One of the biggest struggles of being a blogger is coming up with new content on a regular basis.

It’s hard to think of posts that are unique, something your subscribers want to see, and something you want to write about all in one. Sometimes the creative well just dries up.

But let me tell you something…

I never really had this problem. Let me show you how you never have to either…

You don’t have to always stress yourself out and rack your brain every week, as your post date approaches like an ominous opponent. You don’t have to skip weeks and weeks because you can’t think of new content in time.

I used to just make post drafts of each idea I got and wrote them out as needed, and that worked out okay for a while. But it was sporadic and unpredictable. I needed a more concrete system to be able to keep blogging without burnout.

So, at the beginning of 2020, I started monthly content brainstorming sessions. 

Here’s what that is:

At the end of every month, I sit down to plan out ALL of my content for the coming month. This is what I do, step by step. It’s really simple but it will help you better control your blogging to make it a more enjoyable, easier experience..

Step 01: Create your content calendar

It doesn’t matter if it’s a bullet journal, notebook, or specialized Google calendar, you need something to be able to plan out your content and see it all at a glance. I use Google Calendar for this, which has worked out really well and makes it really easy to move things around. 

Step 02: Set aside the time to brainstorm

This brainstorming session may take ten minutes or sixty, it really depends. But you need to set aside the time to do this necessary content planning. It takes time away from writing, which is unfortunate, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that long at all. I like to set aside time toward the end of each month for the next coming month. My brainstorming sessions usually take about 15-20 minutes (with some variance).

Step 03: Time to brainstorm!

Get out your notebook or calendar and get ready to plan! I keep an ongoing Google Document with content ideas I get throughout the month. I separate by social platform (my blog and Instagram). I will incorporate these ideas into my next month of content.

The next thing I’ll do is a Google search. Something like “blog post ideas for writers.” You can exchange “writer” with “author” or even “reader” to get a variety of results. I will pick and choose ideas that I like and either add them to my content calendar or my document of ideas. 

The next way I get ideas is from other bloggers. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with using other bloggers’ ideas for your own website, as long as you give credit to that blogger. And find ways to take what others have done and add your own unique twist to it to make it your own.

There are four ways to get content ideas:

• Your own you come up with and save in a special place (PLEASE ALWAYS WRITE DOWN YOUR IDEAS AS SOON AS YOU GET THEM)
• Internet search results/lists of ideas people post
• From other bloggers
• You can even rewrite/refresh your old posts, add to them, etc.

If you don’t have enough to say about a topic for a blog post…

Just convert it into a shorter post for a social platform that works better on, like Instagram or Twitter. And do the same for your ideas that were originally for shorter captions that you felt could be extended into a blog post. 

I hope these steps will help you cultivate a happier blogging life! 😀

Some other posts you might like:

• HOW TO PLAN GREAT BLOG POSTS IN 5 STEPS +FREE PRINTABLE
• WRITER TO AUTHOR SERIES PT. 4|BLOGGING (POST IDEAS, SCHEDULING, TIMING, & MORE)
• DO THESE 6 THINGS BEFORE STARTING A BLOG

What’s your favorite kind of blog post to write?