What To Do When You Run Out Of Blogging Ideas

Having a business blog is no walk in the park. Not only will you need to update it at least once a week, you’ll reach a stage, after many months of blogging, where you completely run out of ideas.

You’ve trawled through Google for inspiration. You’ve asked your friends. You’ve even gone back to the very basics and looked through “introductory” books for your niche area of business. But nothing and no-one can help. You really have written it all.

Or have you?

You’d be surprised at just how many topics you can come up with when you’re forced to have a serious think (take this from a copywriter who has been tasked with writing thousands of article on similar or varying subjects over many years). You just need to see each and every one of your blog posts as a tiny piece in a much larger digital marketing effort.

Your posts are like a spider’s web – they all interlink somehow, no matter how vaguely or directly, but one thing they have in common is that they lead back to your central point: your main subject or niche (which should be directly related to your area of business).

If you want to tell your brand story, it’s much better to do so across multiple blog posts. Don’t expect everyone to find you from your “about us” page. Your blog posts can say a whole lot more about your business, your ethics, the things you stand for, your passion and care towards producing and/or selling your product or service.

That in itself should be enough to spark inspiration, but if you need more, here are a few top tips for thinking up more blogging idea from someone who knows just how it feels to be in your situation:

Sometimes we’re so focused on producing the exceptional that we forget about the simple. Why not use your blog as a place to explain about your products or services in more detail? Rather than simply writing a boring list of features and product pros, as you’d find on your sales pages, consider what makes your products special, what makes them stand out from the crowd. Hopefully you know this if you’re selling them yourself!

If your product or service complements another product or service really well, blog about it. Don’t be afraid to promote another business on your blog – in doing so, you’re actually encouraging sales from your end, as a reader may be tempted into making a purchase of the two products you’re discussing. Even better, the business you’re promoting might return the favour, earning you a spot on their website. This is a genuine and supportive way to boost your profile through blogging.

If you regularly receive lengthy customer testimonials, compile them together every now and again and post them to your blog. The trick here is not to spam your blog with customers’ lovely words about your business – that’s a big turn-off. Instead, perhaps make a note in your diary to share a testimonial blog post the first of every month, or whatever date works best for you.

As the name suggests, news never gets old. There’s a breaking headline at almost every hour of the day, and you should find it fairly easy to relate a lot of what the journalists are reporting on to your own business. Just remember the no-politics rule – unless your business’ products or services stand for something that make a political statement in themselves, it’s best to stay politically neutral when communicating through the voice of your business.

As you (hopefully) know, the people behind your business are real, living and breathing, and many of them have an interesting story or two to share. As humans, we’re naturally intrigued about our fellow humans, so you’ll attract quite a bit of attention from sharing the story (and the face, and the name) behind those invisible people who work so hard to keep your company going. As a bonus, the more people learn about your business’ personal side, the more they’ll want to support you with their loyalty.