When I was writing my Seven Links post, I spent an obscene amount of time going through my archives looking for the right posts to link. A lot of what I write gets posted and quickly forgotten once it makes it off the front page. In this case, however, I came across the post Searching for Inspiration, in which I posted about not being able to find anything to post about. It’s a common issue with personal bloggers, especially those of us who have day jobs. Life gets mundane and it’s hard to find something worth writing about that anyone will want to read, least of all yourself.
After reading that post again, I decided to write some ways in which personal bloggers can get inspired and find something worth posting about.
- Go through your archives – This is exactly how I came up with the idea for this post. It takes time, but every single time I’ve gone through my old posts, I had a lot of fun reading about what I thought was blogworthy.
- Keep a notebook – A lot of my best ideas come to me when I’m not at my computer. I keep a notebook in my purse to jot down ideas. Alternatively, you can use the voice record feature on your cell phone if a pen and paper isn’t handy. (I still need to figure out how to capture the ideas that come to me in the shower. Any thoughts?)
- Link lists – I’m always interested in what other bloggers are reading, and link surfing has led to new online friends. Don’t be afraid to use this as a filler, because no matter what you link to, it’s a peek inside the mind of a blogger. Use the tips I use to keep track of ideas for link round-ups.
- Your blogroll – Often times reading what other bloggers are saying will spark my own ideas. Explore the blogosphere and you will be inspired!
- Old photos – Photos can tell a story, so use your blog to tell it.
- Outside interests – Don’t let the fact that you have a personal blog limit what you talk about. For example, my blog is about me, but that doesn’t mean that I’m off topic if I blog about blogging or something else. It’s all from my fantastically warped mind, therefore keeping my blog on the topic of ME.
- Write for yourself – Chances are, you started a personal blog as an outlet for yourself. But you got hooked on comments and started thinking about your audience. Stop that! Write for yourself and no one else, and things will flow much better.
- Read your comments – Even though you’re writing for yourself, you will get comments. Sometimes one of those comments will give you ideas that you can spin into a whole post. The pros do it all the time, and it’s how I got the ideas for this post.
- Go searching – Search the internet for how to overcome blogger’s block and you’ll find posts like Top Ten Blog Tips’ 10 Ways to Think up New Post Ideas. There’s lots of good advice out there, so put some of it into practice.
- Wait – When all else fails, take a break for a few days. Don’t feel like you have to post something every day. Self-imposed pressures can be a creative block.
Thank you to everyone who helped me come up with ideas for this post! What other ideas do you ave to get inspired?
Other Posts Like Me:
- When You Don’t Feel Like Blogging
- Talk to Me
- Blogged Out
- About Pages for Personal Bloggers
- Personal Blogging Crusader
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