Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
When trying to maintain an active blog, a good flow of content keeps people coming back for more. But, what if you’re a blogger with a bad case of writer’s block? Today, I’ll share a few ways I deal with this problem.
Because let’s face it, no one wants to sit staring at a blank computer screen for hours on end.
How a Blogger Can Easily Deal with Writer’s Block
The more content you have up, the greater are your chances of attracting an audience. But, you need to make sure you’re writing something people want to read.
Let’s take a look at eight of the most effective methods I use to keep me blogging.
1. Using a Listicle to Come Up with Ideas
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to get ideas for blogging comes from content you’ve probably already created at some point. I’m talking about listicles you may have written in the past.
A listicle is an article featuring a numbered list of points, highlights, and other information. You’re reading one right now.
You can expand each one of those points into its own standalone topic. And you’ll already know if there is an audience for it based on the success of that particle post.
2. Plan Out Future Content in a Productivity App
I use the free version of Asana. It’s a great productivity app that I have running in a browser window at all times. This is because anytime I get an idea about a blog post, I can add it to my tasks.
Throughout the day, I’ll come up with half a dozen ideas that I want to research. Keeping them jotted down somewhere reminds me that I want to cover the topic at some point.
After a bit of research, and checking to make sure the search volume of the keyphrase is 100 or higher, I’ll “assign” the article to myself in Asana.
3. Use Mind Mapping for Logical Idea Connections
Mind Mapping can do wonders for just about any purpose. I often use them for blog development, monetizing ideas, goals, and more. You can also use mind mapping for content ideas.
Start with the keyphrase in the center. Then, branch out with similar posts that are relevant to one another. You can come up with a lot of ideas as well as a way to handle internal linking.
In fact, free tools like Mindomo can easily help with blogging ideas through mind mapping.
4. Keep Future Ideas On a Spreadsheet
If I’m not using Asana, I have a spreadsheet in Google that keeps track of ideas I want to research. Nowadays, I’ll research the blog ideas in the spreadsheet and then assign them in Asana.
I’ll also keep track of things like search volume for keywords, LSI terms to use, whether the article is published already, and the URL so I remember I’ve already covered the topic.
At any rate, it’s all about keeping track of the things you want to write about and what you’ve already covered.
5. Check Out What People Are Search For
Two of my favorite tools to battle writer’s block as a blogger are Answer the Public and Google search. This is because knowing what people are asking for can open all kinds of doors for possibilities.
Answer the Public provides a database full of questions people ask in search of any particular topic. And it’s often one of my first go-tos when coming up with a new idea that I’m not sure about.
The “People also ask” section in Google is a treasure trove of ideas waiting to be explored. And because you can expand each question while revealing additional relevant questions, you can go quite deep into that rabbit hole.
6. Read Competitor Articles
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of recon work of a competing blog. The Internet is full of sites just like your own, and seeing what they publish can give you a few ideas.
This is especially true if you use the skyscraper technique, in which you read a competitor’s post to see what you can do to make it better for your own website.
This is aside from the fact that some of those articles may fuel ideas the competitor hasn’t written yet.
7. Get Ideas from Your Audience
Never underestimate the insightfulness of your audience. Whether it’s people asking questions on your blog or leaving comments on your YouTube channel, your audience can provide a great number of content ideas.
Personally, I use the YouTube channel a lot for fighting writer’s block as a blogger. Even though some of those posts don’t really perform well in search, I’m still satisfied that I probably helped one reader or viewer.
You could also ask people to comment on their own ideas or even host a survey on your website.
8. Get Ideas from Other YouTube Comments
What if you don’t have a YouTube channel? No worries, you can still use the video platform for a plethora of blogging ideas.
Watch a few videos of YouTubers that are in the same niche as your blog. Take a look at the comment section and see if you can answer some questions or pull ideas for future posts.
It’s actually quite effective, but sometimes you’ll have to dig pretty deep to get some good ideas.
Realize Not All Blog Posts Need to Center Around SEO
One thing I’ve come to realize as of late is that some people are going to read your blog simply because they like you as a creator. As such, you don’t always have to purely focus on SEO.
In fact, some of my best-performing articles are more centered around personal opinion and experience than keyphrases and search intent.
Don’t get me wrong, search engine optimization is vital for the growth of any website. But once you started building a dedicated fan base, it’s easier to write articles tailored for them instead of Google.
For instance, I use push notifications on all of my websites. When someone subscribes, it means they found value in what I create. This means they’re more likely to come back.
And yes, a lot of my opinion pieces get a bit of quick attention when they’re published from those subscribers.
Case in point, I was asked how to deal with writer’s block recently on the podcast from a blogger. As such, I decided to write this article. After a bit of research, I can already tell that it’s not going to perform well.
A volume of 10 searches per month is pretty paltry.
But, the article is now available for that viewer as well as anyone else who searches for the topic. And I already have two additional articles planned out regarding the topic for later.
Writer’s Block Can Create Problems for a Blogger
In truth, anything that holds you back from writing content on your website is a problem. Like I said earlier, every article you have up is one more that people can find and read.
Not to mention how Google holds active websites in higher regard. This means they’re more likely to be placed higher in search.
It’s imperative you keep the ideas flowing and deal with writer’s block quickly as a blogger. Especially if you’re trying to build a popular site or make any significant amount of money.
And if you decide to do an experiment of blogging for 30 days straight, you’ll need a lot of ideas to fuel your writing for the next month.
As a Blogger, How Do You Deal With Writer’s Block?
I personally use every one of the ideas above on a near-daily basis. Out of everything I’ve tried over the past decade, these are the most effective for dealing with writer’s block for me as a blogger.
Now, I cannot guarantee you’ll have the same success. But, perhaps it’ll give you a starting point to build your own strategies.
And if you have ideas you’d like to share, leave it in the comments down below. I’m always looking to expand my horizons.
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