10 Sources for Blog Ideas to Fill Your Content Calendar
Discovering fresh blog topics consistently can drain your creative energy and consume valuable time. If you're managing a business while aiming to publish multiple posts weekly, researching ideas becomes challenging. Even after investing hours in keyword research and reviewing countless newsletters, inspiration remains elusive.
Fortunately, numerous resources exist to fuel your content strategy. Here are ten approaches to consider:
1. Redo Old Blog Topics
Revisiting previous content from a year or longer ago offers substantial advantages. Refreshing older pieces delivers SEO benefits including:
- Enhanced ranking potential for stagnant content
- Improved user experience and engagement
- Elimination of outdated information misaligned with your brand
Begin by analyzing Google Analytics and Google Search Console to identify underperforming articles. Keyword research tools can highlight content with ranking potential. Determine whether posts need minor expansion or substantial revision requiring re-research and republication with proper URL redirects.
2. Answer an FAQ
Customer conversations represent valuable content mines. Marcus Sheridan exemplifies this approach—during the 2008 recession, his pool company redirected advertising budget toward blogging. By addressing customer questions directly, particularly "How much does a fiberglass pool cost?", his strategy succeeded dramatically.
Compile customer FAQs and develop blog posts addressing them. These articles serve double purposes: answering search queries while supporting sales communications.
3. Interview a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Expert interviews strengthen content authenticity and satisfy Google's E-A-T criteria. Content options include:
- Interview transcripts (quick and straightforward)
- Expert roundups featuring multiple perspectives
- Multi-part series exploring different subtopics
Interviewees become natural promoters of your content, organically expanding reach and potentially earning additional backlinks.
4. Participate in Blog Exchanges
Blog swaps allow strategic partners to share content, exposing both parties to new audiences. Ensure exchanged posts prioritize information over promotion, feature complementary but non-competing businesses, and align with partner expertise.
5. Expand Upon a Social Media Thread
Social conversations generate constant discussion opportunities. Monitor Twitter, Reddit, and influencer activity within your industry. Research trending topics, formulate your perspective, and develop blog posts. Cite social media posts within your article and tag referenced individuals when promoting to earn shares and engagement.
6. Recap (or Promote) an Event
Whether hosting, participating, or attending events, create recaps extending ROI. Avoid generic headlines like standard event recaps—instead, lead with the most valuable takeaway or memorable quote. Help readers immediately understand what they missed and why your post matters.
7. Break Down an Ebook
Transform existing ebook chapters into individual blog posts. Elaborate on subtopics with additional facts, examples, and perspectives. Individual blogs increase discoverability through search engines while maintaining your complete ebook offering.
8. Take Inspiration from Podcasts
Explore industry-related podcasts for interesting perspectives, trends, and hot takes. Quote relevant segments and include podcast links within articles. Written content appeals to visual learners seeking alternative formats for the same information.
9. Conduct a Survey or Study
Well-executed surveys attract backlinks, attention, and establish topical authority through proprietary data. Utilize platforms like Typeform for distribution. Popular survey types include:
- Preference and opinion polls on trending topics
- Habit, behavior, device usage, and demographic studies
- Professional or consumer insight questionnaires
Present findings in written and visual formats with thorough context.
10. Discuss Company Learnings
Audiences connect with brands displaying human qualities. Research indicates consumers perceiving brands as human are 2.1 times more likely to love them and 1.6 times more likely to purchase.
Share past company assumptions proven wrong or mistakes encountered during growth. This unique content approach connects personally with readers while providing valuable guidance for businesses facing similar challenges.
The Bottom Line
Blog ideas remain abundant when you know where to look. Leverage resources, tools, and daily interactions to identify topics. Maintain a running list inspired by people and sources you encounter regularly, and consider using tools to support content creation and keyword exploration.