Content creation is a mind exercise, a muscle to train daily. But sometimes, no matter how much we train, no matter how motivated we are, there are days when it doesn’t work and we feel stuck. We stagnate, the inspiration does not come and there it is the blank page…
It happens to everyone, us first. It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing, especially when you can’t find the means to take the next step.
Here are our best tips for getting unstuck.
Knowing that it’s OK to be stuck
The first thing to do, in my opinion, is to let go and take a step back from the situation. Don’t blame yourself, life is not about being perfect and creative all the time. Be gentle with yourself!
Distancing yourself from social networks
Social networks are as wonderful as they can be dangerous. Being constantly overwhelmed with content, creation and trends can drain our ideas and energy.
The first thing I do when I need to find inspiration and produce content is to get away from my phone or computer. Get out, explore other inspirations outside the digital world: nature, museums, games with friends… Almost anything that is not related to social networks can do the trick. Determine what works best for you
Using Google
Google seems like a simple and obvious answer, yet I can assure you that it is a resource that we often do not use to its full potential.
Using Google, you can search for topics you’ve already covered on your blog and see what comes up in the results. For example, let’s say you’re a social media manager and you usually write social media marketing tips on your blog. To find more topics to write about, you can search for “social media marketing” and see that “social media marketing tools” and “social media marketing for beginners” show up in the related searches. This gives you two starting topics that could be addressed.
Ask your community
Go straight to the source and ask your community what topics they want to read about on your social networks. Asking your audience to share their comments will not only lead to engagement, but will also give you a clear idea of what they want to know more about.
Use your own content as inspiration/analyze your old content
Reusing content is helpful for your customers because they often need to hear the same thing more than once before they start implementing it. Start by taking a look at your top performing blog posts, they are popular for a reason. Plus, you get new subscribers all the time, so it’s unlikely that everyone in your community has heard everything you’ve said before! And even if you don’t end up using old content, it can lead to new ideas and creative goals.
Look at what the competition is doing
Benchmarking is one of the most important things you can do when creating your brand and marketing strategy, so why not use it every step of the way? If you need inspiration, visit your competitors’ websites, feeds, etc. to see what they have written recently. Put your own “touch” on it to remix the subject in your own way and make sure you stand out.
Be yourself and everything will be fine. Go for it!
