Accelerate Your Blog With Idea Mapping
Commanding Influence: Build A Strong Online Presence
As bloggers, one of the worst setbacks that we can face is the daunting task of coming up with and developing topics about which we can write.
Corporations spend millions of dollars a year on research and development so that they can come up with the products and services that will sell. You probably don’t have millions of dollars to put into this task, but you do need to find a way to develop new and exciting ideas for your blog.
I am bombarded with questions from bloggers related to this idea. Sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to come up with ideas day after day. Well, here’s some good news. It doesn’t have to be such a miserable task. In fact, generating ideas for your blog can actually be a fun project when you learn how to put into practice this amazing concept.
Are you struggling to develop topics?
Idea mapping is the practice of creating a diagram or chart to layout your ideas and organize your thoughts.
It might sound complicated…but it’s actually incredibly simple. It can be done on paper or by using some popular mind mapping websites like Mind Meister. I use Mind Meister to create mine. It’s free and it’s lots of fun.
The easiest way to explain this unique concept is to simply start by showing you a picture of my idea map. Notice how I break my diagram down into the basic categories of my website. I then work to think of topics and ideas that could be covered under each category.
4 Steps to Build Your Idea Map
Here’s a few simple steps to get you started on your idea mapping journey. Take them and use them or explore a system that works for you.
- Write the name of your site in the middle of the page.
- Write the name of 5 or 6 categories surrounding the site name.
- Work to create at least one topic in each category.
- Repeat step 3 until you have 5 or 6 topics in each category.
If you apply those steps then you can come up with 25-36 topics for your blog in about an hour or so. That’s enough topics to write for a month or more every single day. Since most bloggers don’t post every day…this will last you even longer.
This single practice can provide an amazing jolt to your work of generating topics for your blog. Get out a piece of paper or head over to Mind Meister and create a free account and start getting your ideas down on paper today!
Eric B. said:
Great post! I use a technique like this whenever I can’t think of anything to write about.
Instead of using the name of my site to think of ideas, I take some of my older posts, and think of ideas related to those topics.
It’s usually just when I quickly need an idea, and I stop at about 3-5 ideas.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Eric B. –> That’s another great way to do it and I do that sometimes to develop ideas for the short term. This is my method for helping to develop long term ideas. As you can see, I have enough ideas to go on for about 6 weeks or more without having to come up with an idea.
Renz said:
I remember I used this tool when I planned to setup Renz Central dot com. This is the very first article that I read from SS101. I’m happy that I got to know this site and Nicholas. Thank you.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Renz –> I’m thrilled that you decided to check this site out and stick around also. I’m glad to have you and I appreciate your feedback.
Dana@Online Knowledge said:
Again a great idea. This idea mapping was taught by my teacher back then which is known as knowledge tree.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Dana >> I’ve definitely heard several different names for it. And there are several different ways to work it. I’ve just shared the way that works best for me.
Renz said:
I know knowledge tree. But i think idea map doesnt look like a tree but the concept is still the same.
My Latest Blog Post: My Adventure at Zoobic Safari (Subic)
Stefan said:
Another great tip from you Nicholas. This method also works perfectly if you have a problem giving up your content and creating guest posts. Simply by creating another category (step 2) not related to your blog you will come up with several new topics.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Stefan –> Exactly. I’ve actually been guest posting on some blogs that are unrelated to my niche lately as well. I find that because of my topic, I can really bring something valuable to other blogs while at the same time attracting new readers for here.
Javs said:
I am surprised always how do you get some gr8 ideas to write and your posts are simply attracting and useful. This might be the reason. Thanks for revealing it. But you might have linked the image to the file url so that we get some good view of it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Javs –> I’ll be honest. This mind map is only about a third of the ideas that I end up using on here. I only draw about 1 or 2 ideas from my mind map per week. Many of my articles come as a direct result from reader comments and emails or from things that just happen to be on my mind that week like maybe things that I’ve been studying or optimizing myself.
Renino Niefes said:
What a great idea! This has been my problem ever since i started blogging. Now, I’ll get a piece of paper and start doing what you advised.
Thanks!!!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Renino Niefes –> Great. Be sure to stop by and share with us how it works out for you.
Internethow Blog said:
Thanks for sharing Nicolas. I’ve been looking for something like this. Now I can write the post ideas, print them and hang them on my wall. It would help me a lot with updating my blog regularly.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Internethow Blog –> Great. I hope that it does. I don’t always draw my ideas from my mind map, but when I’m hard pressed to think of an idea, I can just turn to my idea map and I always know that I have topics available.
InternetHowBlog said:
That is why it is good to have something like this. So, when you get stuck with ideas, you can quickly grab few from the wall.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
InternetHowBlog –> That’s exactly right. That’s what I use it for.
Krishna said:
Hi Nick,
That is great idea to develop content for the site. Thank you for such a great article!!
Thanks,
Krishna
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Krishna –> You’re welcome. I’m glad that I could help you out. I hope that it benefits you as you strive to make your own blog bigger and better!
