16 Places To Find Ideas For Blog Content & Emails

Do you want to publish blog posts almost every day but are struggling to come with that many ideas?

There are plenty of places you can look to for inspiration that you might not have thought of.

Everyone suffers a bit of a writer’s block every now and again.

I have suffered with it myself however not so much so that I struggle to come with regular blog topics.

This is because I know where to look for inspiration whether it is online or offline.

I am feeling in a generous mood today which is why I am going to let go of some of my secrets so you can benefit from it too.

I have put together a list of places and tools to find inspiration for your next blog post.

This isn’t just inspiration for blog posts neither; you can use these ideas to share on your emails to provide value to your contacts.

You can also create eBooks, podcasts, and webinars. Be creative as you want.

The General Idea Of Blogging: Answer Questions

Before I start on the list of 16 places to find ideas for blog content and value based emails, let me explain what the general idea of blog content should be.

The point of blog content and value based emails is to answer the questions your target audience might have about your industry and product.

In order to create value based blog content and emails, you are going to need to put yourself in a problem-solving frame of mind.

While in this frame of mind, think about what questions your customers ask, what questions people are searching for and what questions your audience might be thinking about.

For example, a user searches on Google for “how to build a sales funnel”.

If that user then sees a blog topic that is titled “step-by-step guide on how to build a sales funnel” they will be inclined to click on that link because it answers their question.

When looking for blog content ideas from the 16 places below, think about what questions you can answer on your blog and in your emails.

1. Forums

One of the first places to look for ideas should be on general and industry specific forums.

One particular forum that I always head to for inspiration is Quora, which is a general forum.

There is probably a question for almost anything in Quora so should cover almost all industries.

All you need to do is to head to the category that is most relevant to your industry and browse through the questions and blog about it.

<Image1>

For this question, I could create a blog post titled “10 honest ways to increase website conversion rates”.

2. Social Media Groups

Social media groups act pretty much in the same way as forums but are seen to be the updates version.

Just like with forums, people will join groups that they are interested in and where they can either ask questions or provide information.

The only problem is that there are many spammy social media groups where there is no interaction but only blog content sharing.

These types of social media groups tend to be open for anyone to join.

You need to aim to join social media groups that where you need to quest permission to join.

3. Industry Publications

Every industry has their own popular publications which I’m sure one or two have already come to mind.

These industry-specific publications post a lot of hot trends, latest news, tips, and tricks and just about everything else that is relevant to your industry.

Browse through their articles to find those that have high levels of shares and comments.

You will come to learn which articles have higher levels of engagement as you browse through many of their articles.

You don’t want to rewrite particularly what they have already said; you want to repurpose the topic and input your own view on it or to expand on what they have said.

4. Social Media Influencers

Have a look on Twitter for industry influencers who have a high following but also a very active account with plenty of engagement.

Once you have found one or more influencers in your industry, follow them.

You can then look to see whether any of their followers is asking them questions.

If so, you can use that question as the topic for your next blog post and email.

5. SlideShare

SlideShare is a very popular site that is filled with online content known as “decks.”

There are decks that cover almost all industries, so it is definitely worth heading over to check for any ideas.

Use it to search for your industry or a specific topic and review which relevant decks are the most popular.

You can take from these popular decks and create your content that has a unique spin on it.

6. YouTube Industry Videos

Just like with SlideShare, head to YouTube and look for the most popular videos that are relevant to your industry.

There are plenty of tutorial videos on YouTube which are great to repurpose into blog content and value based emails.

7. Interviews

One of the best blog content and value based email ideas you can create are from talking to interesting people in your industry.

Everyone has their own view on things which is why talking to different people can get your mind to think outside of its normal train of thinking.

It doesn’t just have to be about different opinions, though; you could interview influencers to get their story and share it with your contacts and readers.

Find influencers and interesting people in your industry and get in touch with them and ask a few questions.

You can either get inspiration for your blog content from it, or you can share the interview on your blog and in your emails.

If you do the latter, though, make sure always to get permission first.

8. Blog Comments

Image Source: Jeff Bullas

One of the best kept secrets to get inspiration for blog content is from the comments section of your blog, from competitor blogs and publications.

If readers are asking questions in the comments or have mentioned they would have liked to know more about something, it is your opportunity to answer it for them.

9. Google Search Box Suggestions

One of the easiest ways to get ideas is to start a search in Google.

The Google search box will the automatically populate suggestions based on what you have already typed.

Some of the suggestions will give you an insight into what your audience are searching for.

10. Google Related Searches

After searching for a relevant topic on Google, if you scroll to the bottom of the search results page, you will see a list of relates search terms.

This may provide you with ideas that you have not yet thought of.

11. Unique Data

The best shareable content tends to be those that contain unique data and statistics.

If you have a large email list that is engaged, use them by sending a survey.

You can then blog about the data and statistics you got back from the survey.

12. Your Mistakes

I don’t know why people don’t talk about their mistakes more.

It can be a massive help to read about how someone has made a mistake in the past but have turned it around to now be successful.

If you have made any mistakes during your journey, then blog about it and share how you turned it around for the better.

13. Amazons Bestselling Industry Books

This is another well-kept secret. Head over to Amazon and search for bestselling books that are relevant to your industry.

If people are paying money to find out more about these topics, then they will certainly be eager to get the same information in a more digestible version for free.

14. Predictions

What do you think will happen in the next year or even 5 or 10 years?

Everybody wants to be the first to master future trends to stay ahead of their competition which is why they love prediction style content.

It doesn’t matter if you have a few misses so I wouldn’t fret about writing something like this.

15. Challenge Yourself

Is there something you have wanted to try that is not the ‘norm’?

Whether it fails or is a success, it would certainly make for interesting reading if you create a diary of the journey and blog about it.

16. Take A Walk

This last idea is very different to the rest however I find that it can work wonders.

Sometimes all you need is a bit of fresh air and a clear mind to cure writer’s block.

The best way to do this is to simply go for a walk and let your mind wonder.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed this list of blog content and value based email ideas.

I’m sure there is plenty here to keep you going for quite a while now, though.

Do you have any places you go to for content ideas?

Share them by leaving your comments below.