One Great Source of Ideas You Might Not Have Considered - DailyBlogTips

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One Great Source of Ideas You Might Not Have Considered Posted: 07 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT Right now, I've got dozens of blog post ideas sitting in a spreadsheet on my computer. It took me next to no time to gather them … and I know that they're spot-on for my audience. How? I surveyed my readers, and one of the questions I asked was what they wanted me to write about. Of course, not everyone wrote down an idea. But many of them did – lots of great ideas that I might not have considered myself. And it took me just seconds to download all those ideas into a spreadsheet. Have you ever tried this? If your blog's new, or if your readers don't seem very engaged, you might be reluctant to give it a go – but even a few responses can be enough to give you some extra blogging inspiration. I use SurveyMonkey to run simple surveys, with a mix of multiple-choice questions to gain insight into what broad topics my readers might be interested in (fiction, non-fiction, blogging…) and open-ended questions so they can tell me what's on their mind. What if You Have Very Few Readers? Perhaps your blog is brand new – or not so brand new, but you're struggling to get any readers. In this case, head to a big blog in your niche. Read through the comments on some recent posts and look for: What questions are readers asking? What topics have clearly struck a chord? Is there anything that readers clearly don't like to read about? Comment sections can often be a gold mine of ideas and inspiration. Even spending just five or ten minutes browsing comments today could be enough to stock you up on ideas for the rest of the week. How Can You Tell if An Idea Will Be Popular? Sometimes, the ideas that you'll be given are ones that only apply to one reader (or a very small number of readers). You need to use your own judgment in figuring out which ones will work. Consider: Did several readers ask a similar question or offer a similar suggestion? Is this topic one which makes you think "Oh yes, I struggled with that when I was new, too." Does the idea fall well within the scope of your blog? If you can answer "Yes" to one or more of those, you're probably onto a winning idea. So … your turn! Run a survey (or even a post focused on readers) to ask what they want to see on your blog. If your blog is too new for that, or if you haven't launched your blog yet, take a look at the comments on larger blogs that cover the same topics as you. And, if you've got any questions that you'd like to see me answer in a future post, or any topic suggestions related to blog content, I'd love to have them! Pop a comment below… Ali Luke writes a regular column for DailyBlogTips. If you need a bit more blogging (or writing) inspiration, check out her post on 12 Sure-Fire Ways to Find Great Ideas for Your Writing over on her own blog Aliventures. Original Post: One Great Source of Ideas You Might Not Have Considered

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