7 Tips to Zap Writer’s Block and Create Awesome Content

As writers, we all get writer’s block. Social media managers suffer the same issue. The question is, “how do we get past to find, write and share compelling content?” Our team here at Roaring Pajamas includes social media managers and copywriters, and between the group of us, we write a ton of content each week. And, occasionally we get stuck. Here are our top seven ways to get past writer’s block and create new and engaging content for ourselves and our clients.

1. Seek Fresh Eyes: I know, as the person who supports our social media managers, that sometimes it helps when they let me know they’re stuck. I’ll dig in and see what I can find in the way of new content and ideas. Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes on the scene is all it takes to re-inspire a manager who writes and posts regularly.
2. Check Out EpicBeat: Try a new content tool to reinvigorate the writing mind. We just invested in Epictions EpicBeat, a trending content aggregation tool, and so far it rocks! To use, just plug in your search term—be it a keyword or phrase, an author, a sharer, a publication or a hashtag. Then, filter by date, content type or other options as needed. Next, EpicBeat serves up deep, relevant content and insights to sink your teeth, and blocked brain, into. Searching for content and understanding the trends around that content has never been so easy and so powerful.
3. Search Your Hootsuite Streams: Our go-to for finding pertinent content for a client (or ourselves) remains searching by hashtag or keyword in Hootsuite streams. Assuming you use Hootsuite, you can easily add search streams to your Hootsuite dashboard to zero-in on key conversations to monitor and engage. Search streams allow you find social activity around keywords, users or locations of your specification.
4. Talk It Out: Now and then, you just need to pick up the phone and chat with someone for new inspiration. If you are writing for a client, remember that your client lives and breathes their most significant issues on a daily basis, but they don’t always think to tell you about day-to-day dealings. When you reach out and ask for some new insights into what keeps them going in their day, or up at night, or what keeps their clients up at night, you are bound to break your writer’s block and gather plenty of new ideas for compelling content.
5. Write Without Editing: Worrying too much about editing while you write tends to be the best way to feed writer’s block. Instead, just start writing. Don’t worry about typos, improper grammar or whether or not it makes sense. Get the creative juices flowing, and get the ideas out on paper. Then, once you’ve written a fair amount, go back and edit. We guarantee that just having something written down, even if fraught with errors, will help engage your writing mind.
6. Experiment a Little: This suggestion walks a fine line because you must always stay on topic and on brand in your writing and social media efforts. However, if you feel like you are in a rut and always writing the same thing or in the same format, consider ways to shake it up without forsaking the necessary voice and style. How about a “behind the scenes” take on a topic? Or, what about an interview with your boss or a coworker? Simply looking at your content from a slightly different vantage point may help break the writer’s block.
7. Change Your Environment: When all else fails, change your environment to help stimulate your thinking cap. Turn on some music. Sit someplace else. Go to the bathroom. Fill up your water bottle. Try some online retail therapy. Take a walk. Do anything to spark your imagination and writing. Sometimes, you just need a simple break from what became a mind-numbing task to find your inspiration and turn it into a mind-stimulating task.

Do you occasionally suffer from writer’s block, either with your own work or client work? If so, how do you break the block so you can continually find, write and share great content? We can’t wait to find out your tips!