I find that if you force yourself to sit down and come up with ideas, they don’t really float to the surface right away. I get many of my best ideas when taking a walk or cooking dinner; basically when I’m NOT thinking about it. I like the suggestion of keeping a notepad to jot down ideas when they come to you.

Great blog, David.

I like all of your tips. And I’d like to add a couple more:

1) sometime when i get a idea for a blog post, I just write an email and send to myself. I’m so used to write email that it helps me overcome the “writer’s block” and maintain a flow when I write.

2) I started writing my blog a few months ago. One thing I found helpful is to establish a routine — e.g. I’d write a few posts every Monday afternoon, which ensures that I’ll have enough posts for the week. It’ll take the pressure off for the rest of the week — I can focus on marketing the blog and/or write more “spontaneous” posts.

GeekMBA360

Great advice. Anyone who’s serious about starting a blog and making it work should take note. The idea of having “backup content”, etc. Might save us all from the dreaded “I’ve been too busy to post” post.

It also gives those who feel a need to keep the content coming to resist craptacular reprints, scrape, etc.

Good tips. I’m already maintaining a few draft posts on my blogs and update them from time to time and then post them when i think the time is right.
I also like the idea file, it’s something i haven’t done yet. It has happened to me a few times already that i came up with an idea in my car, but then forgot what it was when i came home. Think i’ll start recording ideas on my cell phone, which i always carry with me anyway.

Hi David,

Thanks for the tips! I’ve started a couple of blogs and am looking for ways to get more people to them so your advice will help.

Have a great weekend!

Robert

Yet again, great tips David.

I keep an ‘ideas-file’ also. I carry my laptop everywhere with me and keep a small notepad inside my carrycase so that it is always on hand. I also have a series of drafts saved that just need to be modified slightly before they can be published.

My goal is to post once every day, but I’ve never been clear as to whether to include weekends as part of my posting schedule. Any advice?

I agree with you that content is indeed king. If you don’t provide quality, fresh and worth reading contents for your blogs or sites, visitors will not do repeat-visits. Traffic will dwindle and your site/blog’s PR will drop.

If you want targeted traffic, write keyword-rich quality articles.

Thanks for the insights you have here provided, they prove true and easy to follow.

I have a WordPress plugin that works as a notepad right on your Dashboard. It’s simple but it works wonderfully for jotting down notes about post ideas or anything else you want to remember.

I’ll be mentioning it an upcoming blog post, so visit AG:3k and subscribe to the feed so you don’t miss it!

Oddly enough, I do none of what you suggest and I still have way more that I want to write about without any writers block (so far). I think the secret is a diversified lifestyle to get your mind into other things throughout the day.

Jon
http://WoodMarvels.com – Create Unique Memories

A related tip is to use scheduled posts. In my view, this goes one step beyond draft posts because you can pre-plan when items will appear. Ever since Blogger supported post scheduling, I’ve been using it often.

To find out more about my views about scheduled posts, check my blog…on January 25 at 7:00 am Pacific time.

I also have views on idea files…which I’ll share on January 26 at 7:00.

Needless to say, I also see the benefits of batch writing. More on that on January 27 at 7:00.

One thing that I didn’t mention in my forthcoming blog posts is that at one point, I was scheduling posts at 6:00 am every morning for my local-interest blog. That was a little too ambitious, though, and I eventually ran out of content for that series of posts. So it is possible to overdo things…

My postings have not been consistent… I guess because, i have so many things to do lately offline. Well, the number of post on my blog varies, sometimes it is more, sometimes it is less.

What i do is to write just anything and develop it later. Sometimes i write down the topic, sometimes it is just a line in the article that pushes me to write. I also keep my blog updated with people’s post that i find interesting

I also write in batches. My goal is to write one but I end up writing three to four.

I’ve been guilty of getting all excited on my little blog and publishing 5 articles in one day when I could have easily spread them out over a few days or a week … I like your ideas about keeping ideas on file and having draft posts ‘on the bench’ for when content is slim.

I’d like to ask a question related to NICHE blogs…

How should you go about structuring your NICHE CONTENT in relation to the so called PILLAR content that Yaro says you should aim to write.

I run a politics and satirical news blog at http://www.plenty2say.com, but sometimes feel the content is MASHED UP. Is there any way of making it look orderly?

Like the blog here, will be following you from now on …some great content…

I agree with most of you guys and gals. I tend to find my best ideas for writing blogs when I’m away from the computer. Usually when I get outside and take a walk with the dogs… that’s where and when I find the best ideas.

Great article Dave. I’m a newbie blogger, looking for different ideas and I’m finding your postings really helpful. Keep it up! Much appreciated. Newbie Doug

David, I often use Google alerts to monitor keywords or people who are active in my area. For example, there’s a reporter at the Tampa Trib who typically covers real estate and foreclosure stories. I’ve got a daily alert set for her name. If she published a story that interests me, I can blog about it.

The possibilities for that technique alone are endless – the trick is learning what to filter OUT if you set up a lot of alerts.

The purpose of my blog is to promote my business, so I’m still finding my way in the blogging world. I often feature other artists, and I sometimes write about my own insights as an artist (have one of those simmering, in fact.) I’m still trying to figure out the right balance of content for my blog, and I’m still learning what I have to offer in terms of knowledge.

I carry a journal with me almost everywhere. A paper journal. If I use electronic devices, information goes into them and gets forgotten. I need paper to keep me on track. Also, for my writing, I have a file folder “Seeds” full of partially-written poems, stories, article ideas, etc.

Jennifer Moore
JenniferLynn Productions

Fantastic. I’m keeping a link to this article to share around. Glad I saw this now rather than tmrw.. Thanks mate!

Great post David.

I bought a journal for $1 in the clearance section at Target. Anytime I have an idea for a blog post, I write it down in my journal along with some notes. The notes are helpful just in case I can’t recall the exact reason or angle I originally thought of. I take my journal with me everywhere and keep it in my laptop case so that I don’t lose it. In addition to my journal, I take my digital camera everywhere as I never know when I might stumble upon something interesting to share.

If I still have trouble coming up with something that I want to write about at the moment, I ask all of my friends to send me their thoughts, ideas or news bits. Also, it helps greatly to follow people on Twitter that are good sources of information for your blog niche.

Hope that helps.

-Philip Nowak

Having half finished drafts on my blog dashboard helps.

nice tips there,particularly the pillar content and having repository of draft posts.

I really liked this post. I just recently adopted the “write a bunch of drafts and let them hang out” strategy and find that my content has improved a lot. Not only do I consistently publish content, but I can revisit a post before it's published and improve or add to it. Batch-writing is the way to go!
Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Great post, man. I#2 strikes me particularly. I've got great ideas scattered all over my laptop's hard drive…and occasionally I'll even stumble upon one again and turn it into a post. But I need to start putting those things in my unpublished queue — even if it's only a saved headline. That way I'll see it regularly and if nothing else it'll annoy me until I finally turn it into the post I originally imagined it when the idea first struck me.

Thanks!

…jp

I’ve really overlooked pillar articles, and my post ideas, are usually spread out all over the place.  So it’s been helpful to develop a tighter system of keeping track of these ideas.

Useful post!