I still get writer’s block

You wouldn’t expect someone who has published 500 blogs to admit that

Writer’s Block can affect the most prolific of writers and as a creative there is no worse feeling in the world

You feel frustrated and a failure as writing is what you do. 30 seconds feels like 30 hours. You stare at a screen and nothing comes out. And that list of blog titles you’d emailed yourself weeks ago just aren’t inspiring you

That’s my experience of writer’s block

Yours may be from an entirely different place. You might have never published a blog before. You might only be 2 or 3 blogs in and still face the frustration when you sit down at your keyboard

IF I’M TOTALLY LOST WITH WRITER’S BLOCK, HERE ARE 5 THINGS I DO WHICH USUALLY GET MY MOJO BACK
1. Go for a run
2. Engage on Social Media
3. Go to the shops (whilst listening to a podcast)
4. Aim to clear my inbox out / do admin
5. Post on Social Media I’m suffering from writer’s block (this was what inspired this blog)

6 SOURCES OF INSPIRATION I USE TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK
If the above doesn’t work, I use one of the following sources of inspiration for my writing

1. Remix Previous Blogs
This only works, if you have a back catalogue of blogs like we do

I tend to do this one of 2 ways

I look at what has worked well recently and see if there’s a follow up or way I can spin it into a new blog. You could call this “the format remix”. For instance our previous blog before this one was “Clubhouse: Pros and Cons”. It’s getting a lot of traffic right now because Clubhouse is really popular. Is there another app or social media feature I could write about right now that people would want to the know the Pros and Cons of?

The other way I do this is look at what I published on the same month of previous years. What was important to me in January 2020, January 2019, January 2018 that could inspire a seasonal post for 2021? Do any of those blogs need a refresh or update?

2. LinkedIn Comments
I’m an active member of LinkedIn – it really is the number 1 platform for B2B

Where I give a lot of value on LinkedIn, as well as my own posts, is the comments section of other people’s posts

My LinkedIn comments can inspire 2 fresh pieces of content
– LinkedIn Status Updates
– Blogs

If I’m inspired enough to comment it often scratches an itch. Usually at least once a month one of those comments turns into a blog

In fact if I didn’t have social media training and social media management to do each day – I could probably write 10 blogs a day based on LinkedIn comments

LinkedIn comments build relationships and the bonus is looking at your activity feed and realising you have some great ideas for blogs

3. Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups are a great source of inspiration

Simply use the search function in Facebook groups to see what questions people are asking about your industry

Write the questions down

Write a blog about it

And then share the blog back to the group to help the original poster as well as many others

Simple

4. They Ask, You Answer

“They Ask, You Answer” is a fantastic book I’d recommend every single person reads

The concept is simple – any time your customers or potential customers asks a question, you write a blog answering that question on your website

You then have an exhaustive body of work that helps potential customers do business with you

Could you go through your last 5 clients / customer enquiries and write a list of questions they asked?

Could you write the answers to those questions in a blog?

You’ve already answered their questions so I’m 100% sure you could

5. Podcast Inspiration
I’ll be honest I’m struggling with this one during the pandemic

Podcasts are so tied in with me going to the gym that I’m listening to less podcasts than normal this year

But every time I listen to a podcast there’s always a gem of inspiration that I can take away

A learning point that can weave its way into what I do

I even listened to a podcast by Empire Magazine where a quote from Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin / Doctor Who / Queer As Folk) could potentially inspire a blog

Remember your podcast doesn’t have to be a business one to inspire an idea

6. Ask Your Networking Group
If your networking group is like ours, you probably have a group Whatsapp for conversations and catch ups

Lean on that group for inspiration

Ask them what they’re struggling with in your field of expertise? Ask them what they’re unsure about when it comes to your industry? Ask them if their clients have mentioned any areas of your knowledge they struggle with?

Serve those who know you well, so they can tell others

BONUS TIP

Open a book and using the page it opens on for inspiration

Our friend Sam Alford of PPPM came up with that one and whilst I haven’t tried it myself, I certainly will in the future

I have 75+ business books on my shelf and equal number of non business books, so the inspiration is endless here

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation

We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you

Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

We offer Social Media Training on
* LinkedIn
* Instagram
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Blogging

We can do this
* 121
* Corporate Workshops
* Group Workshops
* Face to Face or Via Zoom / Skype

Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 500+ LinkedIn testimonials and is Ranked Number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.