I  have been blogging for several years and find that my blog isn’t really going anywhere. In an attempt to unlock the riddle, I have subscribed to several blogs that promise to improve traffic, help with SEO key words, increase readership, and of course the most elusive of all – earn revenue.

Suddenly last week my mail box was filled with   “TIPS on how to make your blog grow”. Topping the list was the advice to have catchy titles with several templates which you could customise appropriately , and la voila you had a catchy title. Chief among the templates for catchy titles was the suggestion that Titles with  Numbers and How To posts were more likely to get traffic.

I thought I’d carry out an experiment and came up with this post.

All of us at some time in our blogging lives reach some kind of a dead end. Suddenly the creative juices seem to dry up and after posts and posts of content, you actually ask your self “What do I blog about? ”  “What does my audience really want? ”

Looking into my own Idea Bank, (which is real life itself) I came up with this list :

5 Best places to find ideas/inspiration for blog posts.

1. The Newspaper and by extension the Television

I came upon this idea purely by accident this morning when I found two very interesting infographics – One on the increase of smart phones and consequent decrease of PCs and another which gave a statewise breakup of horticultural produce in India. Wow ! I thought, here I’ve already found two topics to write about in my two blogs? Why didn’t I read the newspapers all this while? I realised that  this is a no-brainer really because both these sources are rich in information that is topical and likely to be of interest to your readers. In addition,infographics can be accessed online from the newspaper’s online edition and easily cut and pasted into position!
d from the newspaper’s on line edition , making it an easy to access and use resource.

Similarly, while television is a source of news, it also generates many topics that call for discussion such as social issues, events or people. If you are not into television news, watching entertainment programs also throw up many ideas.

2. The Elevator or lift.

I live in a tall building with a very slow lift. Very often while travelling in the lift I get ideas for blogging. Sometimes it is a conversation I have with a neighbour, sometimes it is just boredom that makes me think of things . Whatever it is, being in a closed space often limits your thought process, thereby making your thinking a more intense experience. I also get ideas while waiting for the lift.

A similar resource is the lift or elevator in an office building.

 

3. The restroom

As young children my brother and I made several road trips with our parents. Naturally when the car stopped, we both ran to the nearest rest rooms and came back and immediately discussed what the loos were like. Since then,I’ve found the rest room a fascinating place where people often air their views quite openly. 

Surprisingly this is one place where you can eavesdrop on several conversations from which you can write a blog post. Sometimes you hear one liners, wise cracks or even over hear gossip that can inspire many a post – Jealousy, adultery, embezzelment – the possibilities are endless as somehow people always feel that the others in the room are either deaf or just not interested in what is being said around them.

4. The market place

For centuries the market place has been a great place for information about local happenings. Local markets or even sterile Malls are a great source for blog topics. You can discuss consumer behaviour, describe your own shopping experience, review products share information that is useful to other consumers regarding Sales/Events etc etc.

The Wet Market or vegetable market that most of us are familiar with also provides many opportunities for colourful and interesting photos

 

5.The Gym

In my experience, the gym is like the local dhobighat where men and women come to wash their linen in public. What is it about the gym that lets people hang it all out?  This is another place where people tend to talk loudly about general topics. While I’m unsure about what the men talk, I know that Food and Diets are topics of great interest in the gym. Other popular topics are holiday destinations, in laws, relationship disasters , schools, children and …… you get the drift – almost any topic under the sun.

So there you have it :

If you are stuck for ideas for a blog, the best thing to do is

1. Read the Newspaper or watch some television
2. Visit the Rest Room often in the day
3. Go up and down the elevator a few times
4. Walk around the market place or a popular local Mall
5. Hit the Gym

 

And of course, if you still don’t get any ideas to blog about – just give up blogging!

p.s. Do you think my experiment will succeed? 

 

I am linking this to #MondayMusings which has now officially shifted over from Write Tribe to Everyday Gyaan. 

Would you like to take part in #MondayMusings? Here’s how it works:

• Write a post sharing your thoughts – happy, sad, philosophical, ‘silly’ even. Make it as personal as possible.
• Use the hashtag #MondayMusings.
• Add your link to the linky which you will find at Everyday Gyaan hosted by Corinne
• Use the #MondayMusings badge to encourage other bloggers join in too.
• Visit and comment on the posts of other bloggers linked.
• Share the love.

Please visit  today’s co-host  #MondayMusings with Shalini of Tale of Two Tomatoes and comment on her post too.