If there is one thing more and more bloggers struggle with, it is knowing what to blog about. Or avoiding writer’s block. I use to struggle with this every time I sat down to do a post. It was too much work to come up with ideas all the time. And quite frankly, it was a major struggle for me too.
As we continue with our series 28 Days to Build a Successful Blog, it is time we hit on this subject. I know you are struggle with this, even if you don’t want to admit it. One of the best things I started to do to cure this little issue was to have a place to put post ideas. I use a number of methods for always having a post idea handy.
Avoid writer’s block
It is no secret, I use a Mac. And built into the Mac is a great little program called Text Edit. It is like having a notebook right on your desktop. Whenever I get an idea of a blog post I might want to write, I usually open up a new Text Edit doc and jot down a few notes. I also might put a temporary title on the draft post and I also will jot down some ideas or a brief outline. As I get more and more ideas for a particular post, I usually try to open up the .txt doc and add to my notes.
I also use a great cross platform application called, Evernote. It is without a doubt one of the best tools I have for keeping track of post ideas and a place to keep all kinds of information for them too. I can start a page inside Evernote and jot down notes. I can also keep links here of other post I might want to quote and site. What I like about Evernote of Text Edit is the fact it syncs with the web based version so I can access it from any computer.
My blog editor of choice is Marsedit. It is a Mac only application and well worth having. Like most 3rd party editors there is a way to start a draft and save it for later editing. What I like about using Marsedit over using the Dashboard in WordPress is that I don’t have to be online to work on a post. I can write or work on a post even if I am not online. I also use its built in draft folder to keep unfinished post so I can work on them later and use them to avoid writer’s block.
The main thing you need to do is find a way to keep post ideas handy so you can work on them when you need an idea. There is really no excuse for not having a few post ideas in your “toolbox” you can use if you happen to run into a roadblock and not know what to post about.
My suggestion to you
Setup your own procedure for collecting post ideas and a way to organize them so you can find them and use them when you need to. And leave your comments on this post of how you might be dealing with writer’s block. Let’s keep the conversation going.
