Stuck, staring at a blank page, when trying to write your blog?
Let me set the scene…
You’ve just sat down at your computer, to write your next blog post. You know what you want to write about and who your audience is, but you can’t think of what to write. No matter how hard you stare at the screen, you can’t conjure up the words to get started.
Don’t worry, we’ve all been there! It happens to everyone. I’m a professional copywriter and published author, and I still experience this!
Sometimes the words just don’t come.
It can be so frustrating when this happens though. It stops you moving forward with your marketing and can be an irritating drain on your precious time.
I’ve got a little mental list of tactics to fall back on to overcome this, so I thought I’d share them with you. I hope you find them useful!
Get something else done
Whether you put a load of washing on or complete another task for your business, ticking something off your list can help to kick start your motivation and give you the boost needed to get your thoughts flowing again. Just make sure you don’t end up getting lost in a huge task or wasting time procrastinating. Aim to complete one thing and then get back to focusing on your original task. Otherwise, that blog will never get written!
Go for a walk
There’s something about getting out of the house for a walk which helps me get my thoughts in order. I don’t know if it’s the change in scenery or the exercise (or a combination of the two!), but it can make a huge difference to my productivity and always helps me to overcome mental blocks.
Even a walk around the block can help, or you could walk to a café or library and work there for a bit for a full change of scenery.
Just start writing
As strange as it may sound, one of the best ways to get through a writing block is to just start writing. I’m not being facetious here, bear with me!
It’s often the idea of getting things right that holds us back from doing. So, let go of the idea of writing an article and instead start jotting down anything to do with your blog’s topic. Do a brain dump of everything that comes to mind as notes, partial sentences and bullet points.
After you’ve done this, or even while you’re noting it all down, begin to group the notes and ideas into sections that go together, adding headings and creating a structure for your article. And, then you can start to fill out what you’ve written into full sentences and paragraphs.
The biggest risk with creating content this way is potentially ending up with half-written or duplicated sections. To avoid this, it’s crucial to carefully read through the finished article before posting it.
Remind yourself of what you’re doing
Sometimes taking a moment to think about what it is you’re doing can help to get those creative juices flowing (and it’s just occurred to me that’s a slightly gross phrase!). I don’t mean what you’re doing generally – though I know I could sometimes do with regular reminders of this in my life – but what you’re setting out to do by writing that particular blog article.
What do you want your audience to do while reading it? Maybe you want them to learn more about what you do, fall in love with one of your products, or understand what it would be like working with you.
Your blog articles can be used to achieve so many different things, but only if you are intentional with how you use them.
Say it out loud
If writing isn’t your thing, or you’re not confident in your ability, it’ll be a lot harder for you than for someone who enjoys it, and you'll find yourself stuck for words often. To get around this you could dictate your article into speech-to-text software, so you don’t have to write. Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word have this function (the links I’ve included go to their how-to guides).
Make sure you read it thoroughly after and be prepared to do some rewriting though, as it won’t always catch what you say, especially if you have an accent!
Get someone else to do it for you
If you spend ages every month writing your blog posts, or you’re not getting around to completing them, it may be time to admit you’re not the best person to do the job. Outsourcing is an inevitable part of growing your business and recognising the tasks that unnecessarily drain your time and energy is important.
It’s natural to feel that you should write your blogs, as it needs to be in your voice and it’s often compiled from the contents of your head. But, a good copywriter will be able to do that on your behalf.
If you’d like to find out how this process works, please get in touch and I’d be happy to talk through how I do it with my clients.
Not all of these tactics will work for everyone. You’ll need to discover what works for you, and it may not be the same each time. But, hopefully something will help when the dreaded blankness settles in! Now go and write a blog, please!