How One Warrior Overcomes Writer's Block

Hey guys

What do a blog post, an email, the compelling copy of a sales page, and an advert have in common? They all rely on content. In most cases, marketing is synonymous with content.

One of my favorite quotes of all-time is by American author, Mark Twain;

For us Warriors, our marketing campaigns depend heavily on choosing the right words. Anything less, and the message is not as powerful, and revenue will inevitably suffer. Often times though, coming up with the right words can be a pain in the (you know what).

Writer's block strikes everyone (us writers, most of all).

So, I'd like to provide a few tips that I've used over the years to help banish the evil writer's block "spirits" and spur creativity in its place.

(Quick Note: These are ideas that I've developed over the years and may not work for everyone.)

Tip #1 - Leave your work station, but carry SOMETHING that will allow you to dictate thoughts with you at all times. This could be a pen and paper or an app that allows you to record notes or voice messages on your phone.

You never know when creativity will strike. For some reason (and this is no way backed by science), but I believe the subconscious mind has a tendency to work out problems even when you aren't focused on them. Sometimes, allowing yourself to focus your energy on other tasks is the best option. I can't tell you how many times I've been at the bar with friends and had an "AHA!" moment.

Unfortunately, without something to dictate these thoughts on hand, I usually forget later on.

Tip #2- Two heads are always better than one. If you honestly get stuck, you can always outsource the work OR find a like minded community to help.

For instance, if you're in the IM niche, it's SO easy to pick up ideas by surfing the different areas of this website. You can make a thread or simply see what other are having difficulty with and that will usually get the gears moving.

If you're in some weird, obscure niche, just find where your target demographic hangs out and spend some time here. Facebook groups, Google hangouts, and especially Reddit always help.

Tip #3 - Find similar websites in your niche and see what they're doing. For blog posts, I like to use Buzzsumo to find their most shared posts on social media, then work to out do it.

To find new, creative articles in your niche you can always use StumbleUpon

For copywriters;

Magazines. Think about it. Most magazine sales take place in the 2 min span you're waiting in line at the grocery store. That means, they need headlines to POP.

The entire magazine industry is beholden to copywriters, which means there are TONS of ideas all throughout for anyone that needs a bit of extra help creating copy.

Here's a list of a few websites where you can find digital magazines;


PDFmagazines

Ebookee

MagazinesDownload

DownMagaz.com

you'll find all kinds of cool, creative headlines, bi-lines, etc in magazines.

Tip #4 - Take a shower. Stop laughing, I'm serious. I don't know why, but ideas flow like a river rapid after a rainstorm when I'm in the shower. I know it's not just me either. Reddit has it's own page dedicated to

Shower Thoughts

People come up with the craziest things when they're in the shower. It may be because when you shower, you're not really focusing on anything, so the mind is free to wander.

This is where I get the majority of my "AHA!" moments (even more so than the bar).

Tip #5 - Get a whiteboard. One of the best investments I have ever made was to put a whiteboard over my work area. I use it to brainstorm ideas, write important things down, quotes, etc.

If you hang it near your work area, you'll always see it. Here's mine;

It's over 3 feet wide, with plenty of space to write (and a bit dirty)



I didn't buy my whiteboard online. If I did, I would have spent anywhere between $70-$140 (after shipping).

Instead, I stumbled on this blog post at Blog Marketing Academy (not an affiliate). This post explained how to make your own.

So, I went to Lowes Hardware, and bought a piece of panel board (which costs me like $9), some industrial strength velcro (which also cost like $9) and then hung it over my work station and BAM! I had a kickass whiteboard that has helped me get through some challenging times.

Ok Warriors, those are my top 5 tips for getting over writer's block. What are some of yours?