How to come up with blog post ideas

Posted on: January 31, 2022

Last Updated on: May 31st, 2022

Post Category: Student Experience

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During one of my intro meetings yesterday, I was asked how I come up with ideas to write about for my blog. And so I wrote a post just about that!

Blogging is one of the best ways to share your passion, share your experience and build your personal brand! In this short blog post, I will cover three methods I use to come up with new (and, I guess, at least, somewhat creative) ideas to write about. Feel free to navigate to a section you find more interest in:

1. Dump your mind – have your thoughts written out
2. Offer a helping hand
3. Supplement your upcoming projects with a reflection/learnings blog post, followed with some closing remarks

1. Dump your mind – have your thoughts written out

This point takes inspiration from ‘The Productivity Project’ by Chris Bailey, and ‘Getting Things Done’ by David Allen – both very impactful self-help books. The simple premise is that whenever you have a thought about an idea or topic you feel you want or should be writing about, externalise the thought. Then set some time later in the day/week for you to review these thoughts; this will provide you with a bank of ideas to further explore and ultimately decide the next steps i.e. whether you should pursue the idea or not.

In ‘The Productivity Project’, there is a bullet point labelled ‘Notepads Everywhere’ where Bailey talks about capturing ideas when they come.

“Ideas, tasks, and insights only have value when you capture and then act on them. Keeping notepads everywhere has helped me hold on to a ton of them.”

– Chris Bailey, The Productivity Project, 2016

In Bailey’s case, he captures these “open loops” using his phone during his productive prime time (during the day) and many notepads placed around the house during the night. Though it doesn’t have to be this resource intensive, you can simply capture any ideas that come using your phone – with apps like Notes, OneNote and Notion. So, if you are considering using these apps or are currently using them, set up a new page/list where you can capture ideas.

It is also important to remember that you shouldn’t second guess or restrict what you write down. The point is to have an idea bank you can look through and examine at a LATER stage. And who knows? Perhaps a silly idea might evolve into a piece you find interesting to write about.

For me personally, I capture all my new ideas for blog posts using sticky notes in OneNote and look through them every once in a while for me to block out times to nut out a first draft. And as of now, a few of my blog posts are in the works, set to be published in the coming weeks! If you are someone who doesn’t enjoy having brainstorming sessions, perhaps a system/method as above may be a helpful alternative!

2. Offer a helping hand

Have you ever been asked a question about your experience? Well, consider making blog posts in response to them! If not, think about some of the exposure and experience you have had in the past, and see if you can create a resource for someone who is interested but may not have as much exposure/experience.

This can be anything: a conference you attended, the application process for a particular firm, an online course you took, or even a life-changing event you have experienced with your learnings.

Thinking about how you can help others and answer questions is a good starting point when coming up with ideas. And if you do choose to publish posts expanding on these ideas, it becomes an easy-to-access resource you can share when people ask about your experience.

3. Supplement your upcoming projects with a reflection/learnings blog post

Much like the previous point, think about your upcoming projects or the things you are planning to explore in the near future. You can use these future events to think about blog posts you could write to tie in with the experience.

As different examples, these events can include: a certification exam you are going to take or a networking event you hope to attend

Ultimately, think about the experiences you have to date and the opportunities you are pursuing and are going to pursue, and explore the possibility of having a blog post attached to them.

I sometimes find it useful to have to-publish dates on my calendar for blog posts tied to a future project, as it helps me commit to completing them.

Closing off…

Coming up with ideas for content to post can be difficult – especially when you try and nut out your first couple of posts! Perhaps when you’re thinking, you feel you have to be original and write something no one else has written before. Perhaps in the back of your head, when you’re trying to think of a topic you’re knowledgeable/passionate about, you also don’t want to be called out and feel like an impostor.

But ultimately, while there are bigger influencers and more expert posts floating around, there is always someone who is going to less knowledgeable and experienced than you at something – ESPECIALLY when you own that something. And so writing a blog post can be very helpful for them to learn and gain some insight!

So don’t hold back when you have a thought/idea of a new post – write it down. And don’t hold back when you want to write about your experience – go for it.