Some days finding blogging inspiration is difficult. What do I write about? How do I get motivated to write it? There can be a lack of inspiration and/or a lack of motivation. I have realized these two things to be different. Sometimes I know what I want to write, but I don't feel in the mood to write it. This is a lack of motivation. Other days, all I feel motivated to do is sit down and blog but I don't know what I want to write about. This is a lack of inspiration.
If you're a visual person like I am, then apps like Pinterest and Instagram give you inspiration. Allow yourself to let go, and go down a rabbit hole. Look at a wide variety of photos. Find new people to engage with on the platform. When you do this, try and take 1 thing I like from each post you look at.
What made you click their photo? What's their style of photography? How did they edit their photo? Was their caption engaging? What kind of hashtags did they use?
Once I have answers to those questions, I find myself getting inspired to try out those new things with my content. Learning from others is the best way to continually improve your own content.
Also, of course, just going down a rabbit hole in Pinterest or Instagram can get you inspired.
My Pro Tip: Save photos that inspire you on both Instagram and Pinterest. (For Instagram, you can save them to your 'Collections') Then, when you need some more inspiration later down the road, you can go back and relook at photos you already found blogging inspiration from!
Becuase I am an extroverted person, I thrive off of engagement with others. Sometimes it can be hard to think of what to blog about becuase of your geographical areas. It's beneficial to find other bloggers in your area and see what they're doing--becuase maybe you can do it too! Read their blog posts, check out their tweets, follow them on Instagram, start a conversation with them; do all of that and find yourself inspired. You may even find a new blogging friend!
To find local bloggers on social media platforms, I use hashtags constantly. Some hashtags I like to use to find bloggers near me (remember that I am in Minnesota) are: #minneapolisbloggers #mplsstyle #mnbloggers #midwestblogs.
So use these hashtags, and change all the city/state/region names to where you live! To find more hashtags from where you live, look in the hashtag section of someone you found using a certain hashtag. Analyze what hastags they use and if you can find more local bloggers by clicking on them.
And of course, making connections with bloggers and other creatives locally can lead to so much more down the road!
Plus, showing support is free and makes big differences in each other's lives. All of us bloggers are in on this adventure together.
When you get your bursts of inspiration, write them down. It's seriously as simple as that. Having a stash of 'blogging ideas' means never running out of ideas when you don't know what to write about.
For myself, the best place I keep my blogging ideas are in the Notes App on my iPhone. When I plan out my posts for the month, I take the ideas from my Notes App and transfer it to a list in the Reminders App. I love the feeling of checking something off of a list, so that's why I do it.
Twitter, oh Twitter. I love Twitter. Twitter is a social media app that is made for you to interact with others--so it's not weird to engage! When I want to learn something new, share my own expertise, or just listen to others, I love turning to Twitter Chats.
For those who don't know what a Twitter Chat is, a Twitter Chat is a chat that's scheduled for unique audiences ran by individual accounts. Sometimes it is hard finding chats, but they're out there. My favorite chat to engage with is The Blogger Crowd and of course always looking to participate in more!
The biggest place to get blogging inspiration is to read other people's blogs. This is something that is always said, and it's not a very unique idea, but it is so true for gaining inspiration.
I feel like I could always be reading and commenting more than I currently do. Time really is a luxury, so on days where you have an extra few minutes, click on that link to read someones new blog post. Reading a blog post is good support, which is free, and is an inspiration factory!
If you still don't know what you want to write about, it is time for you to do something. Try something new and experience something with a new viewpoint. Getting out of your house and adventuring can give you inspiration without much thought.
Going on an adventure can also be a blog post in and of itself! I know I've done that before.
I hope this was helpful for you! Some days, we just need a little reminder to schedule time to get inspired. Scheduling that time for yourself to get lost in ideas is important to refuel and prevent burnout.
What ways do you find blogging inspiration? I'd love to know what you found helpful and learn other ways for myself to become inspired!