This is a post by ProBlogger writing expert Ali Luke
Do you get sick of writing sometimes?
Even the most enthusiastic bloggers have days when they struggle to get the words out. Perhaps you’ve been writing a lot, or you simply aren’t feeling very creative.
But what can you do?
One option is to do away with most of the words. You could create a very short post, or one that focuses on images or videos instead of written words.
But if you want to publish a full-length written post, you need to take a different approach.
Here are four different things you can try.
#1: List of Quotes: Bring Together Several Quotes on a Topic
One easy way to “write” a blog post is to choose some good quotes on your topic and bring them together. Of course, you should ensure you’re using those quotes legally and ethically. That means, at a minimum, citing the author or speaker of each quote.
Some bloggers do this with inspirational or famous quotes. You can find loads of these on sites such as BrainyQuote or the Popular Quotes section on Goodreads. (It’s always worth doing a bit more digging to make sure the quote has been recorded and attributed accurately. Quote Investigator does brilliant work tracking down the original source of various popular quotes.)
With many blog topics, instead of opting for well-known quotes you could look at articles and books in your niche and draw quotes from those.
Possible Post Titles:
- X Inspiring Quotes About [Topic]
- Where’s [Topic] Heading in 2020? Here’s What [X] Bloggers Think
- X Quotes About [Topic] That Will Make You Laugh
#2: Expert Roundup: Run Multiple Short Email Interviews and Publish the Results
Perhaps tracking down loads of quotes on a very specific topic or question will be tricky or time consuming.
An expert roundup is a great alternative. This is where you approach a number of experts in your niche (some roundups have as many as 50 or 100 quotes) and ask them to answer a question. Some bloggers call this a “one-question interview”.
You then bring together all the answers into a single post, normally linking to each expert (and potentially including their headshot).
These posts can be a great way to build a stronger relationship with influencers in your niche. And many influencers will also willingly share your post because they’ve been quoted in it.
Possible Post Titles:
- X Experts Speak Out About [Topic]
- Wondering What’s The Best [Technique/Tool/Book/etc]? Here’s What X Experts Recommend
- We Asked [X] Experts for their Best Tip on [Topic]. Here’s What They Said.
#3: “Over to You”: Using Your Reader’s Comments or Social Media Posts
One source of blog post material you might not have considered is your readers’ comments. Readers sometimes leave very thoughtful, insightful comments on your blog (or your Facebook page) you might want to share with your entire audience.
If someone comments on your blog, it’s probably safe to assume they’re happy for your readers to read that comment. Even so, it’s nice to check first that they don’t mind you quoting them in a blog post.
You could simply use their comment as a starting point for a post. But if you collect several great comments from different readers they could potentially make an entire post on their own. You could also do this deliberately by:
- putting up a blog post asking for comments you’ll use in a future piece
- asking for responses to a particular question on Facebook. (If you do this, make it clear you plan to publish some of the responses on your blog.)
Possible Post Titles:
- Which [Item/Tool/etc] Do [Blog Name] Readers Use the Most? Here’s What Five [People/Enthusiasts/Etc] Said
- Over to You: Here’s What [X] Readers Said About [Topic]
- [X] Real-Life Tips From Fellow [Writers/Photographers/Parents/whatever word fits your blog’s audience]
#4: Link Roundup: Linking to Other People’s Blog Posts
Another great way to create a valuable post, without writing much is to link to other people’s posts. When I got into blogging a decade ago, quite a few blogs did this regularly. They’d write a post every week (often on a Friday) that rounded up great recent posts from other blogs in their niche.
Now that most people do their linking through social media rather than through their blogs, link posts can really stand out. You can either:
- pick a topic and find a bunch of posts about that topic
- run a regular link post (weekly or monthly, perhaps) where you pick recent posts or podcast episodes to link to.
For each post (or other item) on your list, I’d suggest including the title (which should link to the post itself), the author’s name, and the name of the blog. Providing some sort of teaser or introduction will add even more value to your post. If you don’t want to write these, find a good quote from the post to include. Just make sure you use quotation marks or blockquote formatting so it’s clear they aren’t your own words.
Possible Post Titles:
- Friday Round-Up: The [X] Best Posts I’ve Read This Week
- [X] Great Posts About [Topic]
- The Only [X] Posts You Need to Read About [Topic]
Of course, you don’t want to rely on what other bloggers have written too much. But creating an occasional post that leans on or builds on the work of others is not only a legitimate option, but also a great way to offer your readers something a little different. And you’ll get a much-needed break from having to come up with fresh content of your own.
Which of these four post types might you try this week? Let us know in the comments.
Image credit: Matthew Henry