It can be tough to find blog topic ideas. We’ve all been there – staring at a blinking cursor, waiting for words to come out. Then… Nothing. Your brain just doesn’t want to give you any ideas. It’s like all your creativity is just zapped away. It happens to the best of us. My advice? Get away from the blinking cursor of doom! The longer you sit and stare, the less likely you are to come up with anything useful. Instead, go do something else. In fact, here are four “something elses” you can try:

Read Other Content for Blog Topic Ideas

Often times, my best ideas come while reading. In fact, most of the world’s billionaires (and millionaires) have one thing in common: They all read. A lot. Heck, Warren Buffet says he reads eight hours a day. Eight hours! If billionaires need other people’s words to come up with ideas, what hope do we have? Do yourself a favor and start reading. Some things you can read include:

• Fiction books (You shouldn’t just read books in your subject matter!)
• Business books (I highly recommend The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale and Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joe Sugarman)
• Other blogs, either in your niche or a different subject entirely

I often find I get inspiration that not only fills me with blog topic ideas but also motivates me to get started on them right away! Related Reading: Write killer blog posts with this template

Watch videos

Just as reading helps stimulate the brain to connect new ideas, so too does watching educational videos. When I say educational, that doesn’t mean they have to be boring! I find TED talks to be both informative and fascinating. Some of my favorite TED talks include:

• Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are
• Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action
• Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?
• Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability

You can also check out some YouTube channels, like What I’ve Learned or ASAP Science. Be warned, though – you might start with one video, then spend hours watching them!

Ask Your Blog Readers

This is one of my personal favorite ways to get new blog topic ideas. You can send a survey to your readers using a tool like Typeform or SurveyMonkey, or take a poll on Twitter. This helps in two ways:

1. You get to know exactly what your readers want to read about, so you won’t be shooting in the dark with topics.
2. You’ll learn more about your readers, which will help you develop better content and engage with them.

Finally, if none of these things work, think about movies.

Get Takeaways From Movies

Have you ever been inspired by a movie? Motivated to take a stand? Movies are powerful like that because they are stories with lessons to be taken away. Think back to the last time you felt motivated by a movie, then think of the message behind that. What’s at the core of that story? Can you write a post about that? One time this happened to me was after watching a movie starring Will Smith and his son: The Pursuit of Happyness. It made me think of perseverance and doing something to better those around you, not just yourself. Plenty to be written about that!

Conclusion

If you’re feeling stuck, get away from the keyboard and break out a book. Do something entirely different. Give your brain some “food for thought”. Of course, there are many other ways to get blog topic ideas – talk with friends or colleagues about it, go for a walk, get some exercise – but, the point is that thinking harder simply won’t work. That’s like telling your fireplace you’ll supply the wood once it supplies the fire. It’s backward! I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. What have you done to give yourself blog post ideas? Let us know in the comments! Read Next: How to Promote Your Blog and Get More Traffic