Blogging software news: 5 Article Ideas That Can Always Be Made Original

A big part of blogging is informing the public, but a bigger part of blogging is showing your originality. Whether it is your own blog or a blog where you'd like to guest post, your articles are helping to build your personal brand. If you know anything about branding, you know that standing out with something unique is important. When dealing with your personal brand and the way people view you as an individual (as opposed to a company), it feels so much more important to be unique with different article ideas. Unfortunately, the millions of blogs make this goal seem unattainable.

Writers block is common even for the most creative people in the blogging community. It seems as though every article idea is already out there for people to read. However, this is not something that should discourage you from writing. The truth is this: You're blog will be unique simply because you are writing it. That right there makes it different. In other words, you can take a generic article idea and make it your own using different language and even different information.

Consider a few ideas for a blog post when writers block hits:

How to Find Article Ideas When Writers Block Hits

1. Tell an anecdote or explain a past experience.

This is something that works well for a personal blog, but usually not if you're planning to guest post on a different site. Even if your personal blog has always been about giving advice and sharing information, readers will enjoy a personal story. If you prefer, make it related to your niche and explain what you learned from the experience. This works well every once and a while, and if you have a loyal reader base they will likely enjoy hearing a little bit about the writer. It works especially great on a Friday when no one is really in the mood for serious advice.

2. Hold an interview with someone in the industry.

There is nothing easier than writing while using someone else's words. Consider reaching out to someone in your niche who has advice to give readers and then hold an interview. This could be the CEO of a company in the city, a blogger who was recognized on a "ten best bloggers" list or someone you know who has made great strides in their industry. Reaching out to bloggers is your best chance for a response, but you might be surprised who else would be willing to answer a few of your questions.

3. Write a book, movie, or blog review.

Although two blogs may both have a "review" article, no two articles will be alike. That makes this one of the best ways to keep your blog fresh even when the ideas aren't quite coming to you. Consider doing a review on a book, movie, or even blogs. If you have ten favorite business blogs you like to read, write a review! Your readers will appreciate the new type of material, and you will have created a good relationship with the blogs you put on your list. However, remember not to make your choices too similar to your blog—you don't want to point out the competition!

4. If you have a lot of readers, create a contest.

Creating a contest can often be a lot of work, but it requires little creative thinking on your part. Consider holding the contest for the most creative article or the funniest blog post. Choose two or three and post them on the site. This will be fun for all readers and give you a break from writing (but not a break from reading!). The prize could be exposure for the winner through a featured blog post, a free book, or even a small cash prize. Make sure to treat the contest like a business proposal if you plan to give out a cash prize. People will take this more seriously, so you will have to have all questions answered in your contest description.

5. Create a survey or a poll for all of your readers.

These types of articles are typically not articles. All you need to do is write a quick introductory paragraph, and then ask your readers to vote. This type of interaction is usually fun for readers, and it will help you get the answers to your questions. You may even get idea for future articles based on the results of the survey or poll.

Not only will this create different types of articles help give you a break from writing traditional content, but it will give readers a break from reading traditional content. Although this may be a little bit different than what you usually post on your blog, it will be another way to show your creativity. Even though these ideas are generic, the actual content couldn't be more unique.

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Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to content creation. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.