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Inbound Web Design

The Single Greatest (Free) Tool for Creating Unlimited Blog Topics

Posted by Mike Cerio on Jun 18, 2012 10:15:00 AM

Blogging IdeasWe have all been there: Staring at the blank screen, the blinking cursor…taunting us.

It can become a daunting task to continuously create timely, fresh, topical and useful blog content on a day-to-day or even week-to-week basis. Sometimes inspiration strikes and you effortlessly create a topical masterpiece, almost unconsciously. But on other occasions, frustration sets in as you struggle to even develop a topic…let alone a useful and sharable post.

Again, we’ve all been there.

The good news is, as inbound marketers and bloggers, we have at our disposal the greatest tool EVER created for collecting blog topics, researching ideas deeper, even connecting with other authors on a one-on-one basis…

Google.

More accurately, Google Alerts.

Chances are that you have come across this tool at one point or another, you may have read a similar post about Google Alerts not so long ago, or even gave it a try at one point.

Are you effectively using Google Alerts every day to create blog post ideas?

We have put together a simple, step-by-step plan for helping you generate more blog topics with a little help from Google Alerts.

 

Step 1: Visit the Google Alerts page and get started in 60-seconds. 

Just enter a few key words or phrases and select how often you would like Google to automatically email you with the results. You can choose from what types of results you would like to view (just blog articles, for example) and even select how finicky you want Google to be when sorting through all of the posts across the web on your topic. 

 

Step 2: Skim post topics and start yourself a “swipe” file.

I have never been a big fan of the term “swipe file,” as it conjures up images of cutting and pasting your way through someone elses hard work and repurposing it into blog posts for use on your site.

Please do not misunderstand what we are describing here as the above behavior.

Instead, what we propose is to quickly skim the topics that peak your interest from the results that Google Alerts provides, and begin to copy those main topics or arguments into a document or spreadsheet. I am a big fan of using Evernote, to clip and store articles for future consideration as well.

These will act as a “primer” for your new list of post topics…that you will write yourself.

 

Step 3: Make the topics your own.

Here is where you let your voice, personality, and personal “take” on a topic shine through.

We do not advocate simply re-writing the previously collected post ideas in your own words. This is tedious work, and produces less than stellar, and poor-performing material for you blog.

Rather, we would suggest that you build upon or expand on what peaked your interest about the topic when you first laid eyes on it.  A few suggestions on how to accomplish this include:

 

  • Taking the opposite site of the argument made within the original post.
  • Revealing a personal mistake that you have made concerning the topic.
  • Continuing the topic where it logically would go as you see it.
  • Use one small section of the post and expand it into a full post.
  • Make a list post containing online resources for accomplishing the task outlined in the post.
  • Think outside the box. Many times a picture used in a post is enough to spark an entirely new line of thought.

 

What are some techniques that help you create original blog post ideas and topics? Share them with the rest of us in the comments below:

 

Topics: inbound marketing, blogging tips, hubspot, blogging, marketing techniques