Five Tips for Coming up with Blog Post Ideas
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Have you ever sat down to write a blog post and the ideas just wouldn’t come? I think we all have. And even though it’s better to skip a date than to post something that’s not up to snuff, doing that too often may make your readers think you’ve abandoned them. Before you pack it in, consider these five ways to beat writer’s block.
1. Do Something Strenuous
Engaging in physical activity is a great way to clear the cobwebs from your brain. Whether you prefer swimming, jogging, or a workout at the gym, exercise can often help you shift your thinking and discover new inspiration.
2. Do Something Relaxing
Conversely, relaxing can also help you overcome writer’s block. Many of the world’s best inventors came up with their ideas while on leisurely strolls, in the shower, or when they woke up from a nap.
When you’re stressed or tense, try doing something relaxing instead.
3. Read Your Competitor’s Blog
Your competitors can be a great source of inspiration. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? How are their readers responding to them?
Read the comments as well as the content of the posts. See which posts are popular and consider covering similar topics in your own style, being sure to include any points they may have missed.
4. Just Start Writing
Another great strategy is to just start writing about any old thing. Write about the state of the industry, write about random tips, write about off-the-wall ideas you’ve had. In short, just start writing.
Later on, you might edit what you wrote and find something useful. Or you might not. What’s important is that you’ve gone from “stuck” to “writing.” That in and of itself can help you overcome writer’s block.
5. Browse Related Forums
By browsing forums related to organizing, productivity, or related topics, you can often come up with ideas for blog posts based on what’s on your target market’s mind.
What are people are talking about? What are some of the most often asked questions? What are questions that people are having a hard time getting answered?
These are five ideas you can use today to generate blog post ideas.
Bookmark this post, and whenever you’re having trouble coming up with something to blog about, just come back and try one of these five tactics. Most importantly, try something you wouldn’t normally do. After all,
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.
~ Mark Twain
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Great ideas. I write five blog posts, back-to-back on Mondays and find that it really helps to get up and go for a walk between each one.
Thanks for these suggestions.
Carol, I occasionally write a bunch of blog posts back to back, but I can’t imagine doing it on a regular basis like that. I’m impressed – both with your dedication to your craft and the work you’re doing to inspire grandparents. I hope to be one myself some day!
Thanks, Janet,
I came to this process slowly. What happened first is that I read about a journalist who used the fact that a blogger did the same kind of post every week as a hook for their story. i decided I needed to help journalists out by having a predictable schedule. Once I decided on the categories I wanted each day, it was much easier to write them all at once. It’s like having an outline to write to. It also gave me the freedom to note ahead in my schedule a topic I wanted to write about because I knew what my schedule was.
Thanks so much for sharing that. You’ve got my wheels a-turning now!
Great suggestions. If you do all of these things and the ideas still won’t flow, we’ve got a nice trick to dislodge them from your brain. Giving yourself an unreasonably short deadline to make a list is a good way to get your judgmental left hemisphere to step aside and unleash the creative right hemisphere. We created a 37-minute video exercise (it’s not a pitch) that will get 64 topics out of your head and onto paper. The tool is free to use and share. (click my name to go to the page)
Cool idea! I love that aspect of brainstorming: writing everything down, no matter how bad an idea might seem, because you just never know where those ideas might lead you!
Great tips, Janet! My method is closest to #4. I’m not on a blogging schedule. Except for my monthly newsletter, I never “have” to write. I just do it when an idea keeps coming to me that I can’t help but sit down and write about. I have so many half-finished posts, and lists of ideas, that I’m not worried about running out! When I do want to stimulate new ideas, though, I go on a road trip!
I often do that too. Sometimes I’m delighted to discover a post that was nearly finished before I lost interest in it!
I love your tips, Janet. I’m thinking of posting more frequently, so these tips will help me get going. Now, I usually blitz write and schedule the post dates.
I love blitz writing, when the stars align in a way that I have a chunk of time and a head full of ideas on the same day!
Janet,
I love these tips. I mainly use your tip #4 to get my blog posts started. I keep a bunch of ideas for posts in EverNote so that I can access them when I have a creative spurt.
That’s a great idea, Heather, and you know what? It seems like at least once a week, someone is recommending Evernote for one purpose or another. I’d give it a try, but I’m already using OneNote, and they appear to be quite similar.
Great blog writing tips 🙂 you guys have help ease off some stress cause sometimes this is really a problem. thanks for sharing great ideas and making them simple too.