Think you can wing it when it comes to idea generation? Think again.

Ideas need to be original, stress-tested, researched and written up well.

Topics that are too salesy should be avoided. Say you own a grocery store, don’t just write a post on why your grocery store has the best products and why it’s better than the store down the road. This will irritate readers and turn them off. Try a blog on why fruit is good for them, for example, instead.

Also avoid topics that are too obvious. Dive deeper and segment your audience so you can tailor the topic just for them e.g. 5 reasons why fruit makes a great snack for your child.

The third mistake to avoid is writing about non-relevant topics. Sounds obvious but if someone is coming to you for their grocery shopping, they don’t care about your travel tips for example.