Sitting down to blog and coming up blank is a horrible feeling- especially when your blog urgently needs an update! It happens to all of us sometimes, and although it’s incredibly frustrating there are ways to beat the block!
Here are a few tips to help you get writing- and if you have any tips of your own we’d love to hear them in the comments below!
- Step Away from the Screen
The first and most important thing to do is step away from the screen! Many of us blog in the same area every day, with no change of surrounding. Whilst having a ‘blogging area’ is a great idea, you do need to branch out when coming up with blog post ideas or sitting down to write. Writing a blog post is a creative process, so don’t stunt your process by forcing yourself to sit down until the words flow; go for a run, make a cup of tea, do a bit of gardening- do anything you can to remove yourself from the process until your mind is ready to refocus with a fresh pair of eyes!
- Get Inspired by Information Outside of the Blogging World
It’s easy to tell you to look for other bloggers for inspiration- but that’s not always the key. There’s so much out there that you can take creative direction from. Here are just a few places to go to get inspired to write something new and exciting:
- Industry magazines
- TED talks
- Newspapers and current affairs sites
- Films in your niche
- Twitter feeds from industry experts
- Relevant hashtags
- Ask your friends and family for ideas
- Look at comments on your old posts and see if there is any inspiration for new post ideas
There is so much out there beyond other bloggers- pick just a few of the above ideas and you’ll be sure to come up with some new ideas in no time!
- If Outside Inspiration Fails, Look Through Your Archive
This works best if you’ve been blogging for a few months. Looking back to your old content can be surprisingly fruitful when looking for new ideas. When I look through our old posts, I often remember old ideas I never got round to writing, or sometimes realise a topic I wrote about has since seen an industry update prompting a whole new post! You might even find the inspiration for a new series- which will see you sorted for some of your blog post ideas for a few weeks at least.
Let us know how you beat writers block in the comments below!
There has been many a time when I’ve had the dreaded “bloggers-block”, but it is surprising where the inspiration can come from and for me it’s usually when I’m not looking for it when it pops up!