October 2010

It’s time to write. Your next scheduled article to post is already a day late on the calendar. You’re nervous, frustrated, and feeling the pressure. All you see is a white screen in front of you. Call it writer’s block. Call it burn-out. Whatever you call it, you’ve got it. And you’re frustrated.

Such a scene is all too common with many bloggers and content marketers out there. Simply put, for a writer, there is almost nothing worse than the inability to produce. And when we can’t seem to produce, the tension and frustrations can throw our whole world for a loop.

For the last 2 years of my life I’ve been blogging. Beyond the scope of running my swimming pool company and writing about 200 articles during this time, I’ve also written 134 articles here on The Sales Lion over the past 350 days.

A kind gentleman who follows both of these blogs asked me a simple question recently : “Marcus, how the heck do you do it?”

Good question. In fact, it’s a question I’ve been thinking about myself lately because the truth is it’s not hard for me to constantly produce new and original articles. Heck, if my mind had its choice, I’d write an article here on The Sales Lion every day but I realize that 3 articles a week is the perfect balance for most readers, so I’ll just continue to build ideas upon ideas of possible articles and add them to my little list of ‘Future Posts’.

But let’s talk about this for a second. How can a blogger constantly come up with fresh and informative content without hitting the wall and losing his or her mind in frustration? Here goes….

7 Butt-Kicking Ways to Stop Staring at the Screen and Start Writing Your Next GREAT Blog Article

1. See a Lesson in Everything: I follow many blogs on the internet. And one habit I see many fall into is they just start saying the same thing over and over again in each article without integrating personal experiences into their writings. This, my friends, is a HUGE mistake.

You may have noticed that almost every post here on The Sales Lion relates a recent experience I’ve had in my life. Literally, I go about my day looking for life’s lessons. To me, and I really mean this, every act that I’m a part of throughout a day has a morsel of truth that comes along with it. More than anything, this is why so many bloggers struggle. When I hear a blogger tell me they simply don’t have rich learning experiences I tell them they’re wrong and their problem isn’t a lack of great experiences and events in their life, it’s a lack of recognizing and gleaning from said experiences. If you simply learn this one skill I can promise you’ll never look at a blank screen on your computer again.

2. Become a Master at Thinking Like a Consumer: For many businesses, this is huge. That’s why I’ve talked some much about this skill in past articles. Business owners and marketers constantly assume that consumers know more than they really know, which therefore limits one’s ability to teach, teach, and teach some more. The key here is to ask yourself every possible question(none are too basic) a consumer might have regarding your product or service and then start writing about it. I know this sounds like common sense but like the phrase says, ‘Common sense is sadly uncommon.’

3. Don’t be So Dang Rigid: I’m all for having a blog schedule and for planning ahead, but I’m also a huge advocate of allowing yourself to feel inspired and follow those promptings when they come. For example, there have been times when I’ve started an article that I had planned only to find that my passion and thoughts at that moment were elsewhere, on another topic. Usually, this is because I just had another one of those powerful ‘life lessons’ mentioned in #1 above and because it’s so fresh in my mind, that’s what I need to be writing about in that moment. So be flexible. Allow inspiration. Listen always to your inner voice.

4. Get to Know Your Body and Brain: I know, this one sounds kinda weird but stick with me for a second. We all suffer from fatigue, whether it is mental, physical, or spiritual. For me, because I write so much and my brain is constantly on overdrive, there are moments when I can see that if I try to write that second, the effort will be too great because my mind/body is ‘off’ or simply tired. It’s in these moments that I’ve learned to immediately stop what I’m doing and go for a walk, wrestle with my kids, hop on the elliptical, call a friend out of the blue, etc. By simply ‘taking a break’, your mind and body will get a needed re-charge and you’ll be off to the content races once again.

5. Forget Perfection and Just Write: Too many people want to be perfect when they write. I got past that a long time ago and accepted the reality that I ain’t no Victor Hugo. I know that I’ve got important things to share with the world and a few writing or communication imperfections are simply not going to impede my progress. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Write….then edit…then smile…then push publish.

6. Choose Passion Every Time: Remember, if you’re blogging just to make money than your business model is doomed to fail….miserably. Money is not a great motivator. Yes, it can get us excited but after a while, it becomes a curse. Do I make money because of The Sales Lion? Yeah, sure I do, but this blog isn’t about the money. I have to write this stuff. It’s literally begging me to exit my finger tips. This is passion, and I sure hope you feel the same about what you write.

7. Write with a Smile: Don’t even ask me to explain this one, because I can’t. But trust me, it works. The next time you’re in a little funk and the cursor doesn’t seem to be moving, smile. And I’m not talking about a partial grin here folks, I’m talking about a big, fat smile. I promise that when you do this some crazy thing starts to happen in your brain and everything will just get easier. (I told you I couldn’t explain it )

Well I hope these 7 tips will help you in your efforts to be consistently great at blogging. They may take a little time to learn, but take it from me that I know they work and I use each habit every single day.

So what are your thoughts? What techniques or habits would you add to this list? C’mon folks, jump in on the conversation, it’s your turn…..

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