Depending on how you choose to define what “blogging” really means, I’ve been writing content on the Internet for 20 years. I started out with an email newsletter, which I sent out manually to a curated mailing list, before moving on to a couple of Geocities websites (remember Geocities?). The current incarnation of Beyond the Rhetoric — my primary blog about freelancing, fatherhood, and life in general — has been around since 2006. And this is all in addition to the blogging I’ve done for various clients over the years too.
Needless to say, I’ve blogged a lot. And you would think that after all this time, I would’ve run out of things to talk about. What most people don’t realize is that writer’s block is really the default state and not the exception to the rule. As a professional, you need systems and practices to help you overcome writer’s block on a regular basis.
Part of that strategy involves maintaining a constant list of potential blog post topics. You may or may not ever get to writing all of them, but you have to keep those ideas flowing. There’s no saying when inspiration might hit. To give that list a kick in the past, I’m going to get you started with 53 blogging prompts here. Not all of them are going to apply to you and your blog, as niches and audiences will vary, but hopefully at least a few will spark some ideas for you.
Let’s get started.
- How and why I started this blog in the first place
- Why it’s not too late to start
- The hardest lesson I had to learn last year
- My favorite online tool
- The best advice I would have told a 10-year-old me is…
- Here’s what my morning routine looks like
- This is the person I idolized as a kid (and why I don’t anymore)
- Why I don’t believe in good luck
- Why I do believe in good luck
- Here’s why I don’t have a regular routine
- The biggest reason why I love blogging
- The biggest reason why I hate blogging
- My greatest inspiration is…
- This is how I plan my day
- Overcoming imposter syndrome
- I haven’t upgraded my [product] in X years
- If I could be on only one social media platform, it would be…
- My greatest weakness
- What I’m reading right now
- My proudest achievement this year
- The time I had to overcome my insecurity
- The time I overestimated my abilities
- I’m never going to get this back
- This was when I knew I chose the right path
- How I got to where I am today
- My first job (and what I learned)
- My greatest guilty pleasure is…
- I can’t believe he/she believed in me
- All about my favorite place to blog
- If I could have any superpower
- My middle child syndrome
- Why college is a waste of time and money
- Why college was the best investment I ever made
- The biggest reason why I keep going
- My first ever side hustle
- If I could blog about anything
- My view on Internet privacy
- How this blog has changed over the years
- Words are worth a thousand pictures
- Why I will never retire
- How Patreon is changing online content
- Should I start a podcast?
- My opinion on crowdfunding
- An open letter to me 10 years ago
- An open letter to me 10 years from now
- What I learned from (favorite children’s book)
- The assumptions everyone makes about me
- Common misconceptions about professional bloggers
- I hate the term “influencer” (or “creator”)
- An open thank you letter (written like an award acceptance speech)
- These are the blogs I read regularly
- I’m really excited about this new project
- How to find the best affiliate offers
Now you have no excuse when you’re tempted to say, “But I have nothing to write about.” There is always new blogging material to be written!