Running Out Of Topic Ideas For Your Blog? Use These 5 Tools

To keep up with your blog, you need a steady stream of content ideas. But, what do you do when your idea well runs dry?

You can search industry sites for inspiration, brainstorm with coworkers, or even ask your customers on social media what kind of content they want to see. In addition, there are a few idea-generating tools you can use to get ideas fast. Here are a few tools:

  1. Answer the Public

By entering a keyword, you’ll get dozens of content ideas in seconds by using Answer the Public. Just enter a keyword or phrase and you’ll get a spiral wheel of questions that the public might ask.

When “content marketing” was entered, it generated this visual list of common questions.

A lot of the questions are entry-level questions like, “What is content marketing?” or “Why is content marketing important?” However, a lot of writers sometimes overlook these simple topics when they’re generating ideas, so it’s a good tool for beginners.

  1. Hash At It

Head to the hashtag search engine Hash At It to search for particular keywords or phrases on a general topic. The search engine will troll Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest in real time to show you what people are talking about in relation to the topic. Let the hashtags inspire your next blog post.

  1. Flipboard

Rather than scour the web for inspirational ideas, let Flipboard do the work for you. Enter a topic that you’re interested in and Flipboard will suggest articles to read. You can also run searches and add content to your Flipboard to check out later.

The presentation of the app really makes it shine. Everything you “flip” onto your board is displayed in a magazine-like layout, making it even more appealing to use.

  1. Quora

Head to sites like Quora to determine some of the more timely inquiries or frequently asked questions in your industry. Just enter a word or phrase and you’ll get a list of results.

  1. Hubspot’s blog generator

Hubspot’s blog generator is a handy inspiration tool. Just fill in terms you’d like to write and you’ll get a week’s worth of relevant blog topics.

You can enter up to five phrases in a simple search bar, like this:

The idea generator gives you five different ideas, offered as simple slides that you flip through.

Consider outsourcing blog content

Creating blog content is a time-consuming process. Between research, writing, distributing and promoting – it can be a full-time job.

Many small brands don’t have the time or the assets to keep a blog running, which is why many outsource it.

A qualified content marketing team can provide the blog content you need on a timely basis. And, here’s the best part, there are plenty of affordable content packages that can fit any budget.

If you’re looking for help, reach out to McEwen’s Media where you can: Get. Content. Now.

8 Tools to Help You Create a Killer Blog Post

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Does your business website have a blog? If so, you’re making it easier for customers to find your business and products online. Research shows having a blog increases your chances of ranking high in search engine results by 434%. Yes, 434%.

But, blogging isn’t easy. It takes time to come up with ideas, research topics, write articles, find images, add links and post it to your site. To lessen the load, here’s a list of eight tools that businesses can use to create killer blog content:

 

1. Finding engaging topics

BuzzSumo can help you learn what content in your industry is the most shared and drawing the most engagement.

2. Writing prompts

CoSchedule offers a free list of 200+ writing prompts to generate blog content ideas. Examples include:

  1. What didn’t work for you?
  2. Write a parody post.
  3. Why I’m going to quit_________

3. Planning keywords for SEO

Do you ever wonder how people find your blog? Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that can help you find out what words or phrases consumers are searching for. You’ll need to have a Google Adwords account, but it’s free.

4. Voice to text

Billing itself as “the world’s best-selling speech-recognition software,” Dragon Naturally Speaking claims to be 3x faster than typing with 99% accuracy. What better way to get your thoughts on paper?

5. Creating infographics and charts

Boost your visuals with Canva. This online software offers simple design templates with drag-and-drop features to create infographics and graphs, edit photos and more.

6. Proofreading and editing

Check for plagiarism, improve your writing and eliminate grammatical errors with Grammarly. It’s an impressive go-to software for many bloggers.

7. Crafting compelling titles

The Advanced Marketing Institue offers a free tool to measure the emotional marketing value (EMV) of your headline. Just enter a headline, choose a category and hit submit. The greater the score, the better the likelihood that it will perform well on social media channels.

8. Checking for broken links

There are few things more annoying to readers than clicking on links that lead to nowhere. Run your blog through Integrity, Sonftonic’s free software that checks for broken internal and external links.

Wrap up

Creating content for a blog is effective, but time-consuming. There are dozens of tools that can help, but there’s still a learning curve. A reputable content marketing company can not only create content for you but also help you understand your audience and the type of content that’s most effective for them. If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, reach out to McEwen’s Media.