Everyone tells you content creation is crucial for growing your business. Your potential coaching clients must know, like, and trust you before they’ll be willing to buy any services from you. And you writing blog posts to educate your audience is a great way to establish that trust factor.
Yet despite knowing this, you may struggle with finding the motivation to write consistent blog posts. You aren’t alone.
Struggling to write regular blog articles is a common roadblock, but it doesn’t need to be a permanent problem.
Keep reading to find out how to write a new blog post as often as you commit to doing, whether it be once a month or once a day!
Break it down
The first step is to sit down and write out every single step you need to take to write a blog post.
This might seem tedious and overwhelming, but it’s seriously the secret to getting it done. If after implementing the steps in this article you’re still struggling to write on your blog, break it down even more.
It might look like this:
- Sit down at the computer
- Open the blog editor
- Brainstorm 5 blog topics
- Pick a topic
- Research the topic
- etc…
Schedule it
Next step. Put those tasks on your calendar. Break them up if you need to. It might look like this:
- On Tuesdays at 1 PM, I brainstorm and decide on my blog topic for 30 minutes.
- On Wednesdays at 10 AM, I research the topic for 1 hour.
- On Thursdays at noon, I write a draft for 1 hour.
- etc…
Put it on your calendar at a specific period for a pre-determined length of time. Then when that time comes, you sit down and you do what you committed to yourself you would do in that time.
You might be saying, “Well, I don’t know how long it will take.”
It’s going to be a trial and error process, my friend, but for now just as yourself, “How long do I want to invest in this?” Next blog post, if you didn’t like the quality of your previous results, then invest more time.
Plan self-coaching beforehand
Before you sit down to write, plan in 15 minutes beforehand to coach yourself on the task at hand so you can align your thinking with the result you want.
If you’re a student of Brooke Castillo as many of my clients are, this would look like a thought download. If not, if you’re curious, you can learn how to do that on Brooke’s podcast. I highly recommend this exercise!
Alternately, spend that time meditating if that’s what you’re into. Or do 15 minutes of yoga. Or pray, or just journal and focus on how you want to think and feel about the writing process.
Spend time calming your mind and settling into the task ahead of you, and it will transform your results!
Stick to your routine
Once you get into this habit, you need to maintain it. Having a process for writing your post is super helpful if you’re going to keep it consistent.
You broke down your process for writing earlier. Now, after you do it the first time, go back and edit that blog post writing process to be true for what actually worked for you.
Save it in a Word file somewhere, or write it down on paper, so you can refer to it the 2nd, 3rd, and subsequent times. Having a predesignated process for tasks is a major productivity key.
Plus, having a routine for anything (including a reward afterward!) is a great way to stay motivated.
Throw out perfectionism
Be content with B- work. Perfectionism doesn’t help you. It just keeps you from putting yourself out there. Once you release the need for perfection, you are so much freer to create and produce results for yourself.
I’ve got a way for you to make this fun.
Challenge yourself to write the crummiest first draft that you possibly can.
Do it!
If you want to make it even more fun, turn off your screen and type blindly. It forces you to write instead of editing your words while you write.
Editing and writing come from two different parts of the brain, so when you edit while you write you’re really hampering your speed and productivity.
Visualize future you
Visualize yourself as a version of yourself who writes a post every day – or every week – or however often your goal is to write. What advice would she give you? What is s/he telling you about your current thinking surrounding blog post writing?
It can be challenging, but if you can access her (or his) wisdom, then you’re going to find the process of staying motivated so much easier.
When you run out of ideas
You might be thinking, “These suggestions are all good and well, but part of why I struggle with writing is because I just don’t know what to write.”
Coming up with topics is a common complaint, but it’s really not a valid one. Seinfeld said, “Writer’s block is just a made-up excuse for not doing your work.”
Harsh, but true.
Though, if you’re running out of ideas, I do have some practical tips for you.
Read more than you write
Most successful entrepreneurs read (or listen) to a lot of other content. That’s why they’re able to produce and create so much.
If you want to create a lot, you first need to put the ideas in.
Read at least 4x more than you write and you’ll never run out of ideas.
Solicit ideas from the people that follow you
You probably have a social media account or an email list.
That’s free feedback my friend!
Ask your followers what they want to know more about. Ask them what questions they have. I can guarantee you they have plenty of ideas!
Take each question and record yourself answering it for 5 minutes. Then transcribe it.
Bam.
You’ve got a blog post.
Grab inspiration when it hits you
I started carrying a journal this year to write down my thoughts, inspirations, and lists.
It has been a game changer.
My journal goes everywhere with me.
Whenever I have a great thought or hear an inspiring story, I write it down.
I keep a page in my journal with the title, “Headline ideas,” and when I get a great headline for a blog post, I write it there.
When our minds are primed to be looking for ideas while we’re going about our day, we’re much more likely to have inspiration strike and to be prepared when it does.
What other tips do you have to add to this list for writing regular content? Leave your ideas in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
Jennie
P.S. Hope this was helpful! If you don’t know where to start, just start.
Break down your writing process, schedule it on your calendar, throw out perfectionism, and learn from future you.
All the creativity you need to know what to write is within you already.
