It's often not easy to come up with new online content regularly. In the post I tell you how I come up with new content ideas for my Webflow blog.
I've been blogging about Webflow, freelancing and design for quite a while now. I usually publish a new blog post twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and try to write at least three posts in advance that I then schedule via Webflow's scheduling feature.
Working with Notion, I have a long list of possible blog post ideas that I add to whenever I've got a new topic I'd like to write about in the future. But how do I actually come up with new blog post ideas? There are five methods you can use to find new ideas, which I want to share with you in this blog post.
Go through forums and online groups. If you're a freelance designer you possible are already a member of many online forums and groups that are focused on topics like Webflow or web design. It's easy to have a look through these groups - for instance on Facebook - to see what questions are being asked by members. Especially questions that have been asked many times and/or that often require a lengthy explanation or answer are great candidates for blog posts. It's quite helpful to take a screenshot of one of the threads to store for when it's time to write the post. There are also times when you can post a link to your finished blog post as the answer to someone's question. This helps the person looking for answers, as well as other group members who might be wondering the same thing as well. As a little side effect people who haven't heard of you or the blog before are introduced to what you are doing. Some Facebook groups I can recommend are "Webflow Designers (Global)", and "Freelancing Females". It's also useful to look for new blog post ideas in the official Webflow forum. Of course depending on the topic you're blogging about you should choose forums and groups that are relevant to your audience.
Look at other people's content. Don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying to copy other people content. Don't do that! However it can be quite helpful to see what other content creators are doing. Are there similar topics you could tackle and give your own voice to? Maybe you are wondering why your favorite design blogger isn't talking about X - so maybe you can do that? Or perhaps the content creator has done a video or blog post about a really interesting topic but wasn't able to get his message across very well in your yes. You could do your own take on the subject and create a piece of content you'd like to see online. Remember to use other people's posts as inspiration and see how you can add value for people through your own writing.
Keeping up to date with what's happening around you. Did your design tool of choice just come out with a new feature? Has your country introduced a new law for contractors? Are you changing processes in your freelance business or design agency due to what's happened due to Covid-19? If things are happening around you that impact you and your business - either positively or negatively - there is a chance it impacts other people as well. So why not write about your experiences and possible solutions to some of the challenges you have faced? And you don't need to have all the answers - often it is enough if you show other people that you face the same issues as they do and you're all in the same boat.
Write about what you've learned. Are you currently trying to get your head around doing XYZ in your design tool or bookkeeping software? Write a blog post about what you have discovered. Maybe even include screenshots, or a short video to make it easier for people to follow what you're doing. Chances are your audience is also interested in how to do XYZ and you're the one who can show them how to do it. Teach what you know.
Ask your audience. You could also go to forums and groups and ask people what they always wanted to know about subject ZXY or what most confused them about topic XYZ. There's a good chance you'll get some useful answers that you can repurpose into a blog post. Maybe even let people know after you've published your post that you've got a possible answer to their question.
I hope these suggestions have helped you go on the hunt for new blog post or video ideas. It's super useful to have a simple notepad with you as well, so you can briefly write down any ideas that come to mind. This is especially useful if you're not in front of your computer. You don't want to forget any of the great ideas you've had and you can still move your topic ideas over to your computer (I use the tool Notion for this) later down the track.
Happy creating! And if you have more ideas on how to come up with new topics for online content: shoot me a message.
