Rather than being an unfortunate illness that befalls those who share their thoughts online, “Bloggers Block” is the blogging version of writer’s block, and it happens to us all.
Whether you write a blog for a business, a hobby or just for recreation, chances are that you will have had that moment when you pull up the chair to the computer and end up just staring at a blank screen for hours on end.
When you’re paid to blog for a business and the traffic your blog brings is vital for bringing in leads, blaming writer’s block may not be met with a great deal of enthusiasm from those above, so what should you do if you find yourself struck with a writer’s worst nightmare?
Calm Down!
One of the worst things you can do when you are struggling for inspiration is get yourself worked up. It can be immensely frustrating when you are struggling for words and it is only made worse when you can feel the boss’s eyes burrowing in to the back of your head.
If at the start of the day the words just aren’t flowing, take a walk around the office, go on a coffee run or just go for some air for five minutes. You will often find that your inspiration is more likely to come when you aren’t trying to force it.
No joy? Then try…
Reading the News
News is everywhere. It is available 24 hours a day and you can find out what’s going on in every corner of the planet. If your brain isn’t giving you the answers you are looking for then the news websites might!
Somewhere, something will being going on that you can relate back to your business or interest. Whether it’s economic news, industry gossip or just something that you can draw parallels to in your arena, it is all fair game for blogging on.
By flicking through some of my own old blogs you will see posts that centre around football, the economy and any number of seemingly unrelated news stories that my inspiration starved brain has managed to make relevant, so if you’re still finding things tough, hit the various news websites and try your luck there. Make it good enough and you can even reshape it into a press release, giving your blog/company’s view on the news stories of the day. It might just give you some visibility and a few extra juicy links.
Ok Alan, it’s now half past 12, I’ve been staring at the screen for 3 and a half hours and my boss’s looks are turning into glares! The walk didn’t help and I spent an hour reading about celebrities on the news websites, now what?!
If all else fails, you can always try….
Write About Your Writer’s Block!
I know, it sounds a bit lame but it can really help to get the juices flowing. If all that is going through your mind is how you can’t think of anything to write, then write about it! It might turn into something that you can host on your blog or it could start the processes working in your mind so that you can come up with something better. Either way, it is a great way of jump starting your brain, and more importantly letting your boss see that you are doing some work!
So what can you take away from this blog? Well the key things to remember are;
Don’t Panic – Pressure is the writer’s worst enemy so if you feel yourself getting tense, do something to relieve the tension.
Seek Inspiration Elsewhere – You are only an internet connection away from a whole world of inspiration, just make sure it doesn’t turn in to another distraction!
Write About Your Writer’s Block – It’s happening, it’s all you can think about and it is taking over your day, so just write about the thoughts that are going through your head! It might not be something you can end up using but it could be just what you need to get the creative juices flowing. Do it well enough and you could even end up using it as a guest blog….
There’s plenty you can do to break the curse of bloggers block, so don’t let it ruin your day and see how many different ways there are to find a little creative inspiration.
How do you get over boggers’ block? I am looking forward to your comments below!
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About the author:
Alan Grainger is an in-house B2B web marketer and manages the SEO for The Corporate Gifts Company, a leading UK specialist in the business gifts sector. He writes articles exploring the issues faced by the B2B web marketer, giving an “in the trenches” view from an in-house SEO department.
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One great way which I use to get inspiration is to comment on other people’s blog articles.
There I get inspiration for my articles. Also a good way is to go through customer support and product request emails where you offered a solution or solved a customer’s problem.
There you can get great stuff to write about. For example a helpful How-to article 🙂