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TWENTY-THREE

Maintain a List of Post Ideas

The dreaded writer’s block afflicts us all from time to time. You will eventually struggle with it. Occasionally I have an easy run of several days, when the ideas seem to flow effortlessly. But that is rare—most weeks, I get stuck at least once or twice.

So what can you do? This seems almost too obvious to mention, but you should keep a list of your ideas—the ones that come to you when you don’t have time to follow up, like when you’re driving to work. I maintain a list in Evernote and refer to it regularly.

But if your idea list is thin, you need idea starters. Here are thirteen of them. I offer these up as possibilities for lighting a fire when your brain is damp. (If you happen to be a novelist, see Appendix B for some specialized advice.)

1. Tell a personal story. This almost always works, because you harness the power of your own personal narrative. It is particularly good if it is dramatic and you feel the freedom to be transparent. It is helpful if you can conclude with a lesson or two that you have learned.

Man of the House, a Proctor and Gamble blog especially for men, has some great examples of this. One of its bloggers, James Pilcher, blogged about telling his family he lost his job. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live . . . I was as angry, hurt, scared, and vulnerable as I ever have been.” Pilcher went on to give some excellent advice for anyone facing a job loss.¹

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2. Describe a historical event. This is very similar to using a personal story. History is full of great stories. It’s one of the reasons why I am almost always reading a history book or biography of some kind. Again, you can tell the story and distill the lessons.

Erin Glover did this quite effectively, for example, when she wrote a blog for the Disney Parks Blog highlighting the 1937 premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The sold-out opening night took place on December 21 that year at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

Glover’s blog, written the same date seventy-four years later, was flush with historical pictures of the big night, where more than thirty thousand fans gathered outside the theater just to be part of the event. The takeaway from Glover’s blog? She was getting the buzz started for the opening of the Carthay Circle Theatre coming the next year at Disney’s California Adventure Park.²

3. Review a book, movie, or software program. This is a great way to share some of the resources you have found and why you liked them. It can also help your readers avoid products or experiences that were not so helpful. What are some of your favorite resources?

4. Comment on a powerful quote. I can’t read a book without underlining the passages that impress me. Occasionally, I go back and post the quotes that stand alone. Also, from time to time, I post the quote and comment on why a particular quote was meaningful.

5. Let a great photograph inspire you. Behind every great photo is a story. You may know the story or you may not. Regardless, you can find one in the photo. Some of the best ones are posted on Flickr.com.³ You can use these in accordance with a Creative Commons License.⁴

6. Comment on something in the news. This can be something global or something that is specific to your industry. If you are a thought leader—or trying to establish yourself as a thought leader—this is a great way to do that.

7. Report on an interesting conversation. I meet lots of interesting people. I’ll bet you do too. Some of them I meet at work; some of them I meet in my social life. Regardless, rarely a week goes by that I am not deeply stimulated by a conversation I have had. Why not blog on that? Be careful that you don’t reveal something you shouldn’t. In order to protect the privacy of others, you might want to change the names or alter the circumstances slightly.

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8. Provide a step-by-step explanation for how to do something. When you provide five steps to this, or four strategies for that, people gobble it up. I think all of us have a need for down-to-earth, practical help with the items that interest us.

9. Provide a list of resources. This is a huge way to give back to your industry or community. It is easy to take for granted what you know. You are probably sitting on priceless information that others would die to have access to. Resource lists are a great way to build traffic.

10. Answer your readers’ questions. My readers ask some of the best questions. Sometimes they e-mail them. Sometimes they put them in the comments of an older post. Often they just tweet them to me. I assume that if one person has the question, so do others. By answering these, you demonstrate that you are listening.

11. Make a seemingly overwhelming task simple. There is a huge audience for anyone who can make complex things simple. Provide a conceptual model, an outline, or an introduction to something you take for granted.

12. Explain the rationale behind a decision. Intelligent people want to know why you do what you do. That is what makes everyone so interesting. You can explain the rationale behind almost any decision you have made, and it will be instructive for others.

13. Write a guide to something popular. This is especially good for technology topics—anything in which people feel overwhelmed. I have written introductions to social networking, how to stay on top of e-mail, and how to create a life plan. The key is to assume the reader knows nothing about the topic.

Next time you get stuck, you might want to review your idea list and these suggestions. Sometimes, all it takes is a spark to reignite the fire.