Create a Blogging Mind Map & Never Run out of Blogging topics again!
When you first start blogging, coming up with fresh, unique blogging topics is going to be one of your biggest challenges (unless you are a constant stream of blog posts..I’m jealous). Sure at first you may have a dozen or so topics & headlines you want to use..but after your first initial brain dump, coming up with fresh blog posts can be tough.
One of the tricks that I use to generate more blog topics is to create a mind map, which is a form of brainstorming! Essentially I start by writing down the main topics of my blog and then continue to break those topics into sub-topics. At that point, I break out all of the sub-topics and create a handful of headlines for each one.
1. Start by writing down your main topics. These are the topics that you write about most often and the topics that your readers have come to expect from you. Got them written down yet? Depending on what niche you are in, you may only have 1 main topic or maybe you write about many. You’ll want to start with at least a couple to get you going.
For example: My main topics are Blogging, Motherhood, & Entrepreneurship.
2. Now that we’ve written down our topics, it’s time to create our mind map. Take a sheet of paper and write down your topics down the middle like in the picture above. Leave some space around your topics because you are about to get all mind mappy up in here and you’ll need some room for all of your brilliant ideas!
3. Start with your first topic & write down some sub-topics. These will be anything that falls under your main topic. Topics that your readers care about and are aligned with your blog’s mission.
For example: My main topic of blogging has the following sub-topics: Social Media, Traffic, Monetization, Hosting, etc. These are all sub-topics that I cover on my blog.
Once you’ve got the sub-topics written out, you will want to expand on those sub-topics into micro-topics. Don’t worry, this is the last step before we start the real brainstorming. So once again, take your sub-topics and break them up into 2-3 micro-topics.
Now that you’ve got your micro topics, it’s time to brainstorm. Now that you’ve narrowed down your field you can get laser focused on content for that particular micro-topic. I usually create a list of 5 titles for each micro-topic.
Now if you are completely stuck, you can do a couple of things to find out what articles people are reading and sharing in your niche by looking at the following websites:
BuzzSumo: In the Buzzsumo search bar enter your micro-topic and click submit. Buzz sumo will display the most popular blog articles in that niche. Take a look at the articles and see if there are any in there you can expand upon or make better.
You can search by timeframe (i.e. Last 6 months) and search by Social Network. For example, by sorting by social network you can see what type of content does well on Facebook & what does well on Pinterest, or Twitter.
Seeing this information should spark a few blog topics. So head back to your mind map and write them down before you forget.
Quora: Quora is a website that people go to ask questions. These questions are then answered by other members. If you are having trouble coming up with blog content, you can head over to Quora and do a quick search for your micro-topics. This should bring up a list of questions that other people have asked about your niche. Read through the questions and create a blog post for the ones that strike your fancy! Heck you could write a blog post based on every single question if you wanted to.
Pinterest: Whenever I get stuck with content ideas, I go to Pinterest and to a search for a micro-topic and take a look at what’s been written before and which ones are getting lots of re-pins. This almost always sparks some creativity!
If you do go with either of those strategies, makes sure that you are inspired & don’t simply copy someone else’s compelling headline. It’s always best to be original and fresh when writing headlines & blog posts.
Ok…so guess what ladies (and gents!) if you’ve followed the steps listed out above you should have yourself a good 20-30 blog post ideas. Plop those headlines into a calendar and BOOM…you now also have a content calendar. Pretty easy right?
I try to do this mind map thing once a month to keep things fresh.
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Really great ideas! I’m going to use this for my blog!
Love this idea!! I want to say I learned this many years ago when I was in high school. I have no idea why I didn’t think to use it! I just recently started a blog post journal where I write all my ideas down. It’s been working for me great so far, but this would be great to use for the writing of the actual post!
Thanks for the ideas!! Love this!
Thanks for the tips!! I will be sure to use these!!
Great tips. I am keeping this one…thanks!
Wow – what a great resource! Thank you so much for putting this together – I’ve never tried mapping OR heard of these websites. I’m excited to give it a try. 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Awesome! Happy to help 🙂
Great resource! Right now I have a little notebook that I carry around with half lists, random phrases, and titles. It works for me but it isn’t very organized.
A notebook is where I started too! 🙂
This is such an awesome resource to use when you’re running out of ideas for content! There have been a few times throughout the year when I get into a blogging rut and feel like I don’t have new content to put out! Thanks so much for your tips and tricks!
Yes..the mind map is great to get you out of a blogging rut!
I need to learn more about Adsense. I have it setup but I don’t know how to capitalize on it.
– Amanda Shuman | http://www.carrylovedesigns.com/blog
Thank you for giving me an idea for a blog post! 🙂
This is really smart! I did something similar but in a less pretty, messier way-haha. Thanks for all the great tips!
