Blogging Inspiration
Bloggers often care about their blogs as if they were their children, and their day be ruined by a low number of site views. Blogging does end up taking quite a lot of time for many text based bloggers, and even photo bloggers often edit and crop and title their pieces. It may seem like a fun pastime, but it is much more difficult than most people realize (unless of course those people are bloggers).
Posting every day has been shown to increase site traffic. Unfortunately, it can be hard to become inspired to write that frequently, and many bloggers burn out after a few months of daily posts. Let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t want to write, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to find the motivation anywhere. This happens to any type of writer, whether they be novelist or blogger. There is a reason the phrase “writer’s block” came into use, after all. When you have hundreds of readers hanging on your every word, writer’s block can present that much more negative stress for you.
However, there are a few backup tricks you can use to get inspired for writing in general, and blog posts more specifically, anduseful tools to help you stay on top of your blog posts without feeling too overwhelmed by the responsibility.
Take a Break
The first rule of writer’s block is to not force yourself if you are suffering. If you feel stressed out or just cannot think of any ideas, take a break and work on another project. Even if you are only breaking for about 20 minutes, the break will help improve your workflow. Breaks are helpful because they help shift your focus from the stress you feel. When you are worried about accomplishing something, especially if it is inspiration for your next post, it will probably not come easily to you. Inspiration happens at moments when we least expect it, like when watching a movie or taking a shower. It cannot be forced.
Write about topics that Interest You
That may seem like an obvious one, but many bloggers feel roped in by their niche. If you have a less specific blog space, this will not be as problematic for you. However, if you have a very specific niche, but are no longer interested in your topic, try switching it up each time, or try moving to a new blog space altogether and letting someone else take over your current blog. If you don’t really love it, writing blog posts will be even harder.
Create a Back Stock
On the days when you do feel extra inspired or extra productive, or when you just have had too much coffee and your fingers are flying over the keyboard at a manic pace, write a few extra articles to save for later. If you start making a back stock, you can have ready-made articles for those rainy writer’s block days. Having back up posts will help decrease your stress and make daily posts more of a reality than a pipe dream.
Accept Guest Posts
While many bloggers prefer to keep their blogs personal, a well-intended guest post can really bring a breath of fresh air to your blog, give your readers a new perspective, and give you a day off from having to come up with a post idea.
Plan Ahead
If you are very organized, you can also plan the dates of certain posts. For example, if you already know that you will want to write a few spring-based pieces for April, or something holiday themed for a specific date on the calendar, think of the idea ahead of time and you may even be able to create an outline for the post. Google calendars and other online calendars are useful for this, or you can finally have an excuse to use that puppies and kittens calendar your aunt gifted you in January and you haven’t opened yet. When you already know what is scheduled, whether you want to do that for every posting day or just a few, you will feel less pressure. Before you know it, you will be the relaxed and popular blogger you’ve imagined.
David Nance operates the blog at www.insuranceswami.com, given the topic (insurance), he is well aware of the difficulties of finding inspirational topics to keep the blog interesting.
