As part of SEO best practices, you need to update your website on a regular basis with meaningful content. One way to do this is through writing regular blog posts. Unfortunately, it becomes difficult to generate blog post ideas after a while. So, what should you do when this happens? Here are 8 ways to come up with new blog post ideas week after week.

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1. Survey Your Audience

You want to generate ideas for posts that your readers want to read. So, why not get ideas from your readers? Find out what they want to learn more about. You could write a post on social media asking them to share their problems or questions (related to your area of expertise). Find out what issues they’re struggling with right now, so you can write content that will help them with viable solutions.

2. Review Old Posts

Look over your most popular posts. What made them so popular? Take notes on these posts to find out what speaks to your readers. You could also expand on an idea within the post. Or, read through the post comments to find ideas based on your readers’ reactions.

3. Interview Experts

Look for experts in your field. Find out if they would be willing to let you interview them. You could post the interview on your blog, or use the interview to discover different topics that you could delve into further in your posts.

4. Build Personal Connections

Your readers want to know the person behind the posts. They want to build a connection with you, which you can do through your blog posts. Use your posts to tell your readers about yourself. Don’t just introduce yourself; tell your readers about things that you’ve learned, experiences that you’re having, or thoughts that you’ve been pondering. Let your readers get into your head and create a relationship with you through your posts.

5. Browse Competitors’ Sites

What topics is your target audience interested in reading about? Check out your competitors’ blog posts to find out. What discussions are the most interesting? What are their most popular blog posts? Also, see if they have received any questions from their readers.

If you don’t know your competitors, there are sites you can use to see what posts are trending in your industry. For example, check out Alltop, Pinterest, or Twitter. On Twitter, search hashtags to see what people are saying about certain keywords related to your blog.

6. Search for Popular Keywords

If you don’t know what keywords people are searching in your field, you can find out by looking at the Google autosuggest results. Or, use sites like Keyword.io, Ubersuggest, or Keyword Guru. On these sites, all you have to do is type in a keyword. Then, the site provides lists of the most common searches involving that word. Use these words to generate ideas for your next post that people will be searching for online.

7. Try Blog Post Generators

Once you have the keywords you want to write about, head over to a blog post generator website. Type in the keyword, and these blog post generators will offer ideas for your topics and blog post titles. Some of these blog post generator sites are HubSpot, Portent, and Inbound Now.

8. Read

One of the best ways to generate ideas is to read. Subscribe to niche magazines, pick up books at the library, read the news, and scan through social media sites. Stay on top of the latest news in your field, so you can discuss these topics with your readers. The more you know, the more information you’ll have to share.

How do you come up with your blog post ideas? What do you do when you’re having writer’s block? Share your ideas in the comments below.