Haha..well your mind map can be as pretty or messy as you like it 🙂
Tools and ideas like this are very beneficial to me. Sometimes having a new way to think helps me generate new ideas.
Awesome, happy to help 🙂
Oh this is such a good idea! I definitely need to take the time to do this because I hate when I come across days with nothing to post. It would be nice to be able to avoid that altogether.
Shannon
Clothes & Quotes
Yes, it’s very helpful on days when you have writer’s block 🙂
these are great tips!! I carry around a little notebook at all times, but I like building it off common themes!
A notebook is a great resource too!
Wow this is a great idea!! Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to look into this more!
Great Lindsay! Thanks for the comment 🙂
This is such a genius idea!!!!! I never even thought about mapping out my topics and post ideas, I just always scribble things down on random pieces of paper. Can’t wait to try this out this weekend!
XO, Rachel
Haha..I’ve done my fair share of scribbling too! You are not alone 🙂
Don’t be jealous but I do seem to have a constant list of ideas for posts and not enough time to write them all! But many of my ideas come from unconsciously doing some of the things you mention. Like I’ll see something while just browsing on Pinterest and it sparks an idea for a post, or I’m talking to someone about something and realize it would make a good blog post!
Um..Becky. YES, I’m jealous! I get brain freezes all the time 🙂
I love this idea! I’ll have to do this during my next brainstorming session.
Awesome! I hope it works out for you 🙂
This is brilliant! Definitely using this tactic for my next brainstorm session! I have done fairly well the last year or so with keeping a list of topics on hand, and when in doubt, Pinterest!
LOL! Yes, Pinterest is a great resource 🙂
I love this and it will definitely help with my blog! I will definitely incorporate this into my world! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Yours works better, so changing to yours. Thanks
Great resources! I can see myself using BuzzSumo quite a bit 😀
Love this! Pinning, bookmarking and printing:) This is an area where I struggle. Thanks for the great ideas.
This is a great idea! Definitely using this!
This is a great post! Thank you so much for sharing this idea! I can’t wait to incorporate it into my blog planning!
Wow I’ve never thought of using something like this.
Such a great idea!
I love BuzzSumo too — I just need to get the paid version already.
xoxo, Jenny
This is such a great idea! Every time I get an idea, I write it down, but that doesn’t really help much with coming up with new topics.
I really love the organization and your logic and method working through this. I will have to bookmark this and use it in the future. Right now, my blog is so new that I have soooo many post ideas that I can’t write them fast enough. But, I know it’s because we’re just a month old. So, I will have to remember to reference this in the future once my ideas are all used up 🙂 Thank you!
Haha Kimberly! I am jealous 🙂
This is such a great idea!! And so simple. Awesome, thanks for the ideas.
Yes..a simply yet necessary exercise 🙂
Love it! This is so great I learned a ton reading this. Pinning this post for later so when I need to get some posts together I will know what to do. Thank you!
Oh thank you for the pin!
This is great! I’ve tried mind mapping before, but I’ve never really drilled down that far. Looks like I need to schedule some brainstorming time soon!
Yes..blocking out time strictly for brainstorming is a great exercise 🙂
This could not have come at a more perfect time for me! Thanks for the great idea!
Oh good! Hope it helps 🙂
This was helpful, I’m in the mist of trying to figure out about Affiliates and sponsors, and just how to make my blog turn into a money maker for me… It is overwhelming and time consuming, this should help a little more. thanks!
Hi Eloise! You might also find this post helpful as you try to figure out monetization 🙂 http://www.livingfornaptime.com/monetization/the-ultimate-guide-to-blog-monetization/
Great idea. You must be so organized – I always mean to do more planning and then life happens.
I love this post on mind mapping! It provides endless ideas for spectacular blog posts. It’s how I go about it too. But your mind maps are so much more beautiful than my chicken scratches in a notebook. And Buzzsumo is an excellent resource that I use every day. 🙂
While I’m not sure if this method would work for me, I can see how it would help a lot of people! It reminds me of the ‘webs’ we did in school as pre-writing for essays!
Great ideas!! I have to admit, I never understand when people say they run out of ideas to write about, but I think it’s also maybe niche-specific…? I have the opposite problem and always have way too much to write about! I’m about 2-3 months out on my editorial calendar right now and regularly overwhelmed. Mind mapping is such a great concept and you outline it so well.
Mind maps and concept maps goes along. However there are differences. You can find some concept mapping examples in the diagram community of Creately Concept Map Software
This is a wonderful tool. I always get nervous about running out of ideas. It would be a great idea to have a filled with future blog ideas.
I haven’t done any mind-mapping for ages!
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This is really helpful…and motivating. Totally pinned.
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Thanks for this. I still haven’t figured what content i want to write in my blog.
Genius! Thanks for the great tips. I am definitely making a mind map now.
Thank you.
MAny thanks for this, i was struggling too much before your article! Let’s Mind Map!