How to Get Through Writer’s Block

So, you’ve sat down to write your next great blog, social media post, or email newsletter. You open the document, and you just feel stuck staring at the blank page. Now what? How do you get through writer’s block so that you can actually get to writing? 

I’ve been there, which is why I’m sharing some of my best tips for getting through writer’s block here! 

Content Ideas

How many times have you sat down and tried to write something that you didn’t even know the topic of? How many times have you sat down to write without a topic in mind? Before I even open a blank document, the first thing I do is pick a topic. Sometimes content ideas just make sense and are related to something else going on in the business or the world, and sometimes I have to decide which piece of my expertise I want to share in the blog. 

A good way to think of content ideas is to identify if you’ve been posting, talking, or thinking about any trends or topics lately. If your mind has been consumed by providing a great client experience lately, this may be a great blog topic to write! Otherwise, here are some general content ideas to get you started if you’re stuck:

• 5 biggest myths about your industry 

• 10 tips related to something in your niche

• 6 biggest mistakes your target audience makes with regard to their goal 

• 8 ways for your target audience to get what they want most

• How to tackle this trending industry issue

• How to know if your service is right for your target audience

Set up a Structure First

The first thing I do when setting up a blog that I already have a subject for is to set up a structure. I write the title and intro paragraph, list out the keywords I want to focus on, then jot down the subheadings that I want to include to guide my writing. This helps to get through writer’s block by focusing on one specific section rather than thinking about the blog topic as a whole. 

Then, I go through each section and add whatever comes to mind under that topic. It doesn’t have to be perfect yet, think of this part like writing a rough draft or an outline of your ideas. After that’s done and I’ve made sure that the topic makes sense and my sub-topics are in a logical order, then I go through and finish writing the content. 

How to Find Inspiration

A great way to get through writer’s block is to focus on finding inspiration for your next blog. An easy way to do this is to visit blogs of other brands in your niche (be careful not to plagiarize, just look for content ideas), or their social media pages. If you find a topic that really sparks your interest, that you have a strong opinion about, or that you think would be helpful for your audience, then you’ve just found your next blog topic! Again, don’t take someone else’s content and put your name on it – rather, put your own spin on the topic that sparked your interest. 

Inspiration comes in many forms, and sometimes when we’re having writer’s block it’s best to just focus on something else until inspiration strikes. But, in order to make this other focus productive and inspiring, I recommend checking a visual task off your list. Do you have to create graphics for your social media posts or choose which photos to share that week? Allow these visual elements to give you inspiration for your next blog topic.

Keywords and Keyword Tools

Keywords are an important part of writing, especially if your content is searchable, like on a blog or social platform. If you’re stuck on coming up with a specific topic within your niche, it may be beneficial to start by identifying commonly searched keywords and then basing your writing off of those. Also, once you’ve identified a topic, it’s important to make sure that you find relevant keywords to focus on using throughout your writing.

Finding keywords doesn’t have to be difficult guess work when you use the right tools. A great place to find specific keyword-related blogging ideas is on Answer the Public – this free tool allows you to type in a topic and immediately see the most commonly searched questions related to that topic.

If your writer’s block is still leaving you stuck and overwhelmed, I’m here to help! I know how overwhelming it can be to have to worry about marketing and writing all while trying to run your business, especially if marketing isn’t your specialty. So, I’m here to help! Head to my services page to learn how we can work together to make marketing easier on you!