One of the biggest challenges for bloggers is getting ideas
and inspiration for posts. Typically, we’ll surf online for ideas, but here’s
some places offline that can help inspire post ideas, AND get you away from the
computer screen so you can give your eyes a break, and get some walking in:
- The bookstore or public library: The best offline place I get post ideas from is the bookstore like Barnes & Noble or Borders. I like to go in and just roam, and boom, ideas start pouring in. What’s cool about the bookstore is that you have access to what’s currently hot in print: books and magazines. Consequently, there will be many people doing searches on those latest titles for reviews. I find that what’s popular in a brick & mortar store can be different than what’s hot on Amazon.
- The mall: Your local mall is breeding ground for all kinds of post ideas because not only do you get to see what’s popular and what people are buying in the stores, you get to people watch too. I find the most fascinating place in the mall to people watch is the food court which is particular to me because I blog about healthy living and food. The mall is a great place to take pictures too related to your blog niche as readers like to enjoy what’s new & interesting through your eyes. Often, I take pictures of mannequins because they crack me up.
- Family gatherings: Even if you think your family is boring, many other people may find them fascinating. Who has not been to some family event where an aunt, uncle, sibling, parent, grandparent, or kid has done or said something that was blog worthy? For me, it’s always. And indeed, everyone likes to see pictures of cute babies and puppies/kittehs. Being that it’s family, you’ll have to exercise some caution here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them in the theoretical like “You know how every family has the drunkard, insert foot in mouth uncle…”
- Colleges, Extended Learning & Learning Annex: I like to peruse the college catalogs along with their professional extended learning courses to see what classes they are offering, and ditto for the Learning Annex. The class titles alone are post title inspiration. Culturally, you can see what people want to learn because if the school didn’t think there was a need, there’d be no class, so likewise the topics should be interesting to those online. The Learning Annex in particular has some pretty catchy classes like “How to Lose 10lbs with Plate Mapping” or “How To sell Your Ideas to Hollywood.” Can you see some Digg and Stumbled Upon love already?
- Bars, cafes, restaurants: Obviously, the best times to go for optimal story ideas is Happy Hour and Fri/Sat night after people are liquored up a bit. Obviously, this is a great post breeding ground for those who blog about relationships, modern living, or living large. But, other blog topics can partake too because it’s interesting to live vicariously. For example, if I were a tech blog, I’d even do a post on how people use their tech gadgets in a bar ie. Exchanging digits, “emergency calls” from friends when you’re on a first date with someone you met online, or even looking at dating profiles while at the bar. Hello, who’s single out with friends and hasn’t done that? The iPhone gives you a nice big screen to look at dating profile pictures. The point is bars, cafes, and restaurants tend to be second hangouts for most people so story ideas are in abundance.
- The gym: Bloggers tend to work alone sitting all day, so the great thing with the gym is that you can accomplish two things with one trip: get a workout and people watch for story ideas. You’d be amazed what people find interesting to read as well. One of my most commented on posts on Back in Skinny Jeans was a post about trying to figure out who farted on the treadmill next to me. Who knew? I certainly didn’t, but sure glad I wrote about it.
These 7 offline places are where I often go for post ideas. What other places do you go offline to get post ideas?
