How to generate blog post ideas: Tools you can use


How to generate blog post ideas: Tools you can use


This has been a problem that has plagued almost every blogger - what do I blog about?

How do I know what does my target audience wants?
What can be possible iterations of the same headline / topic?

Well, if this is what you also struggle with, then worry no more. We are going to have a look at the most comprehensive list of blog topic generators today. All you need to do is to input some nouns, some adjectives and voila - blog topic generated [okay, that was the easy part]!

1. HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator

Any list on blog topic generators is incomplete without a mention of the HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator
You can choose to enter a few nouns, click on "Give me Blog Ideas" and voila - you have yourself Blog Topics.

For example, I got the following results for "Blogging" "Trends"


Blogging: Expectations vs. Reality

The Next Big Thing in How To Grow Your Blogs Traffic
Blogging Explained in Fewer than 140 Characters
This Week's Top Stories About Tips For Beginners


Hubspot blog topic generator

Hubspot Blog Ideas Generator Homepage




Hubspot Blog topic generator




Topic suggestions on the Hubspot Blog Ideas Generator 
When to use
Its a good tool for beginner and topic specific content research.

 Pros
Good for generating quick eye-catching headlines.

Cons
There aren't many keyword combinations / interpretations of a topic. It is keyword driven, but I would have loved to see some depth / semantics as well. To be honest, it isn't the most ideal blog topic generator, but it is a start, and can be useful for beginners.


2. Portent’s Content Idea Generator

If you are looking for a different twist to your normal blog post topics, you may want to try out the Portent’s Content Idea Generator.

I did enter the keyword "marketing" and what I got was:

What Wikipedia can't tell you about marketing
For blogging
19 ways blogging is cooler than Michael Jordan
Portent's content idea generator



The Portent's Content Idea Generator homepage 


When to use
When you have a brain freeze moment and need quick, attention grabbing headline.

 Pros
Good for unique shock-value blog topic / headlines.

Cons
Didn't find much depth in the tool as far as content idea generation support stats are considered, not enough semantics.

3. Blog Post Idea Generator from Build Your Own Blog 
This tool is slightly different from the other tools we've had a look at.
Most of the other tools work on the concept of keywords, this one works on the idea of headline angles. Hit refresh to view the different headline angles in the main search bar.

Few examples of headline angles:

The one thing you need to know about
Something to think about is
How social media has changed my business.
Blog Post Idea Generator from Build Your Own Blog
        The Portent's Content Idea Generator homepage 

When to use
Mostly when you are looking for iterations of your current headline draft.

 Pros
More useful if you have a preliminary idea about what you would blog about. You can use this blog topic generator to identify how best to retro-fit your headline to the template above

Cons
To be honest, I didn't see much value in the Blog Post Idea Generator. It is okay to see what are the different, snappy headlines that can be re-purposed to accommodate your blog headline, but its utility ends right there.


4. Blog Title Idea Generator from Inbound Now
Built on similar lines as the Blog Post Idea Generator from Build Your Own Blog, this also throws up interesting topic ideas through the main search bar on the page.


Become [desired position/status] in [Number] Days

Best [Industry] Posts of [Past Year/Month]
A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily [Solution Keyword]


Blog Title Idea Generator

                 The Blog Title Idea Generator from Inbound Now


When to use
When you are looking for catchy, snappy headlines

Pros
Can be used for multiple iterations of the same topic

Cons
Not useful for headline research
This is not a blog headline / idea generator - so you have to use it in combination with another tool.


This - I liked. Very bare UI but quite effective in terms of generating blog topics.
I entered the keyword "marketing" and got the following ideas:

Marketing 101: The Essential Guide
Why Marketing Suck/s
5 Global Trends That Will Affect Marketing in [Year]

You can keep generating more ideas through the "Generate More Headlines". You can further filter your topics by adding more keywords on the left bar. All in all, found it very useful - this can be quite handy for a beginner.
Linkbait idea generator
Linked Bait Generator homepage

When to use
When you want to throw up interpretations of a chosen headline / content
When you are looking for headline ideas.

Pros
Quite effective in terms of generating effective eye-catchy headlines

Cons
Maybe the UI could be better


6. Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo is more than just a headline content generator. It digs down much deeper, displays the most popular articles on the topic, authorship details, and the engagement with the article on social media [LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook]. So how can you generate ideas using Buzzsumo?

You can discover common themes, types of content, can do influencer profiling and lots more.
Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo homepage
When to use
Buzzsumo helps to identify current content that works [through evidence], content creation [optimizing formats and headlines], curation and aggregation, competitor research, review and analytics. Hence it can help you throughout your content marketing cycle. If you take the pro-version [priced at $79], you can have access to host of features that can aid you in delivering great content

Pros
I can definitely see how an advanced user might use BuzzSumo - even the free features are great

Cons
Wouldn't recommend this for beginners. It's better you try out a couple of other tools - then you might be able to appreciate the utility of a tool like Buzzsumo

7. Google Trends

You can use Google Trends for a broad based content search. If you enter a keyword, you will be informed about interest over time in that keyword, interest by sub-region, interest by sub-topic and so on.
Google Trends

Google Trends

 When to use
For broad based keyword research

Pros
Good, aggregate level data for topic research

Cons
Cannot be used independently as a headline content / idea generator


9. Alltop
Alltop is a collection / virtual index of content from different interesting sites. It shares the top stories and most popular content online. You can track how content is being featured across different platforms. Its an aggregator of interesting online content, stacked by topic. The dashboard representation can be useful for some people
Alltop

Google Trends

When to use Alltop
You can use Alltop as a starting point to curate content ideas.

Pros
Can be useful for broad based content research

Cons
Has its own limitations - its not a content idea generator - more of a curation site.
Can only be used in combination with another tool

10. Ubersuggest

Now this is a tool that is easy to use for both beginners and advanced bloggers. All you need to do is to input your keyword of choice - and sit back while the tool does the numbers.
So, I typed in marketing, and whoa, the depth of information that I got was far more than some of the other tools. I could see some semantic integration [for example, query volumes for keywords were segregated on basis of marketing jobs, marketing research, marketing network - quite handy. Drilling down further, the search volume was accompanied by both the SEO difficulty and the paid search difficulty and the cost per click. It also tracks the top SERP (search engine results pages), the estimated monthly traffic, the backlinks, the domain scores and the social shares. Then it also shows the different content ideas. All in all, a great tool to use.
Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest

When to use
When you need a one stop solution for generating content ideas

Pros
Has good semantic understanding

Cons
Couldn't find any - at the moment

It isn't strictly a blog headline generator - its actually a headline analyzer (duh - as the name says). Once you input your proposed headline, it generates a headline quality score, the strengths, suggestions, impressions score and engagement score.
Sharethrough Headline Analyzer
Sharethrough Headline Analyzer

Pros
Can be used only you have created 2-3 draft headline ideas

Cons
Has to be used in conjunction with a headline generator tool.

 Hope these tips will help you draft and create more engaging blog headlines.

 Hate this article, love it? Let me know in the comments section below.
Location: India

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