Written by:
2009/09/09 09:50 AM 

I’m sure you have been there. Writers block, or bloggers block. You have run out of inspirational ideas to write about. What do you do? The thing about blogging is that it is  a continual struggle to get inspirational ideas to keep those readers interested. Yes you can write stuff, but stuff does not cut it. People are not interested in stuff. They want real meat, they want inspiration.

There are just so many areas where we can find that inspiration for our next great post. We just have to be open minded about it and in-tune. Some you might be familiar with but never actually used, some you might think is actually bizarre.

Grab yourself a pen and note pad. You will need this to write down those post ideas. Writing them down helps to keep them fresh and serves as that all important reminder when you have forgotten.

Below is a list of of 21 place where you can find that inspiration. I plan to expand on each of these points in the weeks ahead. Some more than others, so look out for that, it will certainly improve your blog.

1. Personal Experience  - Your experience counts for much. You know your topic and niche. Dig deep.
2. Your own blog comments – You will be surprised what topics you can find to write about. Your readers will ask questions, make suggestions or even change the topic.
3. Google and Yahoo News – Keep in touch as to what is important out there, what people are reading. Hot topics. Write about them, find a different angle.
4. Yahoo answers. - Tons of unanswered questions.  Many of your readers and potential new readers will have the same. Write posts that answer those questions in more depth. This is great search juice.
5. Google Trends and Google Alerts Yahoo buzz – These guys are great for inspiration. You can see what’s hot and what’s not, what people are searching for. What are the top searches?
6. Social Networking  - Twitter, Gatorpeeps, Facebook, Friendfeed. People talk. They pour their hearts out. They promote their blog posts. Fantastic ideas there, just open your eyes and look.
7. Other Niche Blogs – Goes without saying. Follow other people read their blogs. You don’t know everything out there.
8. RSS Feeds – Subscribe to a few. Scan them for ideas.
9. Social Bookmark Sites - Digg, Stumbleupon, etc. Users around the world bump up important and great stories. Stumble through a few websites, You will be pleasantly surprised.
10. Magazines – Read a few magazines that apply to your topic.  Loads of stories to write about.
11. Forums/News Groups/Usenet Related to your topic – Join a forum. Many questions answered there. Not only can you build up your credibility, but turn those questions into a great blog post.
12. Search Engines  - Just search around your topic. See what comes up.
13. The Mall – See what people are doing. Examine shops and advertising. Listen. Observe.
14. Talk Shows – What are people talking about?  How would you help them? Who would you interview?
15. Watch Your competitors blog and site – This is a biggie. Use your competitor to your advantage. Agree or disagree with what they write. Improve on their writing.
16. LinkedIn Communities  - Tons of questions to answer.
17. Blog Statistics  - See which posts bring in the most traffic. Write another one, a different angle.
18. Article Directories – ezinearticles  - So many articles and tutorials.
19. Friends and Family – A great source of inspiration, controversy, argument, praise . Use it all.
20. Blog Promotion Tools – Tools like Pimpthisblog, Technorati, dotnetshout (or similar) can show you what the top posts are and who the top bloggers are.
21. Emails  - Questions being asked, questions you have answered. Even spam. You can get a lot of ideas out of spam mail.

Stay tuned. We are going to expand on these a lot more. Believe me, when we are finished your head will explode. It will be full of ideas. You will be chomping at the bit, eager to get going and blog till your fingers are raw.

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