Yesterday BlogChalkTalk started a series on how to keep the ideas flowing. Today's expert blogging tip comes from Kimberlee Morrison, associate editor for Know More Media and author of VinylNotes.
Sometimes the ideas don't flow as much as they used to. Yesterday Easton provide five ways to come up with brilliat ideas, today, I'll keep it brief and give you five more.
Read. One way to make sure you always have something to write about is to read the news, blogs, magazines and anything else you can get your hands on about your topic. Find out what's popular and what's not so popular but important nonetheless and look for ways to approach the issue in a fresh new way.
Think past the obvious. Sometimes there are topics that don't seem to fit into your niche. I strongly believe that any topic can be applied to any blog if you think outside the box enough to make the connectio. If nothing else, the challenge may help you to stretch your writing chops. Of course you don't want to make a habit of stretching too far, but there's nothing wrong with examining issues of interests that seem slightly out of the scope of your blog occasionally.
Search buzz indexes. There is no such thing as nothing to write about. If you're at a loss for ideas and you're looking for something to write about that people are searching for, try looking at Google Trends or Yahoo! Buzz. There is certain to be something of interest to your blog readers that you had not thought about.
Ask your readers. You can't go wrong by asking your readers for topic suggestions. What better way to get fresh ideas and give your readers wat they want than to go directly to the source for answers? No doubt your blog readers have a bunch of ideas and suggestions that could inspire you.
Respond to comments. Sometimes you'll write a post and someone will comment, causing you look at an issue in a way you either hadn't thought of or forgot to address. What better way to respond and express your interest than by dedicating an entire entry to responding to your reader's comment. Your readers will surely appreciate your dedicated response and probably be encouraged to comment more often.
That's all I have for now. Any other ideas?
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