On Blogging // How To Create Original Content

One question that I am asked often by bloggers, or readers who want to start blogging themselves, is how to continuously come up with fresh and original content. I will admit, no matter how tight your editorial calendar is, or how organized you manage to stay, creating original content on a daily (or weekly, monthly…) basis can be difficult.

I’ve found a few keys to help me keep the content flow fresh around here. Before I dive into some helpful tips, I think we should all step back and fully appreciate that very few things are 100% original. Which is okay –innovation is just as important as invention!

Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means justifying stealing content from other bloggers or websites. I’m simply saying that the wheel has already been invented, and there is only so much that we can do to it to make it seem like the newest trend again.

What can we do, then? We can search to find inspiration for original content from our own unique personalities and experiences. The reason that there are so many different blogs and post styles out there is not because the ideas are necessarily unique, but rather because the bloggers are so DIVERSE! Yay diversity!

So, if you’re struggling with creating original content, try some of these out…

Speak from your own experiences.

Your readers come to your blog because they want to hear from YOU! I know, shocker. Don’t be afraid to use your blog to tell stories, be a narrator. Get out there and live, and then share your lived experience, framed around whatever you blog about. Don’t just speak on a topic, share a personal reflection about something you experienced fully.

Engage Curiosity

Some of my most popular posts are ones that answer questions I either had or have myself. Especially posts I do on blogging or design. If you struggled to figure something out and managed to crack it, share that experience with your readers. Ask questions in your posts; ask your blogger friends questions, and use the answers from your readers to inspire more posts –boom, original content!

Ask the audience

I’ll be sharing a post on this soon, but I cannot express how valuable it is to survey your audience. You’d be surprised how much your readers will support knowing that you value their opinions. I’ve been working on writing ebooks and ecourses based largely on feedback I’ve received from all of you. If you build it, they will come –if you ask them what they need you to build, they will come much faster!

Get creative, think outside the blog!

Dare to do something besides create a new post for the week to share your creativity and connect with your readers. I bet that most bloggers aren’t only active on their blogging platform. I know I’m not. You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook throughout the week. Create an Instagram photo challenge, make a hashtag to use on Twitter that readers can follow and contribute to, then compile those things into a post. Not only did you just create original content, you also found an awesome new way to engage your readers!

The quirky and personable posts end up being the ones I am most proud of, and usually the ones that get shared the most. The Spring Cleaning miniseries was born out of my realizing how cluttered my blog had gotten, and it was one of the most popular series to date. Find that same unique tug within yourself to create something original and awesome.

* image credit: pretty shiny sparkly