I Don’t Know What to Write!
Jan 28
Ever feel like this? You really want to produce great content, consistently write fantastic blog posts that will have people flooding to your website, but … writers block – you just don’t know what to write!
Well, we all experience it! I’ve only just started my blog and pre launch I thought to myself, right I’m going to be really prepared, have my weeks blog posts ready to go so unless there is some breaking news I can just press publish and not stress everyday!
Yeah right, here I am this morning, with nothing prepared thinking, what shall I write about today! Oh and I haven’t got 2 hours to review, research or do something fancy, so it’s actually what shall I write about today that I can publish in 20 mins flat!
Which got me thinking, you know loads of people have this very issue, what do they write about to keep the audience coming back and engaged, so here’s my Top 10 Tips for Producing Great Content!
1. When writing, think results – will people really be able to use the information I’m providing? The more you can help people make positive changes in their lives, the more they will become an advocate of you / your business. Try not to produce content just for the sake of producing content, but publish something that can really help people move forward in their lives and produce results.
2. Write as if you’re talking to a buddy. Imagine you’re having a coffee or talking over dinner, you don’t use lots of fancy phrases and big words do you (well some of you might), but on the whole people want something quick and easy to read in plain English, so keep it simple and write as you would talk.
3. What challenges are people facing? Are you solving their problems? People will love you if you have the answers to their problems. Every time I produce a video that shows someone how to do something, you can bet your bottom dollar I get comments from people saying, ‘thanks so much Jo I’ve been struggling with this for ages!’ So to create avid fans of your blog, solve lots of problems!
4. 5 Steps to … / 10 Steps to… Recently I watched a great interview with Nick O’Neill the founder of allfacebook.com on www.mixergy.com, See Interview Here, (Great site by the way!). He talks about Lists & Guides being the content that really made his blog fly. He’s right of course, there’s something very Step by Step about a 5 Steps to, or 10 Steps to… Guide. People like Step by Step.
My 5 year old said to me the other day, ‘Mummy, there are 3 steps to creating orange juice; Step 1 – Get a cup, Step 2 – Get an orange, Step 3 – Squeeze the juice out of the orange. This technique starts early! (Maybe she’ll start a blog!)
5. Don’t over think your content, just write from your heart. We all tend to over think things and sure if you’re writing a white paper or a big ‘How to’ guide, then a lot of thought and preparation needs to go into it. But for your daily blog posts, people will love your content if it’s simply fresh, personable and easy to read!
6. Keep it short, we’re all pushed for time. Again the caveat is downloadable ‘How to’ guides, or white papers etc (even then though I would keep the chapters / segments short and easy to read). If you’re reading this, then you’re most likely interested in Social Media and will be following my guidance to distribute your blog posts across the Social Media networks. With Facebook, G+, Twitter etc, information is coming at people so thick and fast the shorter, punchier and easier to read your post is, the more it will get consumed. That’s why infographics are so popular, they’re simply a photo of information well designed to be consumed quickly!
7. Variety is the Spice of Life! Keep your blog posts varied. Make some posts text, some video, some audio, some image based. People learn in very different ways, some like to listen, some like to read, some like to watch, so the more varied you can make your posts the more people will come back!
8. Use Google Reader to find out the latest in your industry and curate or summarise. If you’re not sure what I mean by google reader please have a look at my welcome post, I made a quick video showing you how to use it (fast forward to about 2 minutes to see) – Learn How to Use Google Reader Here. By curate / summarise, I mean either copy and paste parts of the blog with your own opinions / thoughts – always ensure you link back to the blog and credit the author, or simply summarise what they said with your own opinion, once again linking back and crediting the author.
9. Everytime you learn something new or do something you think is noteworthy write it down. This is a great one, as in this game we’re always learning new things. The other day I learned how to add fonts to my font files so I could create more interesting powerpoint presentations etc. I made a note of how to do it and I guarantee that will be a short blog post one day! (Maybe tomorrow!) So as you’re going about your daily business if you’re wondering how to so something and you crack it you can guarantee someone else is wondering how to do the very same thing. Another idea is to carry a content folder, so when you’re sitting in the waiting room at the dentist or hairdressers or waiting for the kids you can jot down some interesting thoughts that you can share on your blog! Remember people love human!
10. If you absolutely can’t think of anything to say but want to get something out, ask a question! The idea behind successful blogging isn’t just throwing out loads of content, its engaging with your audience. What better way to engage than to ask questions. So if you’re really struggling with what to write, simply ask your audience a question with a quick reason as to why you’re asking that question and then work to ensure you respond to your audience and discuss their replies.
One last bonus tip. Don’t stress! If your goal is to publish a post a day but you just can’t think of anything for a couple of days, don’t worry! Better to publish one post a week full of really interesting and useful information than to release a load of unfocused ramblings just because you think that’s the right thing to do. Remember the main reason for a blog is very similar to a fan page. It’s to attract people to you, engage, build relationships, add value and solve problems!
If you’re someone who sometimes struggles with what to write, I’d love to hear from you? What niche are you in? What is that you’re finding difficult when it comes to producing content? Let me know in the comments box below.
If you’ve enjoyed todays post and you think it can help or add value to friends / fans please pass along!
Speak soon!
Jo:)
Hi!
My name is Jo Barnes and I am the founder of The Social Networking Academy and the creator of this blog.
I think I'm probably the happiest person I know and I'm in love with my family, business and travelling! For the last 18 months I have been travelling with my partner and 5 year old daughter all over the world! We spent 4 months in Cyprus, 3 months in Thailand, 4 months in Australia, and we're heading back to South East Asia, Australasia and off to America in 2012!
That's what I LOVE about what I do! It gives me the freedom to live anywhere with my family!
I am so passionate about social media, relationship marketing, entrepreneurship and FREEDOM!
Please enjoy this blog as I present you with great information on how to utilise Social media to build and grow your business and share my journey with you!
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I Don’t Know What to Write! | The Social Networking Academy Blog http://t.co/j5SQJ437 via @SNAtv
Hi Jo,
I enjoyed reading your post.
I wholeheartedly agree with Tip #2. It is one of the most important things to remember when writing. Try to make your reader feel as if you are talking directly to them in terms that they can understand and relate to. Too many technical terms turns most people away. They don’t impress me very much.
I often have times when I can’t think of what to write about, as I’m sure most of us do. I find forums are a great place to find things to write about.
What I struggle with…
One of the worst things is coming up with a great post idea and not being able to come up with enough words to produce a worthwhile article.
Hi Laurie, there’s nothing worse is there, when you’re reading a post and you’re thinking, please speak to me in English!
Your posts don’t have to be long. Check out Seth Godins blog, his posts are always really short and sweet! – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Jo:)
Hi, Jo. Great information! I’d like to add one more suggestion — use Google Alerts. I’ve found that by putting my keywords “on alert” I get the latest articles from all over the web about my topics. Often I find intriguing new information to write about — and sometimes, I’m able to do a service to other writers by passing it on.
Great tip! Thanks Nancy!
HI Jo, thanks for sharing this ideas! I just started a blog and these are good tips! Thank you!
I had been a blogger since 2008 and I found it satisfying not only for my personal growth but also to others’ improvement in communication skills both oral and written. While teaching college students in Basic and Fundamental Research, I use Facebook in reaching out my protegees, children, friends, classmates, teachers, and relatives. Through Google Chrome, we enhance our skills in gathering data online, navigate with other websites that provide good sources of related journals, literature, and studies posted by researchers all over the world. I is really amazing to do these while also helping others in their online activities. Thanks to all good and excellent social networking sites like Facebook and Google; and not to exclude Yahoo and Skype.
Hi Jo
Thanks for all the great information, when I first started blogging I was the same, I had great intentions of sitting down and writing but then nothing came, my mind was full of ideas but when I wanted to start writing I could not get started I would stare at the screen for ages!
Now like you I take notes when my mind goes into overtime and it’s full of ideas, if I did not write them down I would forget lol
I try to write a few posts at a time and then schedule them so if I do have a writers block one day or week I have posts to that will get published.
Regards
Pauline
Hi Jo, your article is great I like it I wish I could wright like this.
As fae as the step by step is concerned a lot of so called Gurus send Emails with step by step but at the end they only show you wat they like you to see. Most of the Time is rubbish
I Don’t Know What to Write! | The Social Networking Academy Blog http://t.co/002aO0Jr
Well hello Jo
You certainly cover all of the bases to finding inspiration and creating great blog posts.
One brilliant tip I received from Omar Martin was when starting your blog, consider the journey you and your readers are on. Keep this in mind as you capture those ideas that pop into your head, store them in a list and use these to ensure you keep moving forwards.
This way you can keep your blog on topic but if your mind is anything like mine, your posts will approach the subject from many abstract angles.
here’s to your continuing success
igor Griffiths
Thanks Igor, That’s really got me thinking!
Jo:)
[...] you ever struggled for inspiration for blog or email content, my friend Jo Barnes has just written a great post about this and perhaps this is a constant struggle for you, if so [...]
As always Jo great work. Sometimes I seem to have so many topics I don’t know where to start, and then all of a sudden I can’ think of a thing to write.
C
RT @SNAtv: Do you struggle with what to post on your blog? So do I, so I wrote a post about it! http://t.co/hDjuXc1E
This is great Jo!
I will use those tips to write good posts for my blog with the url given above.
[...] I Don’t Know What to Write! | The Social Networking Academy Blog. [...]
Hi Jo,
I am guilty for sure of number 5, I often over think things to a point where I just end up doing nothing. It can start of with a simple post idea and then for some reason I try to turn it into the best blog post the world has ever seen.
But at the end of the day it doesn’t need to be the best post ever if someone can learn from a simple easy to read post then that is much better.
Cheers,
James Howard
Thank’s Jo, for your tips always simple and clear!!!!.
this is a fantastic site I am very impressed
I Don’t Know What to Write! http://t.co/H3PgNdIu
Thanks Jo for this great information. Like many who have commented here I too get stuck most of the time. Mainly because I think my readers already know what I know. But often times I discover it isn’t always the case. I love the tip# 7 (reminder for me to expand the info in different formats) and tip#10 (just asking the question, simple and easy to do).
Great post. I have this problem all the time. I will refer to the post often. Thanks jo
Thanks Owen!
Very interesting. I would love to have the ability to write with such power. Thanks for the tips!
This information will help. I need to spend more time with this, Thanks.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
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