One of the biggest mental blocks most business owner’s face when creating blog posts is…coming up with the topic ideas. You can stare at that blank document with your fingers resting on the keyboard for a good 30 minutes, squinting your eyes and wracking your brain trying to come up with something to put down that will impress the masses! It's easy to become discouraged or frustrated and push it off until tomorrow. Unfortunately, that "tomorrow" gets farther and farther away and before you know it, it's been 2 months since your last blog post.

Have no fear. Today we have a list of 5 best practices to help you stockpile a ton of ideas so you never have to stare down that plank page ever again.

1. Compile a list of FAQ's - There's a reason these are called "frequently asked questions”. If more than 1 person has asked you the same question in a meeting or at an event, it's likely a lot of other people want to know the answer as well. Think about questions you get asked daily in your job or at your business and jot them down to create an easy list of topics.  *If you are not the one ‘touching’ the customers/clients it’s also a great idea to include your salespeople and/or project managers in this list gathering activity!

2. Utilize your bookmarks folder - Like I mentioned last week, bookmarking relevant articles and websites is a very underutilized tool. Create a special bookmark folder called "Blog Ideas" and save anything that isn't timely to it. Bookmarking content ideas with a long shelf life will ensure that you'll always have something relevant to post when you need ideas.

3. Pull up your notes app - Despite the fact that we use our phones for everything else in life, for some reason we often forget to use it for storing information on the go. When you're out during the day, quickly pull up the notes app on your phone to jot down ideas or questions that come to mind. Even if you end up throwing some of them out you won't forget the stroke of genius you had in line at Dunkin Donuts. 

4. Sign up for industry newsletters - Find some newsletters related to your industry and sign up for them. Even if you don't read them everyday, you know you can always quickly pull them up for a list of relevant articles and content.  *Or, join groups on the social media platforms you’re active on – even if you don’t participate on a regular basis, these can be great resources as well!

5.  Stalk your competition - Google other businesses in your sphere and see what they're writing about. Look at content that people are responding to and see if you can expand upon it. Have another (better) way of doing something? Use that as a springboard for your next post. Notice a topic that isn't getting a lot of attention? Cross that off the list and don't waste your time.

6.  Or…Get a ‘Year’s Worth of Blogspiration’ – Download our completely FREE PDF to get an entire year’s worth of blog ideas so you'll never end up staring at a blank screen again.

In our free PDF you’ll: Get organized, save time and start putting out more original content designed to drive more website traffic, and convert that traffic into more sales.

• A full year's worth of blogs ideas designed to drive more traffic to your website, engage more customers and get more sales! 
•  A bank of blog ideas ready to go at a moment's notice (no more staring at a blank screen with writer's block.

Stop procrastinating and wasting time! Start creating more original content that converts.