22 tools and techniques to help you brainstorm new content ideas

It can be tough to come up with new content ideas, especially when you feel like you've been stuck in a rut. But don't worry -- there are plenty of tools and techniques that can help you brainstorm new ideas for your blog or social media. Here are ten of the best:

1. Use a content ideation tool. There are a number of content ideation tools available online, such as online Idea Generators and Blog Topic Generators. All you need to do is enter a few keywords related to your niche, and the tool will generate ideas for you.

2. Look at what's popular on social media. What topics are people talking about? What content is getting the most shares and likes? You can use a tool like BuzzSumo to find out. Or a social media marketing tool to track brand mentions, comments, and other user activities.

3. Check out what's trending on Google. Go to Google Trends and see what people are searching for. You can also use this tool to compare trends over time and see which topics are rising in popularity. You can also track what's trending by country or region too.

4. Use a content curation tool. One of the best ways to find content ideas is to use a curation tool like Flipboard.  This lets you see what's popular in your niche and curate content from a variety of sources.

5. Ask your audience. One of the best ways to find out what kind of content your audience wants is to simply ask them. You can do this via social media, surveys, or even just by talking to people in person.

6. Look at your competitor's content. See what kind of content your competitors are creating and see if you can improve upon it or fill any gaps that you see. An SEO tool can help you find content gaps - although such tools can be expensive but useful.

7. Use keyword research tools. Tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and others can help you find out which keywords people are searching for. This can give you ideas for content that is more likely to be found by your audience.

8. Check out question and answer sites. Sites like Quora and Yahoo! Answers can be a goldmine of content ideas. People are constantly asking questions on these sites, so all you need to do is find the questions that are relevant to your niche and answer them.

9. Look at your analytics data. Your analytics data can tell you a lot about what kind of content is popular with your audience. Take a look at your most popular blog posts and see if you can brainstorm any new ideas based on that information.

10. Brainstorm with a team. Collaborating with others is a great way to come up with new ideas. You don't have to do research on your own. If you work alone for too long, you get blind spots. Get together with a team and bounce some ideas around -- you'll be surprised at what you come up with.

11. Go to Amazon's Books category. And search for your keyword. You should get a list of interesting book titles. And you can go further and research a few books and even look at the table of contents for each book. This will give you a good idea of the kind of topics you can write about.

12. Use Google's "Related Searches" feature. When you do a search on Google, scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the "related searches" section. This can give you some good ideas for content that is related to what you're already interested in.

13. Check out Google's "People Also Ask" section. This is similar to the "related searches" feature, but it shows you the kind of questions people are asking in relation to your keyword or phrase.

14. Join forums like Reddit and subscribe to a niche group. This way, you can see what people are talking about and get ideas for content that is relevant to your niche.

15. Follow relevant influencers in your industry.  These people are always talking about the latest trends and developments, so you can be sure that they'll have some good ideas for content. Make sure that you follow some 'rising' talent with a smaller following of a few hundred to thousands of followers. And not just the top influencers who have millions of followers. You'll be able to pick up interesting news and insights to boost your content creation and copywriting.

16. Use a tool like Google Alerts to get notifications whenever certain keywords or topics are mentioned online. This can help you keep up with the latest trends and developments in your industry.

17. Follow blogs by experts in your field.  By reading blog posts, you can get a good idea of what kind of content is popular in your field and what people are talking about. Follow content by industry leaders and experts to get the best information.

18\. Subscribe to newsletters created by industry experts and influencers.  This is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest news and developments. You'll get a constant source of content ideas that you can work with.

19. Use Pinterest to find visual content ideas. You can use Pinterest to find all sorts of visual content ideas, including infographics, images, and videos. Generally, check out your keyword or topic on multiple platforms. Different platforms prioritize different content formats and you should get some interesting information.

20. Create a content calendar. Sometimes, all you need to get content ideas is to be more organized. Just make a list of blog topics or social media ideas on a spreadsheet or document. As you build a list of ideas, you should be able to identify gaps on your own.

21.  Keep a running list of ideas. This is similar to having a content calendar, but it's more flexible. You can add ideas as they come to you, without worrying about fitting them into a specific format or schedule.

22. Repurpose your existing content.  This is a great way to come up with new ideas if you're struggling. You can take an old blog post and turn it into a new video, or an infographic. You can also break down a long piece of content into smaller pieces that can be used for social media posts or articles.

Back to you

There you have it: a list of ideas(!) to help you generate more content ideas when you're feeling stuck.

Now it's your turn: Give these suggestions a try and watch your content calendar fill up in no time.