I’m taking a break from my normal holiday/seasonal related blog post ideas this month. Mainly because the only ideas I could think of for Mother’s and Father’s day are gift guides. So, post those if it fits your blog. There’s also Memorial Day coming up, which could provide some post topics for you too.
Today though, let’s talk about how I come up with blog posts ideas that always generate search traffic: answer a question.
Questions make great blog posts.
Questions make fabulous blog posts because they genuinely help people and are usually easy to write. Think about the things you search for in Google, how many of those searches are questions? Most of them, right? People are always asking Google questions, might as well provide them with the answers in your blog posts!
How to come up with questions for your posts.
Let’s go over 4 ways to find questions to answer as a blog post:
Forums
Join forums related to your blogging niche and start paying attention to what people are talking about in those groups. They could be actual forums, Facebook groups, or Google+ communities. My husband’s 80 something Grandma even uses forums. Just the other day she was telling me about quilting forum group she was a part of. She explained that she loved how everyone shares their projects and asks/answers each other’s questions.
Bonus: not only can you get ideas for posts from forums, but you can also reach out to new readers who might not have found your blog otherwise, like Devin’s 80 something Grandma.
I still remember the first time someone created a blog post based off a question I asked in a forum. I felt super special and like I helped change the world. You can make someone feel that special too! (Obviously, don’t spam forums – be a genuine contributor.) Plus, if they had the question, chances are someone else will too.
Your area of expertise
As a wedding florist, I make ribbon bows all the time. I created a simple tutorial: “How to make a bow” and it quickly became a popular post on my floral blog. Think of the things you know how to do really well or are very familiar with that others might want to learn and create a blog post about that subject.
Feel free to substitute “how” with what, where, when, why and “do” with can, should, etc.
- Braid my own hair
- Cook asparagus
- Stay organized
- Play with my baby
- Wear a scarf
Figure it out on your own
I’m sure you’ve all had one of those questions that you can’t find an answer to anywhere, so you figure it out on your own. For me, it was how to change your Pinterest board cover pictures. It used to be super easy and you just hovered over the board image and it prompted you to change the picture. Then Pinterest updated and it didn’t work that way.
You probably already knew how to change the picture, but it drove me bonkers. Once I figured out the solution, I created a tutorial (plus why it is important to change your board picture regularly) and published it on this blog. I get search traffic to that post every single day.
When I figure out the best way to cut a mango – I will do a blog post on that too. Even though it doesn’t match the content of this blog. I’ve tried a billion methods and I still think cutting a mango is a pain (if this is your area of expertise, please post the tutorial for me and I’ll love you forever).
Comments
Watch for common questions readers ask on your blog posts. If you are a fashion blogger and notice people asking on every post where you get your cute accessories, do a whole post on where to find accessories.
If you are a food blogger, you might notice readers always asking for ingredient substitutes. I see this question ALL the time when I am reading the comments on recipes, “What can I use as a substitute for oil?”
Your question post might not be popular – at first
Here’s my little disclaimer on posts that are answering a question. Your regular readers might not be that excited about the post. Or, it might not be Pinterest popular. Back to my Pinterest cover board example – it was a DUD with my newsletter subscribers, twitter followers, and repins. However, a few months later it is bringing in solid Google search traffic.
Depending on your site, it could take a while to start noticing search traffic to that post. But, if your site is optimized you should see search traffic landing on your question post (here’s how to see what people search for to get to your blog).
Have you created a blog post that answers a question? What was the question? How is it performing?
Need help coming up with blog post ideas? I’ve got you covered! Enter the Blog Post Ideas Year Guide. The guide isn’t any ordinary list of things you could blog about. I performed keyword research for the top things related to specific seasons/holidays. The 20-page idea book is full of ideas people are actually Googling. This will help you grow your blog because you will be writing posts that people are interested in reading. They are looking for the answers/ideas to these topics.
Blog Post Ideas Year Guide
Sign up below and I’ll send you the year guide with a great section on Holiday and Chistmas Blog Posts, plus helpful tips for coming up with blog posts that people are searching for.
I’ve written two question posts. I’m a crocheter so I found a picture of a woman who I thought looked like a crocheter and asked “Is this what a crocheter looks like?” It got great views so far.
On my mommy blog I posted “Who else feels more like a zookeeper than a mom some days?” It took got great views! Not many comments, but great views which to me is half the battle.
Glad you’re getting great views on those posts! They are both questions people can relate too. Getting views is most of the battle! Keep it up.
Hi Kristie,
Actually, I know how to PEEL a mango easily and I would be more than happy to share the technique. You simply run your knife lengthwise from the stem of the mango all the way down to the base. Make 4 or 5 of these lengthwise slits around the mango. You just want to make lengthwise slits into the mango skin with your knife without cutting into the yellow, fleshy part. Then peel each piece of the skin and enjoy your fruit.
One note: If you start cutting into the yellow, fleshy part of the mango as you are slicing into the skin, it will become too difficult to peel.
Hope this non-video tutorial helped.
I KNEW somone could help me. I’ll try it out and let you know. Haha!
Thanks! This was really helpful…I am taking the challenge so stay tuned!
This really helps me. I can I for the life of me think of things to post about and when I do think of things, it takes me a while to publish is….the forum info is great…thanks!!!
Great suggestions! Can’t wait to check out forums for ideas. How would you go about posting your blog-post answer in a forum? Answer most of the question and then provide the link for more details? Just curious. Thanks!
Yes Mandy, that is how I would do it. I think briefly explaining with a link allows it to not seem spamy, but encourages them to visit your site.
I did a post and video about How to Paint Ikat Patterns and it’s constantly getting Pinned and Searched on Google…it’s a popular post for me because it was something I wanted to know how to do, figured out, and then shared 🙂
That’s AWESOME Deonna! Glad answering a question is bringing you traffic.