Why do most people procrastinate over starting a blog? Nervous that they won’t be able to keep up the consistency of regular blog posts? Worried they will suffer from writer’s blog? Afraid that no one will read it? Feel they don’t have the time?
Today, I am going to tackle one of those fears – that of writer’s block and give you some tips on how to overcome it. Whether you are writing the blog posts yourself, getting a member of staff to write them or employing a ghost blogger, you will have to sit down and come up with ideas for some topics that will form the basis for future blog posts. Here’s how to ensure those ideas keep coming:
- An Idea pad or Mind Map - Keep a notebook or create an online mind map (see this post by Frank Bradley on mind mapping) and record all your ideas as they come to you. Most of them will become blog posts in the future.
- Brainstorming – Brainstorm with members of your team, write down every idea no matter how wacky it sounds as you can eliminate some later.
- Google Alerts – As outlined in this previous post, set up a Google Alerts for keywords in your industry. This is a wonderful way to get articles delivered to your inbox which could provide ideas and statistics for future blog posts.
- Guest posts - Once your blog has become established, you can ask other bloggers to write a guest blog for you ( ensure it is relevant to your theme). I know of one very successful blogger who gets others to guest post while she is away on holiday.
- Interviews – Include interviews of people in your industry, be it an editor of a magazine, another business person, a member of staff.
- Let some personality in - Give people an insight into your business by letting them know what is going on in occasional blog posts, either as the focus of the post or as an aside. Let readers know that they are reading about real people and they will be much more likely to engage, both by commenting and by doing business with you.
- Read related material – If you find an inspiring blog post elsewhere, don’t plagiarise it but you can refer to it and quote from it as long as you provide the link to that blog. However, you must add your own nugget of wisdom or your opinion within your own blog post.
- Regular slots – If you are aiming to post two or three times a week, it can help to have a theme for one of the posts. In my interior design blog, I usually include a ‘Wallpaper Wednesday’ post where I will showcase new wallpaper designs. Other examples from other blogs include ‘Friday roundups’. ‘Monday morning cool tools’. By doing this, you can write this blog post beforehand and schedule it for that day and it also means you don’t have to think of a topic, you just have to come up with the content..
- Get some exercise - if you are walking or cycling and your mind is mulling over things aimlessly, you’ll be surprised how many ideas can come flooding in, so have a notebook or phone with you to jot them down.
- Keep it up – I have found that if I take a break from blogging, it can be difficult to ‘get back into it’, if the mind is accustomed to thinking about blogging regularly, the creative juices flow and will keep coming.
- Commenting – Sometimes a reader’s comment will inspire another blog post so do encourage the conversations within your blog
Blogging will help your business, it is becoming an essential part of a business’s marketing strategy and has been proven to deliver results. If you have any other ideas for overcoming blogger’s block, do add it in the comments below.
More on KLCK and what it does for bloggers next week!
Marie Ennis-O’Connor BA, MIAPR, holds an Honours degree in History from University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and has worked in a variety of PR roles over the past 12 years. Marie is editor of several award-winning blogs ranging from life sciences to health to business. She is a panel member of the newly established Bloggers International and is a regular contributor to Health Works Collective, an online community for thought leaders in international healthcare. She is a featured blogger on Webicina, an online service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics and over 17 languages, and has been awarded a top blogger accolade by Empowered Doctor.com and most inspiring writer by WegoHealth. Marie is also in demand as a trainer in social media marketing and travels the country teaching small business owners how to get online and maximise their online presence.
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