We have all been there. You have a blog post, newsletter, or social media update to create and you simply cannot think of where to start. Five minutes…. thirty minutes….one hour later and you are still staring at a blank computer screen and wondering how to get the right words out of your head.
When you are hit with a case of writer’s block it is often difficult to move past the empty thoughts, and it is even harder if you are producing content day-in and day-out as a marketing professional. So how do you get past the block to create the vital lead-generating content you need? Today, we are sharing some of our favorite tips on brainstorming to get you writing again.
Get Organized
I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but we can’t say it enough: get organized. Planning out your content ensures that you are never at a loss for what to write about. There are a couple of key ways to do this:
- Create an editorial calendar: Creating an editorial calendar will allow you to keep track of the topics you need to tackle, what you’ve already written about, and any important related deadlines that are in place. Need help getting started? WordPress has a plugin that will allow you to create your own editorial calendar in-program, or you could try making your own in a spreadsheet.
- Keep track of what is trending: There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time you write content. Keeping track of what others are writing about and working within those trends is a great way to add to conversations and engage in hot topics. There are a host of wonderful websites out there that can help you keep track of what is trending by aggregating blogs, news articles and even social media statuses from the sources you care most about. Here at GTech Designs, we are partial to Bloglovin’ but a quick Google search will turn up dozens of other great options.
Just Keep Writing
Getting started is half of the battle. Spend some time free writing about your chosen topics. Not everything needs to go into your final piece of content- just let the words flow and see where they take you.
Ask for Help
Even when you are organized, sometimes you still just get stuck. The best way to deal with this is simply to ask for help. Designate a weekly or monthly brainstorming session with other employees at your business to discuss what topics are coming up most often.
Then step out of the office and back online. Try creating a poll and asking your readers what they want to read about next or to respond to a question. The people consuming your content can be a great outlet for idea generation. They already know what they want!
Delegate
If all else fails, pass it off. Sometimes the right person to write that piece of content just isn’t you. Ask someone else in your company to write and offer their unique perspective on what you were planning to tackle. If nobody else is available, seek out guest posters. This can be done on a blog or on social media, and it creates a wonderful opportunity for cross-posting and promotion with other companies. This means you get double the exposure!
Guest posters aren’t the only place you can go for great content writing and digital strategy. Contact us for your free 15-minute consultation or video strategy session where we will outline how you can utilize digital strategies to grow your business and use better online strategies.
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