While many individuals and businesses recognize the need to blog, many get to the point where you’re sitting with a blog post open and run into the question “What should I write about?” Getting inspired to write can sometimes be difficult, so here are some quick tips to make sure the well of inspiration is never dry:
- Keep a list of ideas – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of something that would make for a killer blog post and then, when it came time to finally sit down and write, couldn’t remember it for the life of me. Keeping a notebook on you or an app like Evernote on your smartphone where you can drop ideas as they come into your head makes sure you never lose those awesome brainstorms. Plus, on a day where you are fishing for a topic, you have a big list of original, awesome ideas to choose from!
- Practice calming your mind when writing – For inspiration to take hold, sometimes you have to set aside all of those other external and internal distractions that pull your mind away. Take some time as you start to write to acknowledge those little nagging thoughts or emotions, and then consciously set them aside. It can be hard to do, but after 10 or so minutes of this, you should be in a more distraction-free mindset that will let your inspiration flow much more freely.
- Respond to something written by someone else – If you’ve ever been reading a blog and thought “Wow, I have a totally different opinion on this,” try thinking of this as a great chance to write something that can easily engage others! Writing a (respectful) rebuttal or response to an article by someone in your industry can be an awesome way to generate dialog and create new connections. Bring your rebuttal to their attention, and the resulting connection could result in great collaborative energy!
- Just do it – Sometimes it takes pushing through the reasons why you cant sit down to write (I don’t have enough time, I don’t know what to write about, etc), and just sit down and start! Pick a topic and just start writing, and you’re likely to catch onto a train of thought that will lead you to a great blog post. Think of it like push-starting a car: once you get that momentum going, all it takes is a spark to really get things moving!
- Read, read, read! – If you’re reading the blogs of others in your industry (and beyond), you are likely seeing trends of what people are interested in now and getting ideas of your own! Plus, you’re seeing the end result of lots of other people being inspired to write and share information on topics you’re already interested in. The more you read, the more you’ll have inspiration to write great content.
Writing can be tough, but with the right energy and preparation, you should never be caught without some inspiration to put some content out that will engage readers!
And when you get stuck, you have your friends at Uptown Studios! Send me an email at tina@uptownstudios.net and we can chat about us taking charge of your blog – we do the research, interviews and write the blog – with all the necessary SEO tricks applied for you.
