A few years ago, I wrote an article called “50 Ways To Generate Content” for your website because there were people that were complaining to me that they didn’t know what they could write about. Let me first start out by saying, if you don’t know what you can write about, don’t force yourself to write a crappy article. Always take the time to make it interesting and something that people will actually enjoy reading. Personally, I value quality over quantity so I always try to do my best with every post. If you don’t know how to generate content for a website or blog, you should be able to find some good ideas on this list of blogging ideas.
Although I don’t agree with the list that I wrote back in 2008, I do think that it has potential to help some other people. I saw that people actually really liked it when I first posted it and I figured that I’d post it up to help people who struggle producing content. Although the focus of my website here at AndrewPavelski.com is completely different than what it was back in 2008, I still think that you may find this article beneficial to check out. So exactly like the title of the post implies, there are 50 ways to come up with new content for your website.
50 Ways To Generate Content For Your Website or Blog
1. Read other niche related blogs – Reading other niche-related blogs has potential to help you spark your own ideas. Maybe you are able to put a different spin on a topic that people would like to read about, maybe an idea popped into your head after reading a certain post. Always be reading and checking out other blogs – they help generate new, innovative ideas.
2. Check your comments section – Reader comments can be a great way to learn what your readers would like you to blog about. Always be checking and interacting with your visitor’s comments to find out good topics to write about for your next post or article.
3. Post in a forum – What type of discussion is going on in the forums? Bring some of the forum drama or questions back to your own website. After you’ve written a good article, post it in the forum category. In the article I wrote called “How To Increase Website Traffic” I discuss using forums to help people and to increase your traffic. You can also find some great ideas in forums to set the foundation for your latest articles; especially if you are involved in a heated discussion.
4. Read a book – Reading an innovative book is an awesome way to generate new ideas. After reading a book you can write about successful strategies or something that you learned from the book. Additionally, you could flat-out just write a review of the book breaking it down for your visitors. There are so many great books that you probably haven’t read so start reading more.
5. Evaluate an E-Book – Evaluate a free or purchased e-book that you’ve recently read. Discuss and share strategies from the e-book within your blog post. Tell your readers where they can find and download the e-book that you’ve read. Most e-books in my opinion are complete trash, but there are a few diamonds in the rough.
6. Have a contest – Not only is having a contest a great way to increase website traffic, it is a great topic to write about. Having a contest gives you plenty to write about including: a post letting the people know when your contest will be held, contest updates, and a post at the end letting everyone know how the contest turned out (e.g. who the winners were).
7. Allow guest posting – If you have a fairly popular website, chances are really good that people would be willing to guest post on your website. Let your readers know that you are okay with guest posting and tell them to send you posts to review that they’d like to be posted. Most guest posters are great, but be sure to read and review their posts before publishing. I personally don’t allow guest posts here because this is a personal website and because I don’t need your help with content…haha
8. Check out the news – There is always drama going on in the news. Ranging from the 2008 Presidential Campaign to the War In Iraq, there’s always something that you can blog about when having a tough day. Plus there are medical breakthroughs, drama like the Casey Anthony trials (which I could care less about) and a bunch of fear-based hype. Well there is also SportsCenter (ESPN) which is way better than any actual news channel. Anyways, if you give two flips about the news, you could write something related to how you feel about a certain issue.
9. Check comments on other websites – Not only should you check the comments section on your own website for something to write about, but you should check comments on other blogs. Popular websites tend to have a lot of commenters and people in the comments section that give suggestions or have additional questions. Do your best to help the people that are confused or have more questions with an article on your website.
10. Write about websites that you follow – If you are out of all other ideas, why not write about the websites that you frequently read or follow. Share them with your readers and let your readers know why you read those particular websites or link to their best work and analyze it. I personally don’t really follow many websites other than a couple of hip hop music sites for daily updates, but that’s just me. If you follow some websites, feel free to share them with your readers.
11. Write about visitor’s articles – Look up the most social commenters on your website and take a look at their websites if they have one. Then take a look at their articles and snoop around a little bit to see whether they have any good material you can share. If you share one of their articles in a post, I’m sure you will really flatter the follower of your website by mentioning them or giving them some linkage.
12. Brainstorm – Have a brainstorming session – make a brainstorming web on a piece of paper if you’re that desperate for content. Write about all possible topics that you could write about successfully. Start based on personal interests and branch out from there.
13. Post an old article – Consider posting one of your older articles that many people haven’t read. This is basically what I’m doing with this article – it was old, I made a few edits and changes, and now it’s going back up on my website. Additionally, if you have any important articles written in your archives that may have been overlooked, be sure to re-post those articles so that people are aware that you have such great work. If people miss out on something cool like my “Neurogenesis: How To Grow New Brain Cells” article, I may want to bring it back to get the attention that it deserves.
