One of the biggest struggles for bloggers who are pushing for growth is the ability to publish unique content. With millions of other blogs out there it can seem at times that every worthwhile topic has already been sufficiently covered.
Quality, original content is one of the biggest factors in blogging success. Take a look at the blogs you read on a daily basis. Most likely you choose to read them because you like the articles they provide that you can’t get at other blogs.
Of course, not every post you publish has to be ground-breaking. However, you do need to separate yourself from other bloggers in order to attract and keep readers.
Here are 13 ways you can create unique content that will help you to stand out.
1. Be Independent
One common method of generating ideas is to see what other bloggers are writing about and what topics are creating a lot of interest. This can be a helpful way to come up with ideas, but often you’ll find that the finished product isn’t very original. Sometimes you may be able to put a new spin on an old subject, but your most creative ideas are unlikely to come from other blogs. We should all be actively reading on a regular basis, but don’t make your daily reading the primary source of your new content generation.
2. Get Personal
Write from your personal experiences. I’m sure you have a lot of experiences that relate to the subject of your blog, and your own experiences are going to be more unique than some other things you could be writing about. One of the reasons there is so much repetitive content in the make money blogging niche is that a lot of people write about what they read from others, rather than writing from their own experiences. A few of my most popular blog posts recently, including How to Set Up a Domino Effect of Traffic, have come directly from my own experiences.
3. Brainstorm
Yesterday I published an article about Brainstorming Techniques for Bloggers, so I won’t get into techniques here. If you hope to regularly create quality, unique articles brainstorming is a must. It’s one of the most effective ways to create your own ideas and stand out.
4. Keep a Journal
As you are coming up with ideas it’s important to write everything down. An idea journal is ideal because it gives you one place to keep all of your ideas and incomplete thoughts and projects. It’s very easy to forget your ideas if they are not written down. With a journal you’ll always have at least a few potential posts waiting to be written. Without keeping a journal you’re more likely to feel like you have nothing unique to write about, and resort to creating the same kind of content that every other blog is using.
5. Keep an Open Mind
Don’t eliminate an idea for a potential blog post if it doesn’t come together right away. Take a look at some of the other ideas you have written down and see if you can combine ideas to make a more complete article. Some of your best ideas will probably take a little extra work to formulate into a good post.
6. Take a Stand
Some of the most unique, and often the most frequently-visited, blog posts go against conventional thinking or oppose the majority opinion. Try writing from a perspective that doesn’t go along with everyone else, and you’re guaranteed to be more unique than the others.
7. Expand
If you’ve been blogging for any significant length of time you probably have a number of older posts that could be expanded upon. Occasionally go back through your archives and look for posts that could be the staring block for new and separate ideas, or look for those that lend themselves to be updated. You may have written a post in the past that covered a somewhat general topic. See if you can focus in on one specific aspect of the article to find new ideas.
8. Dig Deeper
Write about a little-known aspect of something that is covered a lot. Find a hot topic in your niche that you know well. While other bloggers are just writing about basic, general information, go one step further and give your readers information that they are not finding anywhere else. If the topic is already getting a lot of interest and you’re able to provide more detail and knowledge than others, you are likely to benefit from a jump in traffic.
9. Know Your Subject
Without substantial knowledge, all you will be able to write about is basic information. You don’t have to be an expert on the subject right now, but you at least need to be willing to constantly work on improving your knowledge so that you can eventually get to this point (and you need to have some patience until you get there).
10. Solve Problems
One of the best ways to create unique content is to focus on solving the problems of your readers. If they are struggling with a problem, they obviously aren’t aware of a suitable solution or they wouldn’t have the problem in the first place. If you can provide that solution you’ll be the first to do so, and they’ll remember you.
11. Act Quickly
Don’t sit on your best ideas, someone else may beat you to the punch. About a month ago I wrote what I thought was a pretty good post, saved it, and got it ready to be published in a week or so. Literally the next day I saw an almost identical post on a very popular blog. My post has never been published and I’ll now have to do some touch ups if it’s ever going to be used. If I had acted quicker, mine would have come first and I wouldn’t have missed out on a good opportunity.
12. Plan Ahead
Sitting down at the computer with 15 minutes to create and publish a new blog post is almost guaranteed to force you into using rehashed ideas. By planning ahead you can come up with ideas and lay out your blogging schedule. It can still be flexible, but it helps to have things laid out, and to have a few emergency posts ready to go at any time. This will give you the time you need to make sure that your content is unique before it is published.
I know this is somewhat in contradiction to my point about acting quickly. It’s a fine line (one that I am still working on). There needs to be sufficient planning to allow for the best quality posts to be created, but you also need to have the flexibility to push the plan aside temporarily when a great idea comes up.
13. Give Yourself Some Freedom
Do you post on a regular schedule? While I think regular posting is in general a good practice, it can at times hurt your creativity. If you don’t have anything worthwhile posting, take a little bit more time than usual to develop your thoughts.
Don’t put yourself in a box as far as what topics you can and can’t write about. Give yourself the freedom and flexibility to move with your ideas.
What other methods do you use to develop unique content?
I think that is the hardest part, is breaking outside of the “box” that you create yourself. I sometimes my brain is closed up that it can’t think anymore, just blogging about what you feel like blogging about sometimes helps. Great post! Appreciate the inspiration!
Some people find that complaining is a really easy way to create unique content. I personally usually just give my take on issues. That usually does the trick for me!
GnomeyNewt,
Thanks for your feedback. Seems like whatever you’re doing at BlueJar is working, so keep doing it.
