Have you been hesitant to commit to a blogging schedule because you’re worried you’ll run out of content?
Or have you committed to a schedule but find yourself scrambling at the last minute to write something decent?
I can totally relate!
We all have days where we’ve lost our juice for writing, believe it’s impossible to find a fresh topic, or have fallen out of a once-great writing routine.
So we procrastinate, stare at a blank screen, or quickly hop over to Facebook thinking, “There must be a good idea there.”
If you’re feeling stuck, there’s no need to get down on yourself. There isn’t a writer or blogger who hasn’t struggled to churn out consistently good, useful content at some point.
Today I’m coming to your rescue with six no-fail strategies to help you keep writing, even when you think you’ve run out of ideas.
If you put a few minutes into each strategy below, you’re bound to find dozens of new blog topics with each one. Before you realize it, you could have 2 years of posts planned in less than an afternoon.
Strategy #1 – Brainstorm Sprint
Write a list of every potential blog topic you can possibly think of that relates to your business. Don’t worry about what ideas might seem “silly” or too “off-topic,” it may be the perfect subject at some point down the line.
Focus on writing the longest, most epic list possible.
Strategy #2 – Idea Expansion
Check out your past blog posts. Notice which topics resonated with your readers or which ones you had a lot of fun writing. Write those down.
Now, use each of those previous posts as an idea seed. How could you expand on that topic? What sub-topics could you write about? Were there questions posted in the comments that you could address in a full post?
Write down all possible topics.
Strategy #3 – Content Squeeze
Think about all the wonderful things you’ve already created for your business. Make a list of everything you have, including worksheets, art, poems, processes, designs, routines, anything!
How can you squeeze a blog post out of the content you’ve already created? Can you take a worksheet you use in one class and talk about it in a blog post? Can one of your designs become the focus of your writing?
Jot down all of your ideas.
Strategy #4 – What You’ve Learned
Think about everything you’ve learned that brought you to this very point in your life or business.
What lessons have you learned? What stories can you tell about those lessons?
Whether you turn it into a list post, like my Top 10 Things I Learned in My First Year in Business, or tell a story, like my How to Get Exactly What You Want, No Visualization Required, you can take your lessons and share them with your readers.
Make a note of the lessons and stories that your readers would most love to read.
Strategy #5 – Client Stories
Look over your client roster. Recall your most recent session with each person.
What challenges were they facing?
What questions did they ask you?
What problems have you solved for them?
What stories did you share?
What common themes arose?
Write down everything comes to mind. Each answer is an idea for a blog post.
My Personal Recommendation for YouWhy I Don’t Let My Clients Hire a CopywriterStrategy #6 – Rest your brain
Sometimes the quickest path to a new blog post topic is to not think about your blog.
Take a nap. Meditate. Take a relaxing (or vigorous) walk. In essence, rest your brain.
Stop thinking about your blog posts, and all of sudden, *poof* the perfect topic appears. (This is my go-to method when I’m stuck.)
Your turn
There you have it, six no-fail strategies for finding endless blog content.
The bad news is that you have no more excuses for skipping this week’s post or procrastinating any longer… but I think you can handle it.
Now I want to hear from you! Tell me…
1. Do you ever experience blog burnout?
2. What’s your favorite strategy for getting past it? I’m sure you’ve got some great ones.
Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!
I love this post, thank you so much – some great ideas here!
I sometimes use stories from my day to day life ~ things I’ve observed or that have happened to me. I’ve been writing my blog for four years or so now so it feels like something that is very close to me, if that makes sense; I think I’ve developed as a consequence a kind of background radar for things that might be good to explore as topics or write about or use to express my thoughts and ideas.
I am an artist and I often post process photos of my paintings; they are really popular. I think everyone likes a bit of ‘behind the scenes’ action! It’s good to see that the people whose blogs we read aren’t all about the glossy ‘perfect’ outcome, that there is a real person behind them who sometimes makes mistakes or creates things that aren’t always amazing! It makes you more approachable.
Another thing to do is if someone else writes about something that sparks something for you, you can take that and expand on it, or add your own twist, or apply it to how you work/what you create etc. A good excuse to read all your favourite blogs! 😉
Awesome ideas, Tara! I especially love the “behind the scenes” idea for artists. I have several artist clients who would benefit from that one. I know I love seeing behind the scenes in artists’ studios!
Hi, Tara!
As a performance artist, I can also relate to the excitement & interest that ‘behind the scenes’ posts generate. When my group premiered our latest show, we posted pics/vids of rehearsals and pre-production setup….they got us our highest online unique visitor numbers to date! 🙂
So glad to hear you say that. I love “inside scoop” or “behind the scenes stuff,” and it’s so great to hear that you’ve had a similar experience. Thanks for sharing that!
Timely post. I find that the more involved I am on my business, whether working with clients or creating new things, the more the ideas flow. Then it’s just a matter of finding the focus to get them written out. Do you have any tips for this?
Yes I do! I usually suggest that we have our “blog post writing window” blocked out on the calendar. That’s a 3-5 hour block each week that’s dedicated to getting the post done. Sometimes people cringe at the idea of scheduling writing time, but if you want to get it done on a regular schedule, it works!
