Hitting up against writer’s block? Coming up with blog post ideas day in and day out can be challenging at times. Here are five tips for coming up with blog post ideas when the ideas aren’t flowing.
1. Do Something Strenuous
Take a jog. Work out. Go for a swim. Hit a punching bag. Do something strenuous that gets oxygen pumping into your brain, while simultaneously taking your attention off of blogging.
Shifting your physiology can go a long ways towards shifting your mentality. Doing strenuous exercise can often help punch through the staleness of writer’s block and to help you discover new inspiration.
2. Do Something Relaxing
Conversely, relaxing can also help overcome writer’s block. Many of the world’s best inventors came up with their ideas while on leisurely strolls, in the shower or right when they woke up from a nap.
When you’re stressed or tense, try doing something relaxing instead.
3. Read Your Competitor’s Blog
Your competitors can be a great source of inspiration. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? How are their customers and readers responding to them?
Read both the content of the posts and the comments. See which of their posts are popular and see if you can address similar topics in your own style.
If there are any “holes” in their coverage, be the first to address those holes as well.
4. Just Start Ranting
Another great strategy to get writing is to just start writing. Write about any old thing. Write about the state of the industry, write about random tips, write about off-the-wall ideas you’ve had.
In short, just start writing. Later on, you might edit what you wrote and find something useful. You might not. What’s important is that you’ve gone from “stuck” to “writing.” That in and of itself can help you overcome writer’s block.
5. Browse Related Forums
Browse forums in your industry and in related industries. What are current topics people are talking about? What are some of the most often asked questions? What are questions that people are having a hard time getting answered?
Forums are a great way to get a sense for what’s going on in a particular field. By browsing forums, you can often come up with ideas on what to write about based on what’s on your target market’s mind.
These are five ideas you can use today to help come up with ideas on what to write. Any time you have trouble coming up with blog post ideas, just come back to this article and try one of these five tactics. Most importantly, try some of the tactics that you wouldn’t normally try. After all, if you’re only doing what you’ve always done, you won’t radically change your results.