Content marketing and SEO are great ways to generate leads without relying on digital advertising or lead generation companies, but it’s not always easy to get started. Good blog post ideas are floating around out there, you just need a way to catch them. Nets, bear traps, and those sticky pieces of paper you use to catch bugs won’t work.

This article will cover what does work (specifically, the number one, super-best way to generate blog topic ideas).

blog ideas
Mousetraps won’t work either.

What Makes a Blog Idea “Good”?

There are lots of ways to come up with weak blog post ideas. You can find a few hundred of them on the first page of Google.

blog post ideas Google search

These ideas aren’t terrible. And, if you’re short on time, you may need to do the best you can with them. In general, these ideas are weak because they’re not original. If you can put a unique spin on them, you should, but most bloggers won’t. They’ll just rewrite the same thing a hundred other bloggers have written a hundred times before.

The method I’m going to share with you in this post will allow you to take a fresh approach to the tired ideas listed in the search results above. It will also help you come up with brand new ideas.

Why does that matter? Because it will improve your results.

blog content idea
You really thought a great blog post idea would be slumming it on the first page of Google’s search results?

A 2021 study found that content that possesses a journalistic character is more effective. The study defines journalistic attributes as:

  • Narrative perspective
  • Originality
  • Diversity of viewpoints
  • Accuracy
  • Comprehensibility
  • Compliance with ethical standards1Koob C. Determinants of content marketing effectiveness: Conceptual framework and empirical findings from a managerial perspective. PLoS One. 2021 Apr 1;16(4):e0249457. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249457. PMID: 33793631; PMCID: PMC8016322.

How to Come Up with Good Blog Post Ideas

There are a lot of suggestions about how to come up with blog topic ideas out there, but this is the best one. (Still, feel free to use other methods if you want to waste your time.)

It will help you find original ideas and accurately explain relevant arguments from multiple perspectives so that your articles will be highly effective. And it’s a pretty simple idea.

Research.

5 Ways to Use Research to Find Great Topics

Research is what separates the best blog posts from the rest of the rehashed trash that litters Google SERPs. Most bloggers start and finish their research on Google. They select their keyword,

  • DeepDyve. DeepDyve provides access to a large selection of academic papers and peer-reviewed journals for about $50/mo. The UI isn’t great and you have to read the articles on the website inside a reader window. You can only print a small number of pages each month and you can’t copy and paste into a document.
  • JStor. JStor is similar to DeepDyve, but they also provide free articles (usually six per month, but 100/mo during the pandemic).
  • ResearchGate. ResearchGate is a social networking site for researchers. It’s difficult to get approved as a member, but you don’t need to be a member to search through the papers other members have uploaded. Many of them are available for download.
  • Statista. This one is less reliable than the others because it’s harder to verify the sources and methodology for each study. But it does provide additional data you can use to support your blog posts.
  • Google. Google has its place. First of all, there’s Google Scholar. Then, you can do a broad search to get a general feel for what’s out there. When you’re ready to get down to business, restrict your search to reputable sites. For example, I’ll often use something like this “[blog topic] site:gallup.com OR site:mckinsey.com OR site:forrester.com OR site:*.gov OR site:hbr.org OR site:bain.com OR site:deloitte.com.”

How to Do Your Research

I usually start in DeepDyve. I type in a broad topic (e.g., “email marketing”) and see what interesting findings researchers have made recently. Then, I’ll go to Ahrefs (any keyword research tool will work) to see what angle I can take that will likely generate organic search traffic.

Finally, I’ll look for other articles and stats using DeepDyve and the other resources mentioned above and begin to build an outline.

Now No Ideas Are Safe from Your Prying Eyes!

And there you have it. Four places where great blog post ideas have. Go snatch them up and use them to generate more organic search traffic.

If you’re too busy to do all this research, we can help with content strategy, topic planning, writing, editing, and more for a flat rate each month through Raindance, our content marketing agency. If you’re interested, schedule a free consultation today.

blog topic ideas

References

  • 1
    Koob C. Determinants of content marketing effectiveness: Conceptual framework and empirical findings from a managerial perspective. PLoS One. 2021 Apr 1;16(4):e0249457. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249457. PMID: 33793631; PMCID: PMC8016322.