I wrote a regular monthly newsletter for many years and I understand how it can be difficult to come up with article ideas. I hear it from clients as well. Even coming up with 1 or 2 articles a month can seem taxing. No sooner have you published one newsletter and it’s time to start prepping for the next.
However much experience a writer has, it’s always a challenge to come up with new ideas for articles and blog posts. This means that if you’re under pressure to have a constant stream of new ideas, then you’re far from alone. This article gives you five easy ways to come up with new article ideas. Even if they seem obvious, reflect a bit on how much you actually use them for yourself and you’ll probably realize that you could be making a lot more use out of the method than you previously have been!
Keep A List: Some people are compulsive note takers and list makers. However, most of us don’t often stop to think about how valuable keeping a list can be. You can bring a notepad with you wherever you go or, alternatively, simply use your cell phone as a notepad for making lists.
The basic idea is to list anything at all that interests you during your day at the very moment you find out about it – whether that’s a new band you should listen to, an interesting conversation you overheard, something you read in the newspaper or a new café that you might like to visit. Don’t wait to note it down later and don’t think it’s not worth making a note of. You can figure out whether it really is useful or not at a later date.
Once you’ve been keeping a list this way for a while, you’ll be able to consult it when you are struggling to come up with ideas. A continually updated list is an absolute goldmine for these situations!
Read A Lot: Don’t limit yourself to writing only. Good writers feed off each other and reading a lot can help you come up with tons of ideas. Read widely and you’ll probably find it’s even better. Best of all, read something that challenges your ideas about something and it’ll be sure to generate great article ideas for you.
Stay Alert: Keep your eyes and ears open wide at all times. Pay attention to everything, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Keeping alert to possible ideas whenever and wherever you are can help immeasurably with inspiration. Almost every day will turn up something of interest.
Ask Lots Of Questions: Don’t take things for granted. Get into the habit of asking questions about anything and everything. Why isn’t that abandoned old building being used for something? How did this banana get all the way to the supermarket? How is this computer made? What kinds of bacteria live in the fridge? The more questions you ask, the better. Every question asked is a potential article idea!
Ask Others: If you’re really stumped for ideas, then ask other people what’s on their mind. Better still, just flat out ask them if they’ve got any good suggestions for something you could write about. Most people will be happy to offer up ideas and you can have a chat while you’re at it!
If you only have room in your head to remember one of these ideas though, make it to keep lists! No matter how many ideas you come up with, if you don’t keep track of those ideas you’ll end up losing them. Keep your ideas written down and you’ll be able to turn to them whenever you find the need!