I have put together a top 10 list of how to get new article ideas to hopefully inspire some of those who are stuck.
1. Answer questions
If you are a content creator for a company, and you need to fill a company blog with content, a good place to start is the company FAQ page if you have one. FAQ`s are great but mostly consist of one sentence answers to one sentence questions. And these are intended to answer questions customers would have asked the customer service department about. How about writing a blog post that not only answers the customers question before they even get to the FAQ, but also explains them the “why”.
An example could be an FAQ question that asked “Does your hotel have 24-hour reception?” with an answer like “No, our reception is open 08–23 every day”. How about writing an article on “Why our reception is open from 08–23 and what you should do if you arrive outside of those hours”?
If you work in a B2B company perhaps a question could be “How do I add new users to my account and can I assign different access levels” and a great article idea could be “Here is how to add new users to your account and control their access levels”.
These are just examples (and a bit lame to be honest), but you get the idea. There are literally hundreds (millions!) of things out there that could be interesting for your customers that quickly become clear by just looking at what they ask about.
Another great source is Quora. Go on there, search for your areas of expertise and see what people are asking about!
2. Ask people what they want
Another great way, especially after you have a loyal following, is simply to ask! Send a form out in an e-mail or link to it in other articles. Ask stuff like “What of my stuff did you like the most? What didn´t you like? What would you like me to look more in to?” You will most likely get very interesting results for doing so, and chances are your loyal following will feel even more valued and involved.
3. Write about someone else
Write about someone else! And not necessarily someone famous or inspirational, even though it could be. The most important is that they are a good story. Maybe you have another writer you like? Write about them! Maybe your football coach when you were ten had a profound impact on you, then write about that! Throwing the spotlight on another person is a possibility to teach your readers something new.
4. Do reviews
Review things! Review books, movies, articles, ideas, videos, companies, products. But for goodness sake not for the purpose of putting affiliate links in to buy the product. No, genuine reviews of things that interest you presented in a way that is helpful to the reader and close to what you write about. This is also a good way to reach new readers.
An example could be: “I use dawn simulators to wake me up in a way to I get creative right away. Here is my opinion on the new Philips 6539 model XYZ”. Or maybe “how “the Alchemist inspired me to start writing”.
An example could be: “I use dawn simulators to wake me up in a way to I get creative right away. Here is my opinion on the new Philips 6539 model XYZ”. Or maybe “how “the Alchemist inspired me to start writing”.
5. Discuss others work
Discuss other people´s work! Maybe someone wrote an article on Medium that made you think (more than usual). Write an article called “Reading XYZ yesterday made me think …” and give your opinion on the matter. Credit the other writer and article and be respectful, of course.
6. Write about experiences
Write about an experience, conference or presentation you attended. “X Lessons learned from the XX on Saturday”. Don´t be afraid to be personal and vulnerable.
7. Do interviews
Interview someone in your field and write about your findings. If you don´t have the option of actually doing an interview, send off a list of questions via e-mail and ask for written answers back. “I asked ZYX about her opinion on XYZ, here is what I learnt”.
8. Read
Read something interesting in your area. Dedicate the first 30 minutes of your writing session to reading others work. Get inspired.
9. Case studies
Write about case studies from your clients or yourself. “What I learned from XYZ”.
10. Your trusty notebook!
And maybe most importantly, always carry a notebook so you can note down those great ideas when they come in! Refer to them when it is time to sit and write.