Court,
If you’re able to have valuable insight, that’s definitely going to help you to stand out. Thanks for commenting.
Perhaps the hardest part about blogging is the fact that most bloggers want their content to be recognized or commended right away. Even if you write really good content, there may be thousands more that are better than yours. Perhaps you can also try to “advertise” your blog by joining listings or making new friends online (affiliates) and have your blog placed on their links.
One day, I’m going to compile a book with all your tips and sell it and make myself rich.
You are pleasantly amazing..
Steven,
great article and definitely a kick at me to keep logging that journal. I find that the best inspiration comes when I’m just about to go to sleep and often forget to even bother writing my thoughts down.
I realize now - big mistake!
Thanks for the hint
Monika
Wow, awesome tips! I usually just write something I am doing for traffic , money, etc.
Hey thats a nice list. But I have problems to put it into action. I always think I have to write something important and profound but it is hard to do so. I know that many bloggers just write whats comming to their mind but I do not feel like doing this. It must be perfect.
[…] Provide them such content and they will keep coming back to your blog. But how do you generate that unique content constantly? How do you come up with new ideas everyday, or after every few days? Steven reveals to you 13 ways to create unique original blog content. […]
Great post Steven . I will try to follow all these .
You said it buddy, content is king. How do you think I found out about your blog? =D
Thats been our main focus, content content content. The links will come
Pelf,
Thanks for making me feel good.
WarriorBlog,
That’s not a bad thing if it works for you. What you’re doing can be presented in a very unique way.
VIP,
I agree, the links will come with great content. It does help though if you can get your content in front of the right eyes.
[…] 4. I have unique content. You get your ideas from other blogs and write off of them. An example of this would be the release of BlogRush. Stop writing about something that many other bloggers have already wrote about. Steven Snell show us how we can come up with new ideas to blog about in his 13 Ways to Create Unique Contents post. […]
You wrote this just in time Steve - excellent post
I like the part where you said to keep a journal - I alway forget if I don’t.
Yes, I’d be lost without a journal.
[…] One of the biggest struggles for bloggers who are pushing for growth is the ability to publish unique content. With millions of other blogs out there it can seem at times that every worthwhile topic has already been sufficiently covered.read more | digg story October 3rd, 2007 […]
I agree. I want my content fresh new and exciting. I keep a list of over a 100 headlines of interest . When one intrigues me I go with it. Researching a little to make sure that topic hasn’t been over used. Looks like you are doing a fantastic job of keeping it fresh. Keep it up
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Nice post, just found the blog and I’m subscribed
Excellent Tips. Unique & Original content are the major factor.
Blogging gets easier and easier the more you write. I don’t seem to have a problem since I have an opinion about everything.
Your tips are awesome some are known to me or I have read that elsewhere but some are unique… Good Work
Megan,
Thanks for your feedback. I keep a similar list of ideas, it definitely helps.
Aaron,
Thanks for visiting and subscribing.
Davenport,
I guess being opinionated has its benefits
Mahesh,
I’m glad you found something new.
Great sharing there! =)
[…] Over at Vandelay Design you can read “13 Ways to Create Unique, Original Blog Content“. The one tip you can never stress enough: Keep a journal. I started it when I was preparing to write a short story, and since then I’ve almost never been without a notebook or something similar. […]
Tip #11 is a lesson I’m still to learn. How many times I’ve seen others putting in practise ideas that were very similar to mine… I definitely need to act faster.
“What other methods do you use to develop unique content?”
I read good articles (like yours) and try to respond to them. All right, this contradicts your first tip, but is related to the second one.
If I decided to write a whole post in response to this one, it would certainly be different from yours, because we are two different individuals with different ways to view things.
(Now I really want to write a follow-up to this post, but I’ll try to fight this temptation :-P)
good points added here. I think I’m the second person who saved to delicious
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You are so correct. Thanks for sharing
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I think writing down your ideas is very important and it is also very important to not wait to publish your good stuff. Someone else might be you to it.
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[…] quality of content involves factors like captivating headlines, readability of posts, the uniqueness of your writing, consistency, and […]
We’re about to lauch a blog as part of our site and I’ve been compiling ideas regarding unique content. In our industry it’s also important we know our subject.. if uneducated reviews are written for example our new blog would definitely lose credibility. Thanks for the great article.
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[…] the same content over and over again. On the other hand, those that are able to consistently develop new, creative and unique ideas for posts will be well on their way to achieving success as a blogger. Quality of content is obviously […]
[…] Over at Duct Tape Marketing, John gives helpful tips on how to Reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose as a way to generate content. While Shonnie Lavender encourages you to create exceptional blog content by thinking of your reader. Vandalay Web Design offers their advice with a great post on13 Ways to Create Unique, Original Blog Content. […]
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usefull. thanks
great tips!
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Being original from others will help you and your blog’s brand.
Thanks for the post
came up with 13 ways to create unique blog content which I think is a good start
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[…] The importance of being original Honestly, I don’t have a lot of original information on my blog. What I do is present it in an original way. I don’t know of another blog that is written by a band director about teaching. There are a handful of teaching blogs, and a smaller number of band director blogs. But what I do is sort of merge those two worlds. I have a very unique perspective, and I don’t really worry about offending people. Maybe one of the things that makes my blog so popular is because I am very real and introspective. Here are 13 Ways to Create Unique, Original Blog Content. […]
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We added blogs to all of our sites just for this purpose. Content Content Content.
We have started to go and find popular post in Digg and Delicious and writing on similar topics that have been proven to be “wanted”.
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I must say that your blog is a total point to point article based blog.
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