Mary E. Ulrich said:
Love the way you tailored mind mapping to the specific task of getting ideas for a blog.
In teaching it is also called a “graphic organizer.”
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Mary E. Ulrich –> You’re right. I’ve heard many names for it. It can definitely be used for so many other tasks as well. We just have to find a way to apply it to our challenges and use it to help organize what we are passionate about…our blogs.
Dave Doolin said:
This is a phenomenally useful method, and your stepwise process makes it easy for anyone to implement idea mapping!
I’ve used idea maps to map out processes such as installing WordPress as well.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Dave Doolin –> Thanks, Dave. That’s a neat idea for what you can apply idea mapping to.
Randall said:
Nicholas, one of the reasons I like your blog so much is your organized and focused posts. Now, I see where it comes from. Thanks for sharing such a great tip.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Randall –> Thanks. I think part of the reason that I’m so organized is because of my military training. There’s just something about rolling your socks, spacing your clothes hangers, measuring ribbons on a uniform, and standing in formation that sticks with me. Organization really empowers people to excel. I really believe that.
Arisu said:
Thanks for sharing!
I use mind maps to come up with design concepts and post structure, but I´ve never use it to get my writing schedule, I think this is going to be a great help!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu –> I hope it is a big help. Please stop back by and let us know how it worked out for you as you try it.
Angie (Losing It and Loving It) said:
Very helpful post. I have been trying to grasp the idea of mind mapping. The more explanations I see and hear, the more I start to get it ha ha.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Angie (Losing It and Loving It) –> Good. That’s part of the reason why I posted my mind map so that it would help everyone get a good grasp on things.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com said:
I’ve never been a huge idea mapping kind of guy but a good friend of mine swears by it. Every time we’re in a meeting, he pulls out his Mindjet Mindmanager to work off of.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Gabe | freebloghelp.com –> Ha ha. Everyone has their own style of organizing their thoughts. This works for him but maybe it doesn’t work with you.
Karlil said:
Awesome tip Nicholas. Just when I’m wondering what to write for guest post.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Karlil –> Great! I hope that it helps you out a lot. Where are you trying to write a guest post? Here?
George Passwater said:
Excellent post Nick.
I am a avid user of this technique. I use it for ideas for my blog as well as other things in my consultancy. Writing, technical specs and have even used it for ideas on parenting for my children; it has many uses.
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
George Passwater –> Thanks, George. You definitely right that it has many great applications. Mind mapping can be used for so many things. It’s really just a great tool to help organize thoughts and ideas.
Roschelle said:
Really informative post. I’ve heard about mind mapping before which is the same as idea mapping. Your post is the first I’ve read that actually shows you just how to put the map into practice and make it work for you. I stumbled here and enjoyed visiting very much. Thanks for great info!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Roschelle –> Great! Idea mapping has several names. You’re right about that. And I’m glad that I was able to present it in such a way that made it easy for you to understand and put into practice.
David said:
I have heard of the concept of idea mapping before but have never really got the grasp of it. Your article has really broken it down into simple understandable terms that any lay man can understand. This is another great tool and concept that I will now be using to create content for my posts.
Many thanks.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
David –> Your welcome. And this reminds me of another important principle of blogging. You should always be working to make complex issues as simple as possible. People aren’t looking for fancy words. They’re looking for ways to get things done. Make it simple.
Ron Boracay said:
Hi Nick. As usual, I learned something new from you. Seems like, this is also a great brainstorming guide or technique.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> It is a great brainstorming technique. That is absolutely right.
Tycoon Blogger said:
I have used this technique on my blog and it works like a charm. I also wanted to stop by and let you know your blog has been selected for entry in the “Rookie Blogger of the Year” contest on TycoonBlogger.com. Voting will start on Oct 15, Good Luck!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Tycoon Blogger –> Awesome. I hope that I win. I can’t wait for the voting to start.
Andrew said:
I really love the way you’ve not only explained how you’ve used a mind map to draw post ideas from but also how you’ve mapped out the process as well.
Thanks Nick this should serve me well.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Andrew –> Great. Sometimes it makes it so much easier to grasp a concept if you can see it in action.
Vinish said:
Great Post ! I will give it a try , i believe it will really help, if i can jolt down all my article for a month in 1 hour or so it is great.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Vinish –> This method really helps me a lot. Any form of writing down your ideas and mapping them out will help you more than you can imagine.
Angela said:
Great method! A lot of times I’ll get ideas from other blog posts but sometimes it’s challenging to come up with ways to expand on what people start. I really like this mapping idea.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Angela –> I’m glad that someone finally turned me onto Idea mapping. It has really helped me a lot when it comes to organizing this website and I’m absolutely sure that it ca help you also.
Carrie said:
This is such a simple concept. I teach this in my creative writing class and I never thought about applying it to my site. Great link, too. I didn’t know you could do mind mapping online. Thank you!
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