If you’ve been blogging for a while, it happens.
You can ride the crest of a wave for months. Blog topics fly at you from all directions. You have so many ideas you write them all down so your well of creativity won’t run dry.
However, one day, before you realise what’s happening, you hit a drought. Your list of ideas has been used up, and you have nothing left.
In frustration you skip your blog writing and get on with other stuff convinced you’ll have an idea tomorrow.
The problem is you don’t, nor the day after that.
Your mind is blank.
How to keep blogging in a drought
The reason I’m writing about this now is that I have hit a drought.
For the past few weeks, ideas have been few and far between.
As far as I was concerned I had two options: wallow in self-pity and let my blog slowly die, or I could be proactive.
After a little bit of wallowing, I opted for the proactive option.
What did I do?
First, I reviewed all my past blogs. I took a look at subjects I hadn’t covered for a while and made a list.
Then I took a look to see if any of those posts could be updated, and made a list of those too.
Both of those exercises produced a decent list to get started on, but I knew, sooner or later the drought would strike again.
That’s when I started thinking about the recent projects I’d worked on.
Quite often, during a piece of work, something happens that stops and makes you think ‘I wonder if any other copywriters out there experience this?’
That’s when I started making a note of questions clients ask, situations that arise time and time again, issues that occur (not just during the project, but before and after) to see if there are any learning opportunities.
It’s surprising how many things there are.
Think about your entire blog audience
All too often it’s easy to get blinkered about who is reading your blog. Sure, I get a lot of businesses and individuals looking for tips and ideas, but I also have a wide audience of copywriters.
We all learn from each other and usually face the same situations. The ability to help other writers and to learn from their experiences is invaluable.
That’s why you should never underestimate who your audience is and what they find interesting. Rather than just writing about the same old stuff, think a bit wider and consider what other issues every type of reader may be facing.
When you do that, coming up with ideas becomes a little bit easier. That’s to say you’ll never hit another drought, but it gives you more areas to think about when it does happen (and hopefully it won’t happen quite so often).
You should also continue reading blogs. They will inspire you. However, never attempt to copy someone else’s style. There are a lot of bloggers out there who I admire. I love their style, approach, and ideas. But it’s not my style. It’s vital you stay true to yourself and don’t become a second rate copier.
Your voice is unique so make the most of it and use it to carve yourself a niche in your industry.
Sally Ormond is a copywriter and blogger who’s been inspiring her clients and their customers for over a decade.