As a blogger, going through different seasons of creativity is not a rare occurrence. There are times when you feel positively invincible – you have so many ideas that you get lost in each one of them.
There are also harder seasons, ones which feel like coming up with something new for the blog is like a pipe dream.
Suddenly, all of your many ideas disappear and become trite and obvious, not worth putting down. It almost feels as if your brain was stolen in your sleep. Honestly, that’s the only logical explanation. It can be blatantly frustrating, to say the least.
Successful blogs require consistent and fresh content, so it’s only natural to have jitters when your mind seems to be in sleep mode. But I promise you: your brain hasn’t been taken hostage. It’s still in there sloping around. Even though creative blocks can be a little scary, relax.
You have come up with fantastic ideas in the past, and you will have great ideas again – it’s possible to work your way back to the awesome blogger that you are. In fact, it’s not as daunting or time-consuming as you may think. Here are some tips to help you out.
1 Be unique and informative
Start by finding your niche audience. Different how-to sites have garnered a tremendous audience due to their informative blogs. Do not copy their style and structure, but instead, pick a thing or two from their informative nature.
Give particular attention to your audiences’ curiosities by providing them with suitable answers. It’s worth mentioning that the answers you give should be fun, informative and spot on.
2 Remix your old posts
One thing standing on the way between you and creativity is the fear that you are repeating yourself. Don’t let this stop you. You could always approach a topic you posted, say, a year ago, from an entirely different angle, or you could opt to churn out more details about it.
Or maybe you learned meanwhile something interesting about an old topic. The options are endless. Scrutinize your posts and see if there is something you could reconstruct.
3 Get out and explore
Diverse life activities are the most potent agitators of creativity. If you’re feeling notably void of blog post ideas, it may be a sign that you’ve fallen in a bit of a rut. You might find yourself going through a daily routine or perhaps you’re so very busy that you can’t think straight.
If that’s the case, try setting aside time for new experiences. Get out there and see the world. Go to the zoo, take music lessons, travel, etc. You will start feeling the wheels on your tired brain turning again in no time.
4 Interact with your readers
You know that your readers would like to share their opinion, right? Write an ‘Ask the Readers’ post and ask them something that will get them hooked. If, for example, you’re blogging about tackling life’s challenges, be keen on hearing the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Encourage emails and comments every single time you publish a post.
5 Read something new everyday
This works especially if your blog involves informative content. Reading a lot of content, whether in the library or on the internet, constantly gives you ideas on what to post next on your blog.
Engaging your mind on books and articles does more than serve as a source of inspiration for an informative post. It also adds value to your blog. When people read your blogs, they leave with so much informative content. This will make them drop by more often in search of your uniquely informative blog posts.
6 Learn from the professionals
As mentioned before, adopting other people’s style to your blog is a big no-no. But despite the fact that blogging is a competition in itself, there are tonnes you can learn from your competitors. Discover what has worked for them through their blogging journey and try it out.
The best thing to learn would be consistency. Most blogs are as old as 10-15 years. Find out how often they post content and how they make the next post even better.
7 Do something out of the norm
Ironically enough, people enjoy reading stuff they’re scared to try out themselves. Like it or not, that’s human nature. Before trying out something risky, people want to know whether or not it worked out for someone else.
By doing stuff that other people are scared to do, you get the best of both worlds: growing your fanbase and the leadership that comes from writing about what everyone else is scared to write about.
In fact, this entire blog is centered around a topic that many people find daunting: how to get ideas for their next blog post(s).
8 Passion
What makes you light up?
When you write avidly, it reflects through the computer screen. People will tell when you’re passionate and when you’re not. Write something in your niche that interests you. Perhaps you disagree with something that is common knowledge, give your two cents and let the world know.
9 Forums
Put your ears down and get to know what people are saying. Look at what questions they are asking, and what responses they are getting. This could give you ideas about what topic to cover next.
10 Take a nap
If all else hits a dead end, take a short 20-30 minute nap. You (and your brain) might be worn out that you need a quick reboot to re-energize. So, treat yourself and have a rest!
Conclusion
It’s more than essential for any blog worth reading to have appealing topics. Selecting topics at random is a sure fire way of setting your blog up for failure. Embark on a little research and validate topics to make sure each topic will catch the reader’s attention before you even start writing. You’ll be safer that way.
Author bio: Alex Slichnyi, community manager at 99firms.com is an avid learner of all things IT. He is a savvy SEO specialist who loves traveling because it allows him to experience hands-on the many facets of life. This hands-on approach can be seen in his work, which is meticulously crafted with daring vision.
