Inspiration and creativity are tricky. Sometimes the ideas are flowing and you’re on fire, sometimes it feels like your well has temporarily dried up. That’s when it’s time to look outside your niche or domain for fresh content.

It can be extremely beneficial to look outside of your general topic area for ideas – to concentrate on making associations, to figuring out how some seemingly disparate ideas are linked.  Figuring out how to link widely varied topics or thoughts together in a coherent way is also an excellent mental workout (and hey, so is blogging), and you might as well boost your critical thinking skills along with your blog.

Now, I know you have a wide variety of interests outside of your blogging niche, so take a look at your favorite subjects and see if you can make any connections between them.  For instance, I’m a major football fan, so I occasionally use football metaphors and stories in my writing, especially in the fall.  Can you relate your favorite sport to your business/blog topic area somehow?  Are there any lessons to be learned on the field/court/ice/etc. that translate to the rest of the world?

What about hobbies?  Are you particularly crafty, or do you love to bake?  How are these skills related to your blog?  If you’re an aspiring gourmet and passionate about quality food, share your passion with your readers.  Can you use a cooking metaphor (e.g. spending hours slow cooking barbeque or Bolognese sauce that has to simmer all day – someone who actually loves to cook can probably come up with a better one) to tell a story about how careful, meticulous work is worth it in the end?  Or you could talk about how experimenting with a recipe turned out incredibly well, and compare that to trying out new marketing concepts for your business?

This could even apply to other individuals – is there anyone you admire in a different field than your own?  A look at why they are worthy of admiration could still be valuable advice for your readers even if they’re in a different niche.  A smart, talented individual might have insights and knowledge that prove useful to people in a whole variety of fields.  For instance, if you own a small business, is there another business owner in your community that you could interview (whether you are in the same niche or not)?  Whether or not they have a blog or website of their own, it’s excellent way to participate in the community and add some inspiring content to your site.

You could also write about a favorite author, a family pet, or a beloved spot in your hometown.  Really, the possibilities are endless once you remove any self-imposed limits to going off-topic.   Just be sure to tie it in to your main topic(s) somehow, and be sure to get some of your keywords in there as well.   After all, going temporarily off-topic is one thing, but don’t derail your blog completely.

Are you holding off from starting a blog simply because there are so many other bloggers out there?  Worried about standing out from the pack and wondering how you’ll ever get traffic, lots of incoming links, and a high page rank?  A little bit intimidated with blogs with tons of content and several years worth of posts in the archives?

First of all, remember that no one makes the A-list overnight.  You may get spikes of traffic from a great post or by being popular on the social bookmarking sites, but building an amazing blog takes time.  After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Focus on the little things, and think of each incoming link, unique impression, and new subscriber as a building block for your blog.  These all occur one at a time, but they definitely add up.  Building up content is the same way – make the effort to post several times a week (or even every day if you’re ambitious), and before you know it, you’ll have created quite an impressive archive of knowledgeable content.

Search engines love sites with tons of content on related topics, so the simple act of writing a post helps with SEO (of course, it’s even better if it is a keyword-rich post, but you knew that, right?).  Of course, search engines also love sites that are constantly updated, so posting as often as possible is another simple SEO boost.

It’s also important to remember that you don’t need to write a book every day.  Some of the best, most informative articles out there are only a few paragraphs long, and it’s difficult to read tons of text on a computer screen anyways (so be sure to break up blocks of text somehow, whether you use bold headings, bullet points, or similar techniques).

So get started on your blog, take it one day at a time, and you may end up being amazed at what you’ve built.

Next time you’re sitting in front of a blank screen, the cursor blinking like a cruel taunt saying “aren’t you supposed to be the brilliant creative one? Why can’t you think of something to write about?” (or maybe that’s just me), try writing about something you’ve bought recently.  It doesn’t matter if it was as small as a cup of coffee or as large as a new home, just as long as it was remarkable.

1.  Write about a delicious meal.  Writing about a fabulous restaurant or great little cafe can be an excellent move even if you’re not a foodie blogger.  For instance, if you own a store of any kind, tell your readers about the best “hidden gem” eateries in the area.   Hey, it’ll encourage them to check out the neighborhood and establish you as a local authority.  Besides, it’s a good way to help out another business owner.

