PureBlogging

If you blog, you have reached (or will reach) some point where you just can’t think of anything to write about. You have an audience, and they are expecting a new post from you, but you just don’t really have anything to say.

Of course, there is always the option to not say anything, and it is definitely better to skip posting if you don’t feel like there is any value to what you would say. Another option, though, is to look for something to write about. Luckily with so many tools on the Internet at our disposal, there are a ton of ways to find topics to write about, even ones that are relevant to the niche you are known for. You just need to know where to find those ideas.

My favorite tools for finding topics to write about are:

1. StumbleUpon – I really can’t stress enough how useful I find StumbleUpon to be as a blogger, particularly its search feature. Frankly, I was a little surprised to see that eBay’s trying to get rid of it already. When you stumble through pages for any given keyword or phrase, you know you are going to get good results, because the way StumbleUpon works will allow you to see other pages that others have already given a “thumbs up” to.  So when I search for “blogging” for example, I know I’ll get all kinds of quality articles and other things related to blogging. I can then look at those and be inspired to add my own take on any subject that I might “stumble upon” related to blogging.

2. Google News – Often times, I will also use Google News for this purpose, but in this case, you’re only searching through relatively new items, and can find some news articles on issues relevant to you niche. Again, you can use these articles as inspiration to get your own thoughts rolling on said issues.

3. Google Reader – With Google Reader (or other feed readers…Google just happens to be the one I use), you can not only scroll through posts from all of your favorite blogs, but again, use the search tool to see what people on those blogs might be saying about any given subject that you wish to tackle or your niche in general. The reader (Google at least) will sort search results by date, so you can be sure you have the most current posts possible.

4. Audience Participation – When all else fails, you can always ask your readers if there are things they would like you to write about. That’s good for one post itself. Or you can do something like I did (or am currently in the process of doing technically) with the “Blogs on…” series, where I have specifically asked for audience participation.

5. Human Beings – Sometimes just speaking with other people in person will spark an idea for something to write about. Particularly if you work with people within your niche regularly. A live conversation you have with somebody can easily be translated into words on a blog.

There are definitely more tools available to you to help with writer’s block. What are some that you use?

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