In my cross-blog chats with Lynn Terry, she answered my question about blog-plugins and also asked…

All of the plugins and widgets in the world would be useless without great content. What do you find inspires you to blog the most, and where do you get ideas for new blog posts and fresh content on a consistent basis?

Hey Lynn. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. We had the flu and then pneumonia in the house, so I'm just getting back to being able to focus a bit. Hope you and your family stay healthier than we are.

First of all, thank you so much for the excellent blog post about WordPress plugins. I had intended to install a few of those that you mentioned, but your post lit a little fire under my butt and I am getting it done. And, you referenced a few I hadn't heard of, but will be researching. Great info!

As for your question, I get inspiration all around me, as I'm sure you do, too. Sometimes the ideas come so fast I can hardly keep up, and other times a few days will go by and I'll just focus on other things.

Here are some places I get blogging ideas from daily.

1. Comments that I receive on my blog. (Thanks to all who comment!)
2. Reading other blogs.
   I don't really keep up with many blogs daily, but friends will send me links, on occasion, to things they think I'd like. (Or someone will link to me and I'll find it in my WordPress dashboard and go check them out.)
3. Surveys that I create with One Minute Surveys.
   I find people are much more willing to ask questions on a survey than to post them publicly or even email me. I'm not sure exactly why, but I won't question it. I'm receiving fantastic questions on my survey here.
4. Questions from coaching clients.
   I copy every single question I receive from coaching clients into a file that I can use whenever I need ideas for blog topics.
5. Questions I receive from my Affiliate Managing jobs.
   The affiliates email me regularly and I receive wonderful questions from them.
6. My JV requests.
   When I'm hunting for JVs for myself and for Jimmy, oftentimes something will spark an idea.
7. Others JV requests.
   I regularly have friends email me about their newest product or service (as I'm sure you do, too). If I think it's something my readers will benefit from, then I'm more than happy to blog about it.
8. Mom Masterminds
   I don't get in there as often as I should these days, but when I do, I can find a bunch of new projects that I know will be interesting to check out.
9. People reading my ecourses and newsletters.
   Oftentimes my readers will click “reply” and ask a question. Instead of responding directly, I'll blog about it and just send them the link. That way many people can benefit.
10. Interviews.
    I oftentimes will interview work at home moms and run their success story on my blog in the Featured WAHM category.
11. Forums. No matter what niche you're in, you can Google “niche message board” (for instance “weight loss message board”) and you'll find many sites to check out for inspiration. Look for posts with a lot of activity, and you'll find great topics to write about.
12. Cross-blog conversations.
    And, of course, these cross-blog conversations with you and with Kelly have really gotten me blogging more than ever. 🙂
13. Stuff I run into while I'm researching.
    For instance, yesterday, I was setting up a mailing for one of my clients and I was making a “dofollow” list of a bunch of blogs. During that time, I ran into a contest that I thought was fun, so I blogged about it.
14. Life. — It happens. Thank God.
    Newly Added ….
15. Twitter Talk.
    I'm finding new ideas all the time from my friends on Twitter.
16. Social Networking Sites
    My newest favorite is Swype File, but it's only applicable for Internet Marketing topics.

Of course there are many more, but that's a snapshot into my day. 🙂

Here's my question for you. What do you have planned for 2008? And, how will your business change/evolve from this year?

I look forward to your answer.

Nicole

Keep an eye on Lynn’s Blog to read her reply.