Having days as a blog writer when you lack inspiration or have some kind of writer’s block is certainly unavoidable. Everyone who writes goes through a dry spell every now and then when no amount of brainstorming is helping and no good blogging topics are coming to mind.
In these dark times in the creative lives of every blog writer, it is important to keep focused and try to work around the writer’s blog, because as every blog owner knows – there is nothing more important to your blog’s success than a steady influx of quality, original content.
Here are five tips that any blogger can implement when he or she is struggling to find new ideas and is lacking the inspiration to write new blog posts.
Never stop writing
Being burned out and simply not being able to think of a quality blogging topic are two completely different things. If you have been working for months and months on end without taking any breaks, then you might need to take a vacation from your blog just to recharge your batteries. But there are many people that lose their writing inspiration even when they are well -rested and completely focused. In these instances, it is best to keep poking away at the problem until it goes away. Giving up and avoiding your blog just because you have gone through two or three days without coming up with a good blog post idea is not the solution.
Even if you are not stumbling upon the best ideas in the world, keep writing. Force yourself to write something every day, even if it is mediocre, and do this for two reasons: You might get a good idea from writing about a not-so-good one, and making a habit of writing every day can only benefit you in the long run.
Keep a notebook
Every writer has experienced a moment when he or she just can’t seem to recall that one great idea that they had last week. That is the way the brain works – it is unpredictable. Sometimes great ideas are popping up regularly and other times it’s like a barren wasteland for quality content. So when you so have all these great ideas, be sure to write them down so you do not run the risk of forgetting them. Keeping a notebook dedicated to blogging ideas is a great way to make sure that none of your good ideas go to waste and it’s also a great aid for brainstorming new ideas.
If you want to keep the process online without actually having to write in a physical notebook, there are many online tools like Evernote that are completely free and allow you to effectively keep notes and have them with you at all times.
Interact with your readers
Talking to the people who read your blog is a good way of fishing for new ideas. If someone is responding to some of your blog posts in the comments section, be sure to engage them in conversation. Through these interactions, you might gain new ideas for blog posts.
Another great method is to end blog posts with a call to action or a question asking your readers what they thought about the post or if they had any other suggestions. Best of all, if you are writing about things that your readers recommended or mentioned, you already know that the blog post has a chance of being very successful, well read and well shared by this group of individuals who dedicatedly follow your blog.
Look outside your niche
It might seem natural to follow blogs operating within your niche in order to keep up with topics and see what’s popular, but most of the time, these blogs will not provide you with many fresh ideas. If you are an expert in a certain niche, reading blogs in that same niche will probably only lead to reading things you already know or you have already written about in various capacities numerous times.
If you are going to read other blogs to get some new ideas, read blogs that do not have much to do with your blog at all. Reading many different kinds of blogs can help you to get a fresh perspective. It can not only help you get fresh ideas for your blog that you might not have thought of otherwise, but it can also help you to refine and maybe add new dimensions to your writing style.
Step away from the computer
Contrary to popular belief, the solution is not always on the Internet. Even if you don’t need a break from your blog and writing, that does not mean that you cannot take a bit of a break from the computer screen. Over saturation can be a terrible thing for your creativity, and if you constantly find yourself in a revolving world of blogs and social media networks, it might be a good idea to step away for a while.
Taking a walk to clear your mind, or even spending some time reading a book or watching a movie can spark ideas within your mind that were not able to come out through your daily routine in front of your glowing computer screen.
When stuck in a rut, remember that inspiration is always just around the corner, but it is sometimes up to you to proactively seek it or promote it instead of just sitting around and waiting for your muse to arrive and whisper a new idea into your ear.
