Marc's Blog

This might sound crazy. But I feel like writer’s block is never going to be a problem for me again.

Just writing that makes me feel like I lost a piece of my mind. Writer’s block is the biggest threat that writers face. It’s the reason writing the 250 word blog post takes too long for some people.

And the people who know how to beat writer’s block? They crank out 1,000+ word blog posts in the same amount of time it takes for everyone to tie their shoelaces.

Okay, I wish it was that easy. Let’s go back to writer’s block.

The main reason writers get hit by the block is because they can’t (at the moment) think of ideas to write about. Writers in the middle of writer’s block find themselves staring at the screen in frustration as they try to think of an idea to write about.

So if you have an abundance of ideas to write about, the theory is that writer’s block won’t be a problem. You get those ideas to write about by conducting a brain dump.

A brain dump is when you spend time simply thinking of as many ideas as you can. The ideal time to start the brain dump is when you still have enough ideas available.

You don’t want to have to think of ideas when you are staring at the screen in frustration. Especially when you’re staring at the screen because you are struggling to think of an idea in the first place.

So you should do the brain dump before you run out of ideas to write about. However, if you do run out of ideas, conduct the brain dump anyway. Without the brain dump, you won’t have content ideas, and you need those to actually write the content.

 

How To Find Ideas On The Web

Do you have any idea how much content has been published on the web? I don’t, but I bet if all seven billion people on the planet teamed up to read all of the web’s content, there would still be pieces of content that we wouldn’t get to.

In short, there are a lot of ideas on the web. When I look for ideas on the web, I find myself going back to three main sources for inspiration that you can use too:

 

#1: YouTube

I watch videos related to my niche, and if something interests me about the video (not just something in the video, but also a particular point mentioned or the video’s title), then that inspires me to write a blog post.

For instance, if I watch a video about boosting productivity, and Pareto’s Principle gets mentioned, maybe I am inspired to write a blog post about Pareto’s Principle.

You can also learn more about doing videos because you will be introduced to different styles of delivering content (talking head videos, PowerPoint presentation, etc).

 

#2: Other Blog In Your Niche

Same thing as looking through other YouTube videos. I usually skim through blog posts so I can read as many of them as possible and retain the good stuff.

Many of the top bloggers make it easy for people to skim through their content. And all blogs should be that way.

Think about it: your readers (and everyone) are very busy people.

You want to provide them with a lot of value in a short period of time so they come back for more.

That’s one of the reasons I use big fonts for specific tips. People who speed read my blog posts still get the important stuff out of them.

But if you have loyally read this blog post word for word, then you’ll be even happier if you stick around 🙂

 

#3: Your Past Blog Posts

Looking back at some of your first blog posts conjures up one thought, and one thought only, “What was I doing back then?!?”

Sure, I occasionally think, “Look how far you’ve come,” but that first thought reigns superior 99% of the time.

This one section where I talk about using your past blog posts for inspiration is longer than most of the blog posts I wrote in the past.

Sometimes I have to look at those blog posts and wonder what I was even trying to convey.

It may be intimidating to look at those blog posts because you don’t want to go back to them. However, you will see certain points that you did not discuss in enough detail.

Maybe a Part Two is necessary? Maybe you write an entirely new blog post based on that point that you didn’t discuss.

And don’t just look at the oldest bits of content on your blog. Look at as much of it as you can until you have enough ideas.

I may look at this very blog post a few months from now, find a point that I believe deserved more attention, and then write a new blog post about it.

The more blog posts you have on your blog, the better this method will be.

 

How To Find Ideas Off The Web

For most of my brain dumps, I find myself on the web looking for ideas. I rarely go out of my house to find the ideas because the exit signs in town don’t say things like, “6 Ways To Get More Blog Readers.”

But I recently stumbled across a new way of thinking that has resulted in me looking for more of my blog post ideas off the web.

I was recently walking from my university class back to high school (the university and high school are on the same campus, so the walk isn’t terrible). However, it was cold that day, and a lot of snow was on the ground.

Most people would be more focused on speed walking and getting inside. For about 80% of that walk, I had that same mindset.

Then, the blogger in my emerged on top. For the rest of my walk, here was my thinking process.

It’s freezing, and people want to go inside to get warm. We go inside so we don’t get frozen. Businesses also get frozen, and people don’t like that either. I know a lot about social media. I should write a blog post called 3 Ways To Fire Up Your Frozen Social Media Strategy.

In less than 15 seconds, I suddenly had an idea without staring at my screen. Then I went in my high school and retreated from the cold weather.

If you go around thinking like a blogger, you can think of numerous blog post ideas just by walking around.

I recently saw a tree (we have all had the experience), but then I thought that trees sprout from the ground. Maybe I write a blog post called 5 Ways To Sprout Your [something]. I could substitute [something] for business, social media marketing, Twitter account, or something else, and then I would have a complete blog post title.

And the holy grail for thinking of more blog post ideas? The shopping mall.

I kid you not. And stores within the shopping malls like Target and Walmart— they’ll provide you with dozens of epic blog post ideas alone.

I do not work for Target, I do not work for Walmart, and I have definitely not gone crazy.

If you want to discover more blog post ideas, go to the closest shopping mall. Look through the isles and pay close attention to the products within those isles.

Looking at those products and thinking like a blogger will suddenly allow you to come up with more blog post ideas.

Maybe you come across a LEGO set. You know that LEGO sets contain pieces that can be built into a car, airplane, house, or something else depending on the LEGO set.

So you think of the blog post idea “7 Ways To Build Your [something].”

Maybe you see a cool t-shirt. You remember that people want to feel cool. In the business world, that would mean being the boss.

So you think of the blog post idea “3 Ways To Feel Like A Boss.”

It’s as simple as that. If you spend enough time in the right stores, you could have over 100 blog post ideas by the end of the day.

Now do you understand why I think writer’s block will no longer be a problem for me (or you)?

The Brain Dump Itself

When you brain dump, you are only brain dumping. You are not writing any new content or surfing the web on your smartphone.

If other activities get in the way of the brain dump, then the brain dump loses its potency.

So when you decide to conduct your brain dump, nothing else gets in the way. You only begin to write the content once you have written enough ideas down.

 

In Conclusion

Brain dumping is the best way to come across various ideas that you can turn into blog posts. It is such an important process that nothing else can stand in its way.

There are plenty of places to go to conduct a brain dump. Lately, I have been walking/running and thinking like a blogger.

I see a long road in front of me. The road to success is a long one. Just like that, I have a blog post idea.

The more comfortable you get with that type of thinking, the easier it will become to think of blog posts in your every day life.

Once you have an arsenal of ideas in front of you, then it’s just a matter of writing the content.

What tips do you have for thinking of more blog post ideas? Which of these tips was your favorite? Sound off in the comments section below.