One of the biggest challenges that I’ve come across on the road of becoming a full-time blogger has been coming up with unique and valuable content to provide to my readers. The biggest key to make money blogging, is having engaged and loyal readership; to achieve this it’s important to deliver a product that is fun and fresh. If you blog, you know how easy it can be to hit a writing dead end, but I’ve found a few tips that really help me make a quick U turn.
1. Don’t throw in the towel – First and foremost you must not give up. It’s very easy to become discouraged when you hit the wall and find yourself unable to get those words dancing across your blog. Don’t give up; just remember that even the best writers and bloggers run into this challenge.
2. Go for a Walk – This might sound obvious but for me it wasn’t. Whenever I would hit a mental block during the brainstorming process I would sit in my office chair, stair at my computer screen, then look around the room at objects to jump start the thought process. As you can imagine that didn’t work so well. Then I started to take walks. It’s amazing what a walk can do for the mind. First you tend to relax, that in and of itself helps get the creative juice flowing. Then you begin to notice things that can lead to great writing. For instance, the other day while taking a quick 15 min walk I had a Jet fly over my head. I thought, “What a great topic for an article on my lifestyle blog, FullGlassLiving.com”. I decided that for tomorrow’s post, I’m going to compare my experiences on various airlines, and do some research on which airlines were offering great services in today’s market. Next time you hit a mind block, get up and move!
3. Read, Network and Chat – sometimes the best path to writing is reading. Reading your favorite blogs, magazines, and newspapers can spark all kinds of new ideas for you to apply to your readership. Maybe it’s a new spin on an old topic, or completely something unique you can share. Don’t forget to network and give credit when credit is due for those ideas. Chatting via the “comments” section or forum can also bring to the forefront some great content. The bottom line is that you are jump starting your mind.
4. Your Experience Counts; don’t forget a Journal – Your experience and real life events make for great content. You’d be amazed at how many people can relate to, or find great value in your solutions to a problem. Don’t stop there; people also love to hear about humorous or embarrassing things that happen as well. I love to keep a journal next to me whenever possible and write down little notes that remind of an event or idea I think would be great.
These are just a few of the simple things that work for me when my fingers feel like they’re superglued to the keyboard. I hope that these work for you as well. I’d love to hear feedback with other tips and techniques that you use to spark your creative juices!