The best prevention is avoidance. If you've got a steady stream of
ideas to draw from, writer's block will never be a problem. The trick
is to understand the ebb and flow of creativity. Harness the ideas when
they are flowing freely, then stock up for dry seasons.
Because dry seasons will come. Ten new clients dropping into your lap,
a new speaking engagement, upcoming seminars, and dozens of other
wonderful opportunities can drain your time and energy. When the well
of ideas runs dry, the blog is usually the first to feel the effects of
the creative drought.
Even if you're in the middle of the desert, ideas may be
flowing beneath your feet. Here are some ideas to help you draw water
from the rocks.
News
Weigh in on trends, events, and people in the public spotlight.
When the world is watching, you may be able to show up on the radar as
well. Relate it to the topic of your blog and add value with your
unique perspective.
It is important to take a new angle on the news. You do not
want to blend into the thousands of other voices in the media
whirlwind. If someone failed, point out ways they could have turned it
into a success. If the story illustrates a point you've been making,
draw out the analogy. If a new idea is taking your area by storm, sound
out about it.
If you have a niche blog, you can also talk about little-known news
that hasn't made big waves yet. There is always a demand for
interesting stories the rest of the media is missing.
To learn more about getting publicity from news, read this
post about Online Press Release Mistakes and How to Avoid Them:
http://www.xeal.com/blog/index.php/marketing/2007/08/27/8_online_press_release_mistakes_and_how_
Respectfully disagree
Controversy, when kept at a professional level, can be a great
spur for conversation. You can generate comments and page views with
trackbacks to the original post that inspired your commentary as well.
This must be handled with extreme care. With any controversy,
you take on the threat of negative comments towards you or your
company. Tread lightly and courteously when testing these waters. If
not, you risk offending a very vocal community leader with an
established audience.
Agree...with a new twist
A less turbulent option for interacting with other blog communities is
adding your unique spin to an existing idea. This carries the same
benefits of traffic and comments via trackbacks. Choose blogs with an
established audience, if possible, or smaller blogs closely related to
your own.
Since you are effectively sailing in the slipstream of another blog,
this should be used sparingly. Commenting on posts from other blogs is
a very effective technique. However, you can lose your credibility as a
thought leader if you're always riding edge of someone else's wave.
Highlight useful links
Since ancient times, farmers have diverted water from existing
rivers to help nourish their crops. For years, the Web has generated a
steady stream of incredible resources. Mentioning any one of these
resources can keep your blog going and deliver helpful content to your
readers.
Spin old ideas into new articles
Re-visit old articles you've written and look at the subjects
you touched on. One or more of those sub-topics might have enough
information to become its own article. For example, if you talked about
the top 5 things to do to improve your golf swing, you could create an
article focusing on one of those 5 things. Or if you wrote an article
on choosing the perfect putter, you might be able to do a similar
article on choosing the perfect driver as well.
If you're short on ideas to begin with, check out this post on 20 Sure-fire ways to beat writer's block:
http://dmiracle.com/general/20-surefire-ways-to-beat-writers-block/
Any or all of these techniques can help you survive a creative
dry spell. Once the creativity starts to kick in, keep tabs on the
ideas when they're flowing. Creativity comes in bursts, and it pays to
ride the waves when they come.
Not only will you be able to keep your blog rolling along till
the next big rain, you might have the chance to build community as well
through commentary and links. Who knows? You might help someone else
break out of their creative slump too.
