How to brainstorm blog posts like a pro using word association
Yes, even if you're a beginner!
by Brittany Taylor
Last updated July 1, 2019
Sometimes, I don’t know what I was thinking.
Seriously.
Sometimes, I dig up old prompts and brainstorms, peer at my scrawl, and wonder what I meant by that stream of words. Sometimes, I feel like I must have been scribbling in a fever haze—that’s how out-there my ideas can feel.
When I’m facing a dead-end, I turn to the language I used in that initial brainstorm. I break the phrases and sentences down to their essentials. I reach for word association to help me tease meaning out of the smeared ink.
You can do the same thing, no matter how long you've been writing or blogging. Let me show you how.
Exactly how to use word association to brainstorm blog post ideas
You don’t have to be a wordsmith to do this. You don’t need a top-notch vocabulary. You don’t need to be a Jeopardy wiz or obsessed with Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
All word association requires is curiosity and openness. The more you use it as a brainstorming tool, the more expansive and innovative your ideas will become.
Here are three steps to follow:
- 1Follow the threads that you create for yourself. The first rule of improv is to say, “yes and.” Do that with your brainstorming! Accept your weird word associations and push them farther.
- 2Experiment with different paths. Don’t be afraid to retrace your steps. With word association, there are no wrong answers. Some are just more interesting than others.
- 3Embrace the most interesting possibilities. They might be more obscure or more difficult to see through to completion, but by project’s end, you’ll have a product that’s insightful, original, and uniquely you.
Ready to start turning writing prompts and old, incomprehensible brainstorms into content that serves your brand? Read on to watch word association brainstorming in action.
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Brainstorming prompt #1. Your most gullible moment ever
The stand-out word here is “gullible.” Gullible makes me think of honesty, of trickery, of naivete. It also makes me think of jokes and laughter, of good-hearted happiness.
But “gullible” isn’t the only word in the prompt. Here are three more options:
- 1You could use “most,” which makes me want to go down a superlatives path, ala a high school yearbook.
- 2You could use “moment,” which feels singular, significant, and special. My childhood next-door neighbors had a Whitney Houston album, so her song, “One Moment in Time,” sticks out in my brain. You could also jump from “moment” to “turning point,” and write about a milestone or hurdle your readers are working towards or through.
- 3You could use “ever,” which makes me think about fairy tales’ “happily ever after.” Perhaps you could take it in a Snow White direction. Is there something vengeful or dangerous your customers need to avoid? Or, maybe you lean more towards Sleeping Beauty, with a focus on rescuing your audience from a particular peril.
Take a peek at these blog post ideas I’ve come up with using this word association brainstorming technique:
Brainstorming prompt #2. A Friday-night ritual that's not-NSFW
I love the idea of rituals, but I don’t have a single one, much less a Friday-night ritual that’s not-NSFW (or not safe for work). For me to make this writing prompt work, I don’t have a personal story to turn to. I have to look elsewhere, and word association is an easy first step.
Let's give it a try here:
- 1Let’s start with “Friday.” It’s the last day of the week, which brings a feeling of giddiness and relief. Friday afternoon can mean cutting corners, leaving early, treating yourself. It’s also the first day of the weekend, which means the start of freedom, of fun, of self-care, peace, and pleasure. Or, maybe it represents a shift from work responsibilities to domestic duties.
- 2Now, let’s turn to “ritual.” It’s a word with so many different spiritual references that’ll vary depending on your religious background. You could use this word as a gateway toward a specific belief system, like Christianity or Islam. You could lead you down a more mystical or witchy path. Or, you could take a completely secular approach and focus on the routine aspect of a ritual.
- 3Finally, we get to the fun one, “NSFW.” This acronym is all about taboos, which lets you have a little fun with contradictions and unpopular opinions.
Ready to see these words associations turned into blog post ideas? Here we go:
Brainstorming prompt #3. The sugary cereal your mom never let you eat for breakfast
This is the prompt that spurred me to write this blog post today. I pulled the prompt live on Instagram this morning...and I blanked. When I wrote my list of 56 blogging prompts (it’s No. 15 here), I thought it was a zany, creative idea. When I pulled it out of my grab bag, I thought it was just plain zany.
If you don’t want to tell a story about the sugary cereal your mom never let you eat for breakfast, which was legitimately all I could reach for on my live story, word association cracks this baby wide open.
Let’s take a look:
- 1With “sugary,” I leap in a few different directions: towards energy and buzz, towards sweetness and kindness, and towards gluttony, luxury, and an “extra” sensibility.
- 2“Cereal” makes me run to its homophone, “serial.” I want to ponder ideas for different series of blog posts. A trio is always better than a duo, and the more you can tack on, the better.
- 3The word “mom” makes me think of the character traits I associate with my mom: kindness, sass, whimsy, humor, off-color, generous, hospitable, thoughtful. In a more universal sense, moms and motherhood evokes a sense of duty, respect, and tradition. You could also take the word in a more ambiguous direction and consider different states of being or transitional periods, like pregnancy, during which you’re becoming someone new.
- 4Let’s wrap this one up with “breakfast.” Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it speaks of vitality and essentials. It can be sweet or savory, which could inspire you to think in terms of dualities, like good and evil. It’s something that changes depending on where you are or what your background is. For example, an English breakfast is different from an Irish breakfast.
Here are a handful of blog post ideas drawn from these word associations:

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Bio
Hello! My name is Brittany Taylor, and I am a ghostwriter based in Charleston, S.C.

Bio
Hello! My name is Brittany Taylor, and I am a ghostwriter based in Charleston, S.C.
Bio

Hello! My name is Brittany Taylor, and I am a ghostwriter based in Charleston, S.C.