The other option if you don’t want to get that rigid is to set the day and time of your blog post (and/or newsletter) posting. For me, that’s very early on Wednesday morning. This means I need to have my blog post to my assistant by Monday at the absolute latest so she can post it, prep the newsletter, and send me the draft for any edits before Wednesday. In order for me to meet my weekly commitment, this is a non-negotiable deadline. That always helps me get it done on time.
Do either of those ideas resonate with you?
I like the suggestion of having a deadline and a regular post date. I’ll work with that and see how it goes. Thank you.
Hello Jenny,
I started blogging in German and later on I wrote in English and German. In August I wanted to start my website in English and felt stuck for 2 month with my blog.
What I did 2 weeks ago: I really took one day only focusing on what I truely want and what fits right now. I realized that I loved my blog so much and that it wasn’t time to set up an new website. Maybe that will change in a month, maybe I will do it in 6 month.
After that very clear desicion I started right away.
So my 3 tips are:
*1st tip:Take time and get clear on the topics you want to write. What does your blog stand for.
My blog’s name is dreamheartsmartart- and about those 4 words I create my content.
*2nd tip: I wrote that I will have a blogchallenge next week. So you can always invite people to come over and to share their thoughts, art, fotos.
3rd tip: Embrace the imperfect. I know I am not at all an English mothertongue person and that I write mistakes- I know, some people tell me that this is bad advertise. Probably yes. But what I know about me: If I want to be perfect it blocks me.
And then I restart at 0..
What do you think- does that help?
Andrea, Switzerland
Great ideas, Andrea! You’re right that getting clear is essential to finding blog topics. Otherwise we feel like we’re wandering without direction and it leaves us with too many options!
Thanks for sharing your experiences and ideas here. So glad to have you!
Hi thanks Jenny,
Your ideas are very helpful and encouraging for a fresher like me, who has some writing potential but usually stuck in. I’m a travel professional and my work takes me every day new places and of course new people to meet up.
Thank again for allowing me room in your brilliant work.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Excellent article I used it like a checklist thanks for making it simple!
My pleasure, Jamie! Glad you found it helpful!
I love these idea-generating ideas. Thank you. Is there a place on your blog where you have talked about the structure of your newsletter-blog tie in? I see what you do, but I’d love a simple breakdown of how you make that work, step by step. Right now, I write a newsletter article that is separate from my weekly blog, but I like the idea of driving traffic to the web site with the newsletter. You mention in the comments sending your blog to your assistant so she can prep the newsletter. Would you mind breaking down the steps she takes? Thanks, Jenny!
I don’t have that detail outlined here on my blog, but I’ll give you the quickie here.
For me, the intro to my blog post or a teaser goes into my newsletter, directing the reader to the blog. My newsletter also includes product and program updates, tidbits about business and life, and anything else I feel compelled to ad. Those details can’t be found on my website.
In my previous online business, I wrote a different newsletter article than blog post and was just making too much work for myself! Unless you have a really compelling reason, I recommend keeping them the same.
As far as what I do and what my assistant does, here’s the summary.
1. I have a template for each week that includes the blog post, image, a tweet, the newsletter intro, and a few other social media tasks for my assistant. I fill that out and email it to her.
2. She uploads the blog and creates the newsletter, then sends me a draft to review.
3. I send her feedback or changes, then tell her to queue it.
It took several weeks to get the system down, but it’s pretty much fail-safe now and we both love it.
Hope that helps!
Thanks Jenny. Perfect timing for me. I originally made a schedule earlier this year, but things are evolving and changing so much I havent stuck to it. I am feeling the need to sit down and really look at this process again, so this post is super-helpful. Thanks!
So glad it helped, Joanna! Yes, our businesses evolve as we do, so even if we have a good list of post topics, we sometimes need to shift focus and find some new ones. Glad I was able to help!
OMG – Jenny, I just love your content. This article was super helpful for me to figure out what to write about. I get ideas here and there and I’ve even started a list of topic ideas but then when I go to write, I kinda of feel stuck. All these strategies are very helpful.
I also loved that you explained briefly how you do your blog article and your newsletter separately but use/refer to the same content and you explain the process of what you do and what you hand off to your assistant.
I have a question about doing blog posts and weekly newsletter. Because I am new to all of this – writing consistency and all of that it would be helpful for some recommendations. So here goes… correct me if I misunderstood you but you are writing one new blog post topic per week? Then you are also sending out a weekly newsletter too. So is your newsletter somewhat the same but the content is updated – just trying to decide when I should start doing the weekly newsletter.
What do you recommend for new bloggers? Blogging one new blog article each week. And then when would I start doing the newsletter? Thanks in advance for your input. And if you need an idea of a new article, showing us the basics of crafting a newsletter would be an awesome topic for me.
Love your stuff! Thanks so much for your generosity!!
Hi Michele!
I’m thrilled to hear you’re finding lots of useful content here. That’s my goal!!
I suggest that your weekly email newsletter be a teaser to your blog. If you subscribe to my weekly emails, you’ll see that’s exactly what I do.
I recommend you blog weekly — and send an email newsletter to that same new content — also weekly.
I also teach my clients to include a short pitch to their offer and a short bio in all weekly emails as well. I’ll be having a blog post coming out soon that talks a bit more about that. Keep your eyes peeled!