If you have a blog and you are anything like me, you sometimes get stumped for what to write about. Maybe you just aren’t feeling particularly inspired or maybe you are just having one of those weeks where you’re too crazy busy to really sit down and write.

You should know that there are lots of other ways to come up with content for your blog without having to either 1) be completely original or 2) have your post be in the form of the written word. Let’s look at five ways to generate content when you start feeling stuck:

1) Guest posts

I’ve both guest posted on others’ blogs as well as had people guest post on mine. Don’t be afraid to approach bloggers in a niche that’s complimentary to yours to ask if they would like to write a post for your blog. You will want to offer to return the favor for them in most cases, but it’s a nice way to change things up for your own readers by showcasing someone else’s writing style.

2) Other people’s articles

There are a lot of great article sites out there with tons of excellent content. Most of them allow you to use the articles on your own site—as long as you include the resource box at the end of them which includes the author’s information and website link. You can search by category to find articles suitable for the focus of your blog. Some examples of good article sites include ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com and ideamarketers.com

3) Create a video post

Video is huge online and only growing bigger. Simple video cameras like The Flip are inexpensive and super easy to use. Instead of writing a post, create a video with a helpful tip or interesting fact. It can be as short as a minute and you don’t need to worry about being perfect and rehearsed. People love to see you being yourself!

4) Create an audio post

Not ready to be on camera? There’s nothing wrong with sticking to audio. Some ideas would be to read a top 10 list of tips, interview someone in your field or take content you may have written elsewhere and turn it into audio. These days it’s simple to do: you can use a service like Audio Acrobat to record yourself over the phone or use Skype and a free recording service like Call Graph.

5) Provide a review or commentary of others’ content

This is one of my favorite methods for coming up with blog post content. I simply take a look at my favorite blogs whose feeds I have pulled into Google Reader and see what catches my eye. I then write a post about it adding my thoughts and linking back to the original post. You could give your opinion on whether you agree or not with the blogger’s point of view, add information you think they should have included or answer questions that they may have asked.

If you don’t find anything on other blogs, StumbleUpon.com is another source of content ideas. This site allows users to discover and submit websites, photos and videos from around the web. I often check here if I find myself in need of some inspiration.

So, next time you find yourself at a loss for what to write about, consider some of these ideas to keep your blog filled with helpful content. Just remember, you don’t always have to come up with material on your own—which should come as some relief! 🙂

How about you?  Do you have other ideas that you use for content when you get stuck?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Photo credit: Maui Info Solutions