty new thing, but it’s very useful for coming up with ideas.
[Reply]
I will suggest to add at your post a no. 6 way of getting inspiration - from daily life:
)
- what people really need
- questions you’ve been asked by people - see your post about RSS - people keep asking about it
- interesting situations/results in your work (and you are allowed to share
- controversial topics - people still haven’t decided in a way o another
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 20th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
That would be a great #6! Just common observation should bring ideas if you’re really interested in your topic. Thanks!
[Reply]
I loved the idea about rewriting your own stuff that could save loads of time and for sure not many would notice
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
October 20th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Well, as I mentioned it’s not like people just read your blog from the beginning. If you have some good stuff in the past you can bring it up again!
[Reply]
I think writing articles can be a drag but it still remains one of the best ways to promote a site. Iv found a great way to do it is to cut and paste snippets from other articles into a word doc and then construct a good article out of all the bits.
Ste
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I’ve done that before as well. That way it’s your own way of saying what you’ve read in multiple places. Thanks for the tip!
[Reply]
Very interesting post i just launched my website and i found you via google I want to increase my subscriber list and i found your article very usefull, Thanks!
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
November 24th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I’m glad you found it useful. Good luck with your new website!
[Reply]
Nice post, thanks for sharing this information with us, when it comes to writing blogs sometimes i know what i am going to write about but other times it takes me a while to think of something. I am going to use some of these ideas you have suggested and see if they help.
[Reply]
Dan Reply:
December 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I think we all go through that from time to time. I’m having one of those days today for another blog that I write for. Time to go follow my own tips
[Reply]
I’v found a great way to do it is to cut and paste snippets from other articles into a notepad text and then construct a good article out of all the bits to your website
[Reply]
As alluded to in previous comments - the offline world is an excellent source of inspiration and ideas i.e. look at the best selling books related to your blog topic. Along similar lines to article sites like Ezines, Squidoo has some excellent “lenses” on many, many topics.
[Reply]
nice post and good information that make me inspiration to writing blogs, thanks for sharing
[Reply]
very good
[Reply]
Thanks..
[Reply]
nice ideas, also I would like to add 2 sites for ideas. WikiHow.com and eHow.com
[Reply]
Excellent post to use as a starting point. I’d like to also point out that, when you’re creating content for your own Web sites and blogs, you should keep all that original content in those places and not spread it throughout the Internet via article sites like EzineArticles.com. This way the search engines see that your site(s) have original, unduplicated content. For my blogs, I write original entries, and for article submission sites, I write a few articles a week that I don’t care where or how often they get distributed. Hope that is helpful…
[Reply]
Google alert is an effective way to get insight which stimulates our own idea.
[Reply]
Nice tips Dan. I would also like to add forums in the list. Reading discussions in forums is really an effective way to get ideas for content because usually people ask questions there and then the answers follow. It’s a great place to learn lots of things and get ideas for content creation.
[Reply]
Ezinearticles is best one for posting articles. But they have few tough conditions. You need to Read their guidelines properly to submit and accept articles there.
[Reply]
Your recommendation are really good. I encourage for writing. I referred your post to our content writer and really appreciate your post and try to adopt your recommendations.
[Reply]
All excellent and free ways to build your articles and posts. Using these three methods and writing useful articles and posts can actually get you a nice increase in your traffic!
[Reply]
I have a blog about current events that I love to update. As for articles, they do get duplicated which is frustrating if you have spent quite a bit of time to write something original for your website.
[Reply]
Hi I really like your post, it helped me a lot to understand the fundamentals.
[Reply]