What to Do When you Run Out of Ideas

Ever get tired of coming up with new blog ideas? For some people, writing a blog post a couple of times a week is downright intimidating. There is nothing worse than sitting at your computer, your eyes wandering around the room at piles of unwashed laundry or dust bunnies under the desk and wondering if there is a compelling story somewhere in you to do list. What’s a woman to do?

Industry News

Whether your field is beauty products or SEO optimization, the reason you might not have anything to say is because you’re not reading enough industry news. Reading the same dozen bloggers in your field isn’t the same. Familiarize yourself with new trends in your industry.

Don’t forget trade shows and other events. The people at Wry Baby (wrybaby.com) did a great blog post about getting ready for the New York International Gift Fair. Before they even left for the event, they showed a picture of their cute little scale model of the booth, as they describe it, "complete with scale people with scale credit cards." How can you not love that?

Provide Helpful Information

Readers want to come away from your blog feeling as though they got something – whether it was insider news, a good laugh, or even just a tip on how to be a better woman entrepreneur or CEO. The French toy company Kaloo (kaloo-usa.com/blog/) has a fairly traditional blog about its toys, but sometimes adds informative articles related to its products.

For example, using a psychology journal as a reference, a recent blogpost discussed why children need "doudous" or loveys. "When the child realizes that he and mommy are two separate people, fear of losing her arises and the lovey helps to comfort and reassure. Its familiar scent helps the child cope with separation anxiety from the parents." When a parent reads about how important such security objects are, it’s a short jump to the adorable picture right beside it that just happens to be on sale.

Completely off-topic

Every once in a while, throw in a colorful blog that isn’t exactly on topic. Do keep your audience in mind. If you do public relations and you blog for CEOs on marketing strategies, then an occasional foray into your personal life might be fine. Sharing kiss and tell moments from last weekend’s date night with your husband might not be. A crafter who blogs primarily to other mommy bloggers has more leeway because you have more commonly shared interests.

For example, jewelry designer Amy Peters usually writes about her designs, her business and other related matters, but occasionally takes time to share big news in her personal life – like buying her new home. Posts like this help readers (i.e. potential customers) connect with business owners on a more personal level.

Follow Your Feedback

What kind of comments do you get? What are your readers saying? They will bring up issues, concerns and ideas that they are focused on. Scroll through and see if they have introduced some topics you could address in more depth.

Ask for Guest Posts

You can also go to a fellow blogger and ask to interview them. The great thing about this is, not only will you get material for your blog, but the interviewee will most likely link to it. For a really easy gig, invite them to have the honor of posting a guest blog – that means they do all the work. It goes without saying you don’t ask a competitor, but rather someone in a complementary field. If you sell hand-woven scarves, for example, then a fashion blogger or even the llama owner where you get your yarn might make for an interesting combination.