Bored with your blog? Uh-oh. Instead of ignoring or abandoning it, here is the second of 2 posts on some fun new ideas that will reinvigorate your blog and jumpstart your creativity.

1. Follow popular trends

Look at Twitter or Google Trends to see what topics people are talking about and looking for. If you find something related to your industry, share your perspective on the trend. If not, think of a way to relate what you do to that trend, like “What Gardeners Can Learn From Lady Gaga.” (For the record, I have no idea!)

2. Recycle old blog posts into a new one

Pull your top advice from several older blog posts on one subject and combine them into a new post. You could find that you have so much information on the subject that actually have an ebook in the making.

3. Review a movie or TV show

When “The Social Network” came out, I think everyone I knew in the social media space wrote a review of the movie. If a movie or TV show is set in your industry, review it and point out what they get right and what they get wrong.

4. Review new or old books

Books are also great to review, as there are so many of them published every year. It is highly unlikely your blog audience keeps tabs on what is new and noteworthy, so do the legwork for them. You can also review older books that have been invaluable for your job, career, or business.

5. Review and compare products or services from one category

Take a look at all the products or services that you use and look up the other top sellers. Try out the competition and write a blog post that compares them on features, ease of use, price, and results.

6. Publish industry trends

You know what’s going on in your industry, so share your insights on growing trends, whether they’re here to stay or just a passing fad, and how it will affect the industry and your customers.

7. Tell your own stories

Some of my favorite blog posts and articles have been based on personal stories. Whether it’s a challenge you overcame to close a big sale, secure funding, land a star employee, or reach an audacious goal, share your experience and what you learned along the way.

Now that you’ve got 14 new ideas for blog posts (check out the first 7 here), which ones are you eager to try?

Image courtesy of wisegeek.org

If you’ve been blogging for a while, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut and develop writer’s block. Coming up with new topics all the time – that is hard! To jump-start your creative juices, I’ve put on my thinking cap and done some research to present you with new ideas.

Here is the first of two blog posts that will help reinvigorate your blog:

1. Designate days or weeks for certain topics

Depending on how often you blog, you could choose a specific subject for each day of the week, or, if you blog once a week, each week of the month.  By giving yourself more structure around topics, it might be easier to come up with blog post ideas.

2. Let Google Analytics be your guide

Look at the traffic on your website to see what pages Web visitors are not only visiting, but spending the most time on, and write blog posts based on your findings.

3. Write a beginner’s guide

Jot down all the basics anyone just starting out in your field needs, whether it’s online tools, legal paperwork, or steps that should be followed in a certain order. In other words, help people avoid the mistakes you made when you were just starting out!

4. Interview experts

You’d be surprised at how eager experts are to share their knowledge with others. While this might not work for some industries – good luck getting Steven Spielberg or Ralph Lauren on the phone – this might very well work for yours.

You can use expert interviews in one of two ways: a full-length interview of one expert (consisting of several questions) or the same one or two questions asked of several experts compiled into one or two blog posts.

5. Interview employees

If your employees are highly specialized in a specific niche, interview them. You could ask how they got started in their field, what they wished they’d known back then, what they’ve learned, and where they think the industry is headed.

6. Write about how to improve something

If there’s something you just can’t stand that is industry-specific – an online tool, “best practice,” widely used methodology, or “definitive” book – write a blog post about why it’s  overrated and how you would improve it or do it differently.

7. Republish popular posts

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you have a treasure trove of material that you can reuse. Pick posts that were super popular when they originally appeared and are still relevant, and republish them for new readers.

What are your favorite types of blog posts to write – and read? Tune in tomorrow for 7 more ideas.

Image courtesy of wisegeek.org