Writer’s block. You know it happens. You’re staring at a blank page with a blinking cursor, wondering what the heck you want to say and how you want to say it, and can’t come up with a single viable idea. Some might call it the “writer’s block” of the digital era.
We simply call it “blogger’s block.” Catchy, right?
Really though, we all know and understand the importance of blogging and social media. We all know that original content, hands down, performs better than curated. But man… it’s hard to constantly come up with new and fresh ideas day after day!
Thankfully, you aren’t the first to tread these treacherous waters, and the savvy blogger can learn much from those who have gone before them. With that said, here are some tips to help you beat blogger’s block and overcome the dreaded blank cursor as the victor. While this list of tips is by no means exhaustive, we do hope it helps you to get those creative juices flowing once again.
Build Your Content Bank
Bloggers don’t simply pull content ideas out of thin air. They are smart, and they work hard at being idea generating machines. That means a brainstorming notepad is your best friend. Carry it everywhere, so you can jot down new content ideas that you think will resonate with your audience or target market as they come.
You get bonus points if the idea is evergreen content that’s always relevant. Aim for interesting, valuable information that is insanely useful, not merely a post just to post something. Folks can smell disinterest from a mile away, and if you’re not even interested in what you’re sharing, why should anyone else be?
The key with blogging or publishing any type of content in this digital age is consistency. In fact, B2B companies who blogged 11+ times per month had almost three times more website traffic than those blogging 0-1 times per month.
Feel Their Pain and Find Your Angle
Get to know your audience inside and out. Look at the pain points that resonate with them the most, and center new content around addressing those pain points.
You can also brainstorm different angles and ways to approach the main topic and create a series of posts centered around that one main idea. Bonus points if your content can be strung into a series of blog posts that addresses one main idea and can solve a problem or point of pain for your reader.
Repurpose and Recycle
Another great way to come up with fresh content is to take a look at something you’ve already written and found ways you can repurpose it. Maybe it means turning that eBook you wrote 3 years ago into a series of fresh blog posts, or finally editing and publishing that podcast interview you did that one time, at band camp.
You can also take old blog posts that don’t have much traction, remove them, rewrite them and update them, then republish them as something fresh and new. Or you can pull some of the main points out of an older blog post and expand upon them in a new blog post. There’s really no end to the way you can repurpose and reuse existing content you have already created.
Check Your Keywords and Competition
Every blogger worth their salt makes at least some attempt to optimize their blog posts for the search engines. You can do a keyword search related to your industry or audience needs and see what pops up most. Then create a blog post around some of those top searched keywords.
You can also take a peek at your competition and see what they are blogging about. Obviously, you don’t want to plagiarize, but sometimes simply scrolling through their recent post titles can spark some new ideas for you and your blog.
How To’s, Do’s and Don’ts, and Listicles
When you’re feeling stuck, you can always come up with a good “How To” post or write something that compares a list of positives and negatives or do’s and don’ts related to your market.
You can also create list posts curating things like the 7 Traits of a Successful CEO, or The 5-Ingredient Recipe to Create Kickass Instagram Stories. Blog posts like these are useful and valuable, yet relatively simple to create.
Interview Someone Important
Or at least important to your audience. You can interview team members or industry leaders, or interview top movers and shakers in your niche.
You can then repurpose that interview into a great blog post or publish it as a podcast. If people don’t have time to do a recorded interview, you could always send them email interviews and publish that instead.
Figure Out What Other Bloggers Aren’t Talking About
There will always be conversation gaps in the blogosphere. For the blogger that is wise and discerning, you can take advantage of those gaps and use them to start a whole new conversation no one else is talking about (yet). Ask yourself what others in your industry aren’t writing about that you know would be of interest to your audience.
The best bloggers simply use their stellar detective skills to find a need and then use their fab writing skills to fill it. Just be sure to always measure what matters so you can see which types of posts you publish garner the most attention and engagement.
Remember, the more formats you try out, the more data you can get, and the more data you can get, the better you can meet the needs of your audience and market. Mission accomplished.
Also Read:
No Blog? Your Business is Leaving Money on the Table