Photography + Styling by Glor Anwanwan
Blogging has always been one of my favorite things to do. As a creative who wears multiple hats it has been my creative outlet since 2008; I absolutely love it. Contrary to what most might think blogging is challenging. It takes quite a bit of know-how, time, and creativity to pull together a post. Some might think that I have no shortage of topics to blog about and they would be wrong! Many bloggers, myself included, suffer from “bloggers rut” from time to time. A time of very little to no inspiration.
Over the years, I have created content on different topics from fashion to beauty to lifestyle, and even hosting multiple guest bloggers here on ACB. But once in a while something happens to my creativity and I basically have zero inspiration to create anything. I’m talking no shooting, no styling, no writing, no blogging, nada! Conversely, there are times when I literally cannot shut my brain off because it is full of different ideas fueled by inspiration from my every day life, my travels, and research. When I get inspired I often reach for my camera first. My creative process varies depending on the topic, but often times it all begins with an idea, then I style, photograph, blog, and share. In the perfect world this would happen as frequently as three times a week.
For weeks now, I have been struggling with posting consistently. Trying to come up with blog post ideas / topics has been a challenge. The ideas are in my head and often times I style and shoot around those ideas, but they never made it to the blog. More times than I can remember I place the blame on the fact that I’m the editor-in-everything here on ACB. Finding the time to sit at my desk after my busy work + mom life can sometimes be a huge roadblock. So this past weekend I sat down at my desk in my office to draft a post I’d been thinking about for weeks. But as the blank Word document opened up, cursor blink at me, something happened and instead of drafting a blog post about fall styling ideas, I found myself doing something completely different.
Photography + Styling by Glor Anwanwan
I made a list of all the blog topics / ideas that has been stuck in my head for the past month! Correction: I TYPED a list of all the topics/ideas I was eager to post about. The results were amazing and I was so excited to see just how much “stuff” I was carrying around in my head to some day “blog about it!” The more I typed the more topics / ideas were literally flowing from my brain to the screen! It was so exhilarating! I continued until I couldn’t come up with anything else. Now you are thinking really, that’s her big secret? Trust me on this, it worked like a charm! In about 10 minutes my list went from one to 17 topics / ideas!
So I would like to challenge you to take the list approach if you need help in brainstorming ideas for your blog. Say goodbye to your blogging rut, here is what you need to start doing now. You can do this in the morning while you sip on your coffee. If you have 5-10 minutes to spare, you can do this on a notes app on your cell phone or computer. My one advice would be: DON’T use pen and paper. I mean if it works for you, sure, go for it! But how many times have you written something down on paper that you never returned to in your notebook? Don’t do that, don’t be the person who has a notebook where ideas go to die? I have been keeping a list of ideas on paper and in my notebook for ever and it has not materialize into a post. It’s often forgotten about never to be seen again!
Photography + Styling by Glor Anwanwan
Ideally, I would say open a Word document and start listing all the topics that you are genuinely interested in blogging about. You will notice that as you start to type, some key points like meta data, keywords, related topics, etc., will pop into your head and all you simply do is type it out. And it’s that easy, you guys! Give it a try and let me know if this was helpful. Also, if you have any tips on this topic please share in the comment below. You can also email me privately about anything at alwayscreatingblog[@]gmail.com.
Now that I have my list I feel confident that I’ll start blogging consistently again instead of walking around with a long list of all the posts I should be working, or worst thinking I have nothing to blog about. Good luck + blog happy!
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Kristie Lorette McCauley
I have an idea file on my computer (similar to what you describe). When I’m reading an article or somehow an idea pops into my head, I add it to my spreadsheet.
Then, I batch. I block out a specific amount of time on my calendar and I write as many blog posts as I can during that time. Some days, I bang out and schedule one post. Other days, I bang out and schedule three blog posts.
always creating™ blog
Yes! This sounds like a fantastic idea, absolutely love it! Doesn’t it feel great to have a creative process for blogging? I’ve a master spreadsheet for all things Always Creating Blog! Thanks so much for sharing this! I appreciate it! Xo
Morgan
I’m one of those weirdos who feverishly fleshes out ideas in my notebook and then returns to them to revise/rewrite. That said, I also keep lists on my counter and on my phone!
When I feel drained for inspiration, I turn to books.
always creating™ blog
Yes! Love this, Morgan! I love that you’re keeping an ongoing list of ideas! Kudos to you! Thanks so much for sharing! Xo