2. Write about a book or magazine.  Have you picked up a new book or discovered a new magazine lately?  Why did you buy it?  Link to other articles about the book, explain why this particular book appealed to you, review it if you’re already read it, etc.  If you come across an excellent new resource in your topic area, tell other people about it.

3.  Write about a new gadget.  Did you get a new computer, phone, camera, or other fun shiny object recently?   Share your experience, talk about it’s functions, explain how the gadget is valuable to you.  Try to make it relevant to your niche by telling readers how this particular shiny object makes your life and business better.

4. Write about an experience.  Did you go to a cool concert or attend an interesting seminar?  Why not write it up for your readers?   Don’t forget to check out YouTube for clips of the event in question, especially if you know it was being recorded.  After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth at least a million.

5.  Write about excellent customer service.  Did a company impress you with their amazing customer service?  Talk about it!  Relate it to your business (almost everyone has customers/clients to deal with), use it as a stellar example how a company succeeded. Of course, the flip side to this is to blog about poor customer service, and if you do that, take the opportunity to deliver some constructive criticism instead of just complaining.

So if you’re ever at a loss for blogging words, think about the last few things you spent money on, or the last remarkable customer service you had.  Recommending quality products and experiences is just one more way to establish authority, after all, and if something improved your life and business, your readers want to know about it.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “long tail” before, especially in regard to business and marketing. Essentially, the long tail is the tail end of a demand curve – there may be lots of people who buy the latest #1 single, but there are many more people buying all sorts of different, obscure albums – the total number of the people buying the varied music is much greater than the people buying the #1 hit. The long tail is part of the reason why companies like Amazon are so successful – they offer tons of different niche items. The inter-connectedness and global scope of the web has made the long tail and catering to niche markets a viable business strategy.

However, the long tail is also relevant to SEO. Very significant percentage of searches are “long tail searches”, that consist longer, more specific queries that naturally tend to yield fewer results. For instance, if you’re looking for a newly built condo in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, wouldn’t you type “Chicago condominiums South Loop real estate new construction” or something similar into the search box? After, you’re much likely to find what you’re looking for that way than by just using “Chicago real estate”. Long tail searchers are looking for something very specific. This post on Search Engine Watch’s blog has excellent visuals illustrating long tail searches.

So how does this apply to your blog? Think about your niche and your own unique skills and characteristics. Narrow down your keywords – instead of only using “Chicago real estate agent”, make sure to write about the particular neighborhoods and types of properties you specialize in, for example. Or if you’re any kind of retailer (chances are if you’re an online retailer, you’re already very familiar with niche markets and the long tail), write constant posts about your products. Try to create the most detailed descriptions possible, and aim to be your readers’ source for the latest information about new products in your niche.

Targeting the long tail may end up benefiting you more in the long run – after all, long tail searchers tend to be looking for very specific information, and if you fit into their desired niche, they are that much more likely to bookmark your blog and/or become clients or customers someday.

I was very, very impressed by this guest post on Problogger from Gala of iCiNG about the 9 Lessons she’s learned from blogging.  Yes, she’s a niche blogger -her blog deals with fashion and style, which are common topics in the blogosphere but she definitely adds her own unique spin to everything. She points out an incredibly important aspect of blogging that I’d be willing to bet all successful bloggers know.

And I quote:

Blogging isn’t about shouting the loudest or being really important, it’s about connecting & engaging in a dialogue with other people. If you’re not actually interested in interacting with anyone else or hearing other people’s opinions, you might as well be keeping a diary for yourself. Like it or lump it, having a blog is like being in retail. If people don’t like you, they will go (& spend their money) elsewhere.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times – successful bloggers manage to connect and communicate with their readers, and that’s what makes them so popular.  On the most basic level, they create value for their readers, and that’s why readers keep coming back.

Yes, listening and responding to your readers takes some time, but remember that they are like customers – keeping readers interested is essential to your success.  If you put in the hours creating compelling content, whether it’s a how-to or a round-up of useful resources, it will eventually pay off.  Of course, you need to promote it with SEO and link-building, but