So I am sitting here on a train mindlessly scrolling. When what I should be is writing this week’s article.
The problem?
I don’t know what to write.
My head is full of sewing designs I want to create this weekend after a week of draping training. The last thing on my mind is how to scale a small professional services business.
It shouldn’t have been this way. You see I have 75% of an article written on the importance of goodwill when scaling your firm. The problem? I don’t think it’s going to land well. AKA get a decent amount of reads and listens. To the point where I am not sure if I will finish and publish it. Or if I do publish it, I need to give it a big rethink.
But that leaves me with a problem. I still don’t have an article to write and then turn into a podcast episode for Sunday. And I don’t want to use much of my Saturday in creating one as I have sewing and household chores to complete on Saturday.
It struck me, that surely this is the time to talk about how to create content when you have writer’s block?
Welcome to a free edition of Start Up To Grown Up: Your source for ideas, insights and tactics to take back control of your business and scale it sustainably and profitably by Heather Townsend, award-winning author of The Accountants’ Millionaires’ Club and Founder of The Accountants’ Growth Club
How to prevent writers’ block from happening?
I’ve been creating content now for over 17 years. That’s 6 books and their later editions, thousands of articles and now over 100 podcast episodes. As a result I know what gives me writers block and what gets my writing juices flowing.
The stuff that gives me writers’ block? It’s really simple. High levels of stress and a lack of white space in my diary. It’s not surprising really as when your brain is in ‘threat’ mode (i.e. under stress) it deals with this by becoming hyper focused on the perceived threats. Which means that the brain waves that dominate are the high energy gamma rays. I.e. the perfect state to deal with the challenge of surviving an attack by a sabre tooth tiger. But the exact opposite state to think creatively and laterally. After all, high energy gamma rays literally block your brains’ ability to access stuff in your subconscious.
What’s the stuff that helps me keep the writing juices flowing? It’s often a combination of things:
a call with a client
Something that has happened to me in my business or personal/councillor life
Something I have read
A holiday (normally by day 5 I feel an urge to write)
Which very much explains why I am struggling now for topics to write about. I’ve been on a sewing course all week. Which means I have been using my limited brain power for thinking and learning. So, I’ve not been speaking to clients, doing councillor work or reading business books. I am also aware that the last few articles have hoovered up my ‘banker’ topics on ‘dealing with stress’, ‘how to make yourself redundant so you can take a holiday’ and all that jazz. Although just the act of thinking about this has prompted me that it would be good to write an article on how to properly take your holiday ‘off-off’.
The power of a content plan
The worse thing you can try to do is create content when you have no idea what to write and up against a deadline. That’s just a recipe for either no content being created or poorly created content being churned out. And you know the stuff I mean. For example, either poorly written OR you know that AI has written a little bit too much of it.
A way to guard against this problem is to have a 30 or 90 day content plan sketched out. This means you have done the hard yards of thinking about topics and briefs for each piece of content, whether it is a social media post, podcast episode or article.
Of course, I really should have a content plan sketched out for this substack. So why don’t I? Firstly I haven’t prioritised this as a discipline. Secondly, my writing has always been very organic in nature. It’s part therapy part education. And therapy doesn’t always happen to schedule. But those are all really excuses. Note to self: Look through your articles, podcast episodes and client personas to focus on a content plan for the next 90 days! After all I can always ignore the content plan if a better article comes along that I want to write.
Get ahead
On the days when you don’t know what to write it is bliss picking up a pre-prepared piece of content and pressing publish. But to do this, you need to get ahead with your content prep. Given that my substack is very much last-minute-itus at the moment, it’s been a push to keep the weekly publishing going, let alone get ahead. But that is exactly the advice I would give to myself right now. If you have even a week of content planned out and mostly created life is so much easier when you don’t know what to write or record.
Have a swipe file for ideas
There are many times when I am on substack or other social media platforms and I see a headline or article that I wish I had written. When I am at my most organised and diligent I will often save these. Either the heading or the article to give me a prompt to write my version of the article. Of course, I would never plagiarise OR copy someone else’s work.
It’s not just social media that can give you triggers for ideas on what content you can create. For example how about:
using an AI meeting assistant transcripts with clients to give you ideas for articles
Signing up for clients and competitors ‘newsletters’
Signing up for news alerts
Writing down stories about what happened to you today that could be the basis of an article
Use AI as your writing partner
AI is a brilliant tool for business owners that still create most of their own content. However, I am not advocating that you delegate your creativity or authenticity to AI. They are there to be your research assistant, editor, ideas sounding board but NOT your writer. For me, that needs to be YOU.
Here are some ways I have used AI to help me with my content:
I’ve talked through a story that has happened to me recently (for example my house purchase falling through) and used it to brainstorm angles for an article for owners of growing small businesses.
Given it an old article and asked for ideas to repackage or repurpose it.
Done some deep research on google Gemini for something that is relevant or topical to my audience. For example I used this for the recent Growth Premium article.
Review my open rates for topics my audience likes
Asked AI to co-create with me the structure for an article on my topic idea
In summary
There is inspiration all around you for what content to create when you are staring at a blank page. However, life is much easier if you have:
Created a content plan
Got content ready to go before you need it
Maintained a swipe file of ideas of what to write
Found the time to relax your mind and brain
