How do I come up with weekly blog content? I read social media. No, really, that’s how. If I’m stuck in a rut and looking at a blank screen for hours without a spark of inspiration. I scroll my Facebook feed.
I take a look and see if anything pops out at me as a hot topic. Is there a comment that keeps coming up? An article, a question, a meme? Once I get an idea, I jot it down with a few sentences as to where I might want to take it. I don’t pressure myself to complete the whole post in that moment. But I try to get the initial thoughts down- do I agree, disagree, can I offer advice on the question at hand? Have I been in the same situation. Or perhaps, that topic sparks something altogether different for me.
It is not easy coming up with weekly content, believe me. It’s also hard to not phone it in every week, just to be able to slap something up on your site. That’s why I try to take a more relaxed approach to it. I have a running draft document in my email where if I have an idea, I jot it down. Could be a title, a question, whatever it is. Then later on, I go back and develop it more and even then it’s still in draft form. Only when I think I’ve written as much as I can/want to on a topic do I stop.
THEN I leave it alone for a couple days so I can go back and edit for grammar and the like. or perhaps I don’t like where one of the thought trails was taking me and change it. For me, it’s easiest to be objective if I’ve left the post alone for a few days.
At any given moment, i can have 4 posts being developed at once. I make a note when I think something is ready to go live and then I schedule it on my blog. Having 4 going at once allows me to schedule a month in advance and takes a lot of the stress off of my writing process.
Seriously, The only way to come up with content is not to stare at your screen and force your brain to think.Read, surf the web, there is loads out there. trust me something will pop out at you.
If all else fails, revisit some of your posts from a year or two ago. Do you have ore to add? A new vision on that topic? Could you write a part 2? Is there an after these events, I now feel ___Blank about this topic. Even bloggers of other disciplines that are non-bellydance will tell you that that is perfectly acceptable. The whole point of blogging is to put useful information out there, to be interesting. What could be more interesting than more inf? Or if you’ve had a complete 180 in thinking? I can tell you, I’d read that!
I hope this has helped you at least in some way with your content woes. If you have any suggestions of your own, feel free to comment with them below. Us bloggers need to help each other out!