14. Exchange articles – If you cannot think of anything to write about, consider exchanging old articles with another website. By exchanging with another site, it’s a win win situation. By exchanging old content, I mean that one website links to some of your older work, and you link to some of their older work and you each discuss it on your respective websites. I personally won’t do this, but if you have a close friend that you can do this with, awesome.
15. Write about a social networking program – Whether it’s StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, or Reddit, consider writing about a social networking program. Have you had success with a certain program for building traffic. Do you find that using Digg drags down your server or StumbleUpon traffic doesn’t convert well into subscribers or sales? Share your experiences with your readers and let them know what’s up.
16. Write about monthly earnings – Whether you make a lot or a little money or a lot of money from your website, consider writing about it. Explain how you were able to make money from your website so that other people can try your method. I wrote in my The Keyword Academy Review about how I was able to go from virtually nothing ($50) per month to over $1200. Trust me when it comes to money, most people are interested.
17. Post a popular YouTube video – There are always some great YouTube videos out there: both educational and viral that you could post up. I’m a fan of anything funny on YouTube, but also like the fact that if you want, you can upload your own video. So you could even consider making your own YouTube video to either entertain or educate.
18. Write about monthly traffic – If your traffic goes way up one month, you could write about how you were able to increase it. Share what posts were most popular and post up your Statcounter or Google Analytics stats to share with people. Most people will be attracted to traffic just like they are with earnings. The more you are getting, the more people stay interested in what you’re writing because they can tell you actually know what you’re doing.
19. Share your personal life – Whether you are raising kids, going bungee jumping tomorrow, or have been working out with P90X or Insanity, you can always write about your personal life. If you are doing something cool with your life or something that people are interested in, they will want to read about your experiences. I sometimes bet on CentSports.com so I wrote about the fact that I do sports betting for free and for some extra fun.
20. Post what you ate for dinner – I think this item on the list is pretty damn hilarious, but some people seriously do write about what they had for dinner in order to keep people interested in their lives. If you go to a dank (e.g. awesome) restaurant and can take pictures, people will probably start licking their monitors… okay maybe not that, but people may link back and say that they need to try that restaurant or recipe.
21. Write about your WordPress theme – I wrote about the theme that I use for this website and why I think it’s one of the best. You can check out my Thesis WordPress Theme Review for more information. Anyways, if you have a cool theme or a collection of great themes that you can share with people, they will probably love you for it because they won’t have to do the dirty work and dig up themes that actually look good.
22. Set a goal and write about progress – Are you currently working towards a new goal or trying to accomplish something? If you are, a good thing to write about is the progress that you’ve made towards your goal. Share your setbacks and what’s working for you to help you achieve what you set out to do. Sharing your progress with your visitors is also a way to stay motivated towards your goal because your visitors will hold you accountable.
23. Provide some SEO tips – If you know about SEO, you could write about some of the best search engine optimization (SEO) tips that you can think of off the top of your head. Obviously I wrote about the best WordPress permalink structure for SEO already and how to set a preferred domain in Google Webmaster Tools. Both of those posts have potential to help a lot of people get off to a good start with their websites.
24. Write product reviews – If you haven’t written any product reviews, I suggest that you incorporate them in your writing, especially if your website is personal like mine. I only write reviews of products that I personally use and benefitted from and I suggest you do the same. Write about things that you know about and have firsthand experience with; give information about the advantages and disadvantages. One example would be the “Neuro Programmer 3 Review Brainwave Entrainment Software.” I have extensive firsthand experience with it and know exactly how everything in the program works. I know it’s a good product, and figured I’d share it with others since it has potential to help improve lives. A couple more examples would be my P90X Review and my Insanity Review – both I have completed and have a ton of experience with each of the programs.
25. Post helpful WordPress Plugins – People always enjoy when they know what WordPress Plugins are the best to have installed. Although I haven’t done this yet here, I do have a lot of recommendations for people if they are interested. If you are interested in finding out what I consider the best WordPress plugins, just let me know in the comments section and I’ll consider making a new post about them.
26. Write about a life lesson – One of the best ways to maintain a down-to-Earth image is to write about a personal life lesson or experience that you had. Maybe at one point you were deep in debt and managed to find a way out. Maybe you were dealing with relationship problems or a tough drug addiction. I know you may be worried about what other people will think of you for it, but based on what I know and have seen, most people will be grateful that you shared your experiences because they may be battling the same hardships.
27. Discuss advertisement placement – Discuss advertisement placements that you’ve found to be the most effective for your website. What combinations have helped make you the most money so far? Write about ways that others can improve their advertisement placement for Google Adsense, affiliate programs, and whatever else you use.
28. Write about web hosting – Web hosting is a big issue that leaves many newbies puzzled when it comes to purchasing hosting. Educate your readers and let them know what to look for in a good web host and hosting services. I plan on writing up a review of my hosting services, so be sure to stay tuned for that. I’ll let you know whether I use dedicated hosting or shared hosting, and which company I think is the best.
29. Run a fundraiser – If you are raising funds for a good cause such as to benefit abused people, neglected animals, or to help get food and water to kids in Africa, most people will take note. If you have any traffic whatsoever, most people will be willing to make some sort of a donation. Additionally, you will have to make a post in order to explain to people why you are running the fundraiser and what they can do to help your cause.
30. Write about where to buy the cheapest domains – There are several site’s that you can write about and compare for this topic. Let your visitors know how easy it is to quickly search and find cheap domain name. You could also emphasize that it is important to always renew your domain name on time in order to avoid cybersquatters.
31. Write about how to improve your website – Maybe you need to get a new theme, maybe you need to write better articles, and maybe you need to focus on writing about things you actually enjoy. Most websites aren’t at all a reflection of what the webmaster really enjoys. If you are really passionate about music, write about music. If you like sports, write about sports. If your goal is to help people, then help people. Write about what you want to write about and know about instead of some topic you think you should be writing about. If you don’t know jack shit about SEO, don’t write about SEO. Similarly if you don’t know anything about fitness, don’t write about how to get a 6 pack because that will just show you’re a fake person.
32. Post common mistakes that new bloggers make – A simple, yet powerful blog entry is to post up mistakes that new bloggers make. Posting mistakes that are preventable and that will help new bloggers will definitely attract traffic and potentially help many people from getting off to a rough start. When I first started back in 2008, I made tons of mistakes and I mean tons; I didn’t really know what I was doing. It’s now 2011 and I know exactly what I’m doing and don’t plan on making many mistakes. Obviously nobody’s perfect, but minimizing mistakes is key.
33. Write about “.Blogspot” blogs – There is a lot of controversy that “.blogspot” blogs have caused in the blogosphere. Write your reaction to the large amount of “.blogspot” blogs and whether or not you find them tolerable. I personally don’t really like seeing “.blogspot” after any domain name because it just looks really spammy. Plus, you aren’t in control of your website – it can get flagged and taken down at any time.
34. Write about new technology – If you just got a new computer, new HTC EVO 3D phone (I have the EVO, not the 3D) or a new HD TV, write about what you think of it. If you just bought an iPad last week and think that it’s overrated and totally sucks, write about it. If you just got the latest MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge and a solid state hard-drive, write about that… Technology will catch people’s attention.
35. Write about the purpose of your website – If you’re running a website, hopefully there’s some purpose behind it. Is the purpose to make money online? Is the purpose to help inspire people? Are you trying to share something with people? What is the intention of your website? Let people know upfront so that they know why they are even visiting your website in the first place.
36. Write about your posting frequency – How often do you post new content? Is it every single day? Is it every other day? Is it 20 times per day? What posting frequency works best for you? There are many different posting frequency strategies that work. Write about how often you are posting and how your current strategy is working out. I personally have run websites that were updated 40 times per day; I don’t like that strategy. Now on all of my websites, the maximum I’ll post is three times per day because I put a huge emphasis on quality over quantity.
37. Write a paid review – If your website gets enough traffic, people will pay you to write reviews of their product or services. I personally won’t do these because I think they are kind of a joke (e.g. big sellout) and put an emphasis on money over people; that’s not how I personally roll. Anyways, if you know what you’re doing, you can easily write product reviews and get paid.
38. Share your best recipes – Although I already mentioned that you can write about what you ate for dinner, something better to do would be to share one of your family recipes with people. If you have a killer recipe that’s really good, share it with people online. Chances are someone will try it out if you include pictures and show them what the final dish looks like.
39. Write about celebrities – If you are a gossip fiend, write about celebrities and let people know who your favorite celebs are and why. People search for celebrities all the time and want the latest news on their personal lives… So if you want to get a little traffic boost, write about a celebrity that you really admire. I guess you can rip on them too, but at the end of the day, remember that they’re human beings too and aren’t perfect just because they’re celebs.
40. Write about movies – I personally love watching the James Bond series because all of the movies are badass. Anyways, if there are movies that you enjoy watching, you could write about the movies themselves or rank them in a list. You can use this same concept with movies and TV shows that you enjoy.
41. Challenge another person’s article – If you disagree with something that another website has written or think the advice is inaccurate, feel free to challenge what they just wrote. Don’t just challenge them to be a nag or total dick though… genuinely disagree with them and state why you disagree. If you make a good argument, people may recommend your article to others instead of the original. Don’t you dare challenge me though! Haha I’m kidding, but don’t count on me responding.
42. Come up with a Poll or Survey – If you want to ask your readers about how they feel about an issue or even about your own website, come up with a poll. Ask them: Do you think my articles are long enough? Do you think I know what I’m talking about? Why do you visit my website? Do you like my theme? I could list questions all day that you could ask for your poll. Additionally, you could give an email survey to your subscribers if you want to go that route. Either way, you can write about your poll, the results, and how you plan on improving your website as a result.
43. Tell people how to subscribe to your website – If you run a cool website, tell people how they can stay tuned for more article updates. Generally you should have an option where visitors can subscribe through email to get updates, Google Reader, Facebook, Twitter, Google +1, and more. Let people know how they can contact you – write a post about how people can get your updates.
44. Write about things you love OR hate – Make a list of everything that you are grateful for and/or everything that you hate in your life. You can turn a post into sharing what you really enjoy about your life and/or a venting session for things that you hate. Either way, the posts are bound to get some attention if you have enough things listed there.
45. Compete with another website – If you have a naturally competitive spirit, you could hold a 30 day competition to see who can get more subscribers, write more articles, or make more money from their website. The idea doesn’t really appeal to me at all, so don’t ask me to have a competition. With that said, I have seen other bloggers hold competitions and in nearly all cases, the end result was more subscribers and traffic for both websites.
46. Show off your guest posts – If you have ever written content for another website, show off some of your best work that you did on other websites. Most people will be really interested to read more of your stuff if you are a naturally good writer and/or have a big following. Although most people instinctively share their content if they write a guest post, some people forget. Make sure that you let other people know what’s up with articles outside of your own website.
47. Make a Top 10 List – If you are really at a total loss for what to write, make a Top 10 List. You can get creative with these lists such as writing the Top 10 Ways To Get Fat, Top 10 Healthiest Diets, Top 10 Cell Phones, Top 10 Places To Vacation, Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs of All Time, etc. I could probably write a Top 10 List of Top 10 Topics to write about…haha (just messing with ya, but seriously, these make for really easy posts).
48. Ask a friend – Generally your friends will know what you like to do and will be able to give you some suggestions. If you don’t get any reasonably good suggestions from friends, ask your family, spouse, or significant other. Chances are good that out of all these people, someone will be able to come up with a good article topic. You could also even let them write a guest post if they are good enough at writing.
49. Share this list on your website – Write a reaction to reading this great list on your website. This list is a great, simple set of ideas that easily could help a lot of people think of new ways to come up with content for their websites. Sharing it with others is a nice thing to do if you genuinely found it helpful.
50. Post about Andrew Pavelski – Probably your best option on this list is posting about the site and/or person that developed this swagged out list. What do you think about my website and/or the articles here? Feel free to write an article talking about one of my posts. At least you’ll have something to write about and won’t be stuck staring at the wall hoping for someone to repaint it so that you can watch the paint dry…haha
Conclusion
I ended up going back and editing this list because some of the methods I had previously listed didn’t even apply for people today. I originally had written about things like MyBlogLog, Entrecard, and some completely outdated (and useless) widgets. With this latest update, I tried to include things that would be timeless so that I don’t have to ever update this article again. Even if there are some things listed here that you thought were pretty lame, hopefully there are others that can actually help you come up with a new article for your website or a website that you operate.
If you cannot think of blogging ideas, I’ve gotta ask you whether you really want to be writing in the first place? If you want to run a business and don’t want to do the writing, you can certainly outsource. I personally really enjoy writing and knowing the fact that what I’m producing is helping someone else. For me, having my content written by an outsourcer or guest poster just wouldn’t sit well because this is my personal website and I want to do as much direct contributing as I possibly can.
There are tons of alternatives to writing new articles though. You could record a video for YouTube and/or even use something like Dragon Naturally Speaking software which converts speech to text. So if you hate typing, but could talk all day, you may want to consider getting that software so that you can write articles by just talking into a microphone. I personally haven’t used the software and enjoy typing over speaking because I’m more concise and clear when I take the time to type compared to speaking.
My last piece of advice for you if you are struggling to come up with article ideas is to focus on your passions. What are some things that you do every single day or couldn’t live a day without? Do you watch a certain TV show or play a certain video game? Do you listen to a lot of music or play a certain sport? Write about your passions if you’re struggling to come up with article ideas. Things you are naturally interested in will be easy to write about and chances are good that you’re already an expert on those topics. Hopefully you found everything I’ve written here helpful and feel free to place a major emphasis on #49 and #50 on the list…haha
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