Advisor communications series: The end of writer’s block
You’ve been writing your blog and newsletter, and things have been going well. Then it hits you. You feel like you’ve run out of ideas.
Everyone who writes knows what writer’s block is all about: a blank page, the need to do anything else, and a growing sense of insecurity. Writer’s block comes out of nowhere … and you can’t predict when it will go away.
Here are a few handy ways to make writer’s block a thing of the past.
Carry an idea journal
If you’re going to be a reliable source of content, use an idea journal to store your ideas before you forget them. After work today, go out and buy a notebook. It can be a stylish Moleskin or a tried-and-true Hilroy. Just make sure it has space to write down your ideas when they pop into your head, no matter how odd they may seem at the time.
We get our best ideas when we’re nowhere near a computer. We got the idea for this article while walking to a client meeting.
Check in with your Twitter feed
This is highly counterintuitive because social media is rarely mentioned as a way to be more productive. There are, however, millions of writing ideas dropping through your Twitter feed right now. Reach out and grab one.
There are ways to refine what you’re looking at on Twitter. First, create a private list of your competitors and see what they’re writing about. Now build off or analyze the ideas behind something they’ve shared.
Second, turn to specific people who have great ideas and see what they’ve done recently. Now write your take on an idea of theirs. Just make sure you have an original take.
Seek the opinion of your clients
Asking your clients for topics they’d like you to cover acts as a good touch point, plus their feedback will provide many ideas for future posts.
There are a few ways you can ask: face to face or by personal email, SurveyMonkey, blog post or social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. Pick one or two and see if they work for you.
Try these strategies and banish writer’s block for good.