It’s time for you to write your weekly blog. You sit down at your computer and stare at a blank screen for what seems like an eternity. You’ve got nothin’. No great illuminating “aha” moments, no tips that will have everyone oohing and aahing. There’s just a blank white document to look at, staring back at you. Seems like you’ve got a case of Stale Blog Syndrome or SBS for short. What do you do?
First of all, don’t panic. SBS can feel scary, I know, but it is treatable—and more easily than you might think. Here are three remedies that can cure your SBS and get the words a-flowin’.
- Consider What Your Readers Care About
Look at your blog comments, your social platforms, your customer service logs and even general inquiries. It won’t take long for you to find a whole host of questions that your customers and prospective customers want to know about. You may well have written about some of them before but I’ll all but guarantee you that you’ll find some new ideas here that you had never thought of. It’s a gold mine, I tell you. - Integrate What You Care About
You may have some personal interests that you could write about endlessly. Even if they do not directly correlate to your business’ products or services, you may be able to find a way. Use your interests to create analogies or metaphors via which you explain other concepts. Your passion about the topic will shine through and draw readers in, which is exactly what you want. - Leverage Current Events and Holidays
I assume you have a calendar at your disposal. Maybe it’s on your computer, your smartphone or other devices. You may even like the old-fashioned wall calendar with a different cute kitten displayed each month. Whatever your fancy, this is a useful tool.
Connect what you are writing about to things that you know people will be experiencing. For example, June through August is prime vacation time. September is back-to-school season. Spring is tax refund time. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Let these holidays or happenings be springboards for your blogs. If you are a local business, you have an added advantage in that you can look to local events for an even greater range of potential ideas.
None of these tips are difficult and, quite honestly, that is the sheer beauty of it all. You can do this without any additional time or cost expense.
Stale Blog Syndrome can happen to anyone and you should always be on the lookout for it. It can sneak up on you when you least expect it. But, when you put your conscious efforts to work, you can easily work around it.
