At a loss for words when blogging?

July 22, 2009

Poor Sue Horner of Red Jacket Diaries has lost her blogging mojo. I enjoy Sue’s lighthearted style. She’s witty, insightful and always gives me something interesting to think about. Sue’s latest post is no exception. And since I wouldn’t want Sue to stop blogging due to a case of misplaced mojo, I wanted to share some tips that I’ve picked up along the way:

• Don’t put too much pressure on yourself if you’ve fallen off the wagon. If you’re used to blogging three times a week, don’t sweat it because you haven’t blogged for three weeks. Give yourself permission to take that break, and work back up to your usual pace. It’s OK…really.
• Write a guest post for another blog that you follow and respect. Writing for a whole different audience stretches the mind and pushes you to come at a subject from a fresh angle. Plus, it exposes your work to new readers and can grow your own blog audience.
• Invite bloggers in other areas related to your business to do a guest post on your blog. It will start a whole new conversation on which you can build.
• Start a blog idea file on your computer. Fill it with headline ideas, quotes, links to interesting articles, quick thoughts on books you’re reading etc. When you’re stuck, there’s always starter fuel there just waiting to help you burn up your keyboard.
• Re-purpose older blog posts. New readers are continually coming on board, and if you’ve been blogging for several months or years, you’ve got quite an inventory built up. Go back to the beginning to find posts that are still relevant that you may be able to put a new spin on.

Smart tips from article writers

Coincidentally, I was just reading a post by Chris Knight on the ezine articles blog called “Turn Someday into Today.” He talks about ways to overcome procrastination in article writing, but the lessons are just as relevant for blogging. There are a number of worthwhile comments on Chris’ article, but in particular I liked the response from Kevin Dervin of the Marketing Action Club. Here it is:

Start with brainstorming. Great brainstorming isn’t judging the ideas or trying to figure out what the article will actually say. It’s just cranking out a bunch of possibilities.

* Write down 10 questions you get asked by clients over and over again

* Write down 5 questions you get asked by prospects over and over again

* Write down 3 things you wish every one of your customers would do because it make a difference in their current situation (Author’s note: love this one!)

* Write down 4 books everyone in your industry should know about and read.

The numbers above aren’t important. It’s just about filling up a sheet of paper with ideas you could write about.

Inspiration is all around us

At one time or another, we’re all faced with blogger’s block. But there are sources of inspiration all over the web and in our lives every day. You just have to look for them. I did – and this post is proof. Thanks Sue! 😉