How to Brainstorm Ideas for Writing: 5 Expert Strategies to Achieve Success as a Freelancer

brainstorm ideas for writing
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Everyone knows that content is king. It’s important to blog regularly and create compelling, relevant content for your audience. But how do you go about brainstorming ideas for writing that propels your website forward?

When it’s time to brainstorm ideas for writing for your new blog or business website, it doesn’t need to be an overwhelming task. Remember, you started your business and its blog as a way to exercise a passion. So let’s break these tasks down into manageable bites and banish any feelings of intimidation.  I’m going to show you how I brainstorm ideas for writing.  

Brainstorm Ideas for Writing.

I get it – sometimes it can be hard to come up with blog topics. You may spend hours on your computer staring at a blank screen, but nothing seems worth writing about. You’ve heard of this before… it’s the dreaded “writer’s block”.

There are many ways to brainstorm for a new blog topic that will help you get the most out of your time. Let’s go over some of those strategies right here:

A brain dump without censoring.

Brain dumping is a great way to come up with dozens, or even hundreds, of ideas to write great content. This is an all-out free-for-all where you’re just going to write down anything that comes to mind no matter how wild of an idea is generated. You absolutely can NOT overthink this. This is one of my favorite strategies to brainstorm ideas for writing because you’re just letting it all flow.  

If you’re home, you can get cozy with a mug of tea, a pen, and your favorite notebook, stack of post-its, or open up a new file on your computer. I’m a big fan of steno notebooks and you’ll never find me without one. It’s a tradition that I started in middle school and now I have a collection of steno volumes filled with ideas and teenage secrets.  

 

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Write whatever comes to mind – seriously, do not censor yourself! You will find that many of the brainstorm ideas for writing that you come up with may be pretty random or borderline ridiculous. That’s okay. Just keep writing without stopping until you have come up with at least ten blog post topics around your business idea that are worth exploring.

When you feel like your list is complete, look through it. If the first idea on your list seems to have more potential than others, move on to step two: think about how someone would search for this topic online. This is what we call “user intent” and it’s important to understand how and why someone would search to find your topic.

Brainstorm with a friend.

Ask friends and family what they want to know about your topic, or what their thoughts are on your blog post ideas. Obviously, you’re only going to brainstorm with friends who are supportive of your business ventures.  Brainstorm ideas for writing with a friend who can help you think of new avenues to explore, too.  

If you are afraid that the people in your life might be too critical, you can find like-minded people in plenty of online groups. You need constructive feedback around your ideas and you’d be surprised how many ideas can be generated just through responses from other like-minded go-getters like yourself.

Write down all the tidbits that you receive from your conversations and then dig a little deeper with some research. Spend some time gathering information but don’t get sucked into a deep rabbit hole.

write great content

Use your resources.

There are a variety of brainstorming solutions for bloggers available. This is where your research abilities will be required. It’s time to gather any evidence you can find that relates back to the concept once you’ve narrowed down your topic to a smaller, more focused scope.

The first tool I want you to try is searching for blog post topics with Google. Using “alphabet soup”, you can come up with several ideas in just a few moments.

What is Google alphabet soup? Click over to Google and type in your keyword, a space, and then a, b, c, d, etc.

(keyword) + a

(keyword) + b

(keyword) + c

and on and on until you get through the entire alphabet.

And then, ask questions.

How do I (keyword)?

What is a good resource for learning how to (keyword)?

These Google search terms are meant to help you find the most popular blog posts about your topic. By using this strategy, you will be able to see what people want and need to read about allowing you to write great content for readers to consume.

Try Jasper

Writers block is a real thing and sometimes it’s hard to come up with new ideas for posts. That’s where Jasper comes in! Jasper is a writing tool that helps you brainstorm ideas for writing by identifying keywords in your niche.  

First, open Jasper (you can get a free trial here) and create a new project. You can name your project anything you want, but for this example we’ll call it “Blog Post Ideas.”

Once you have your project created, it’s time to start brainstorming! To do this, click on the “Brainstorm” tab at the top of the screen.

You will see a list of prompts appear on the left-hand side of the screen. These prompts are designed to help get your creative juices flowing and come up with ideas for new blog posts. Simply choose one of the prompts and start brainstorming!

Answer questions.

The simplest way to come up with new blog post ideas is to answer questions you’ve been asked about your topic. Think of this as the FAQ of what YOU do.

Haven’t been asked any questions yet? Google a few of the ideas you have and check out the “people also asked” section, also look to the bottom of the page where you will find “related searches”.

I like using Google and the “people also ask” section because these are questions real people are asking, and they are golden.

In addition to Google, I use Ubersuggest that shows allows me to get insight into the strategies that are working for others in my market so that I can write similar content or improve upon information that’s already available and gain an edge in search engines.

Solve problems.

The best blog posts are the ones that solve problems. They also happen to be the most profitable. If you can solve problems and make money, it’s a win-win!

Blog post ideas that solve problems can include:

How-to guides, including step-by-step instructions. These types of posts are incredibly popular and can be a great source of income for you if you also monetize your website with affiliate links or ads.

Tutorials. Similar to a how-to-guide, a tutorial is a powerful resource that brings traffic to your website and also provides a tremendous amount of value to your readers and future customers.

Product reviews. When you review a popular product, you provide valuable information and insight to your readers. If for example you worked with a mentor or coach and they offer an affiliate program, write a review! It’s a good source of traffic for you and a fun way to earn an affiliate income.

Answering questions. I mentioned this above but it’s worth noting again: people want answers to their problems and they search for them online all the time. If you can answer questions, then your blog post will be a success.

Crafting good content takes time and practice, but just get started. Remember to never judge your day one against someone else’s year 5. Let your voice be heard and get started building your business, mama. If you need someone to brainstorm with, join me in my Facebook group and we’ll write great content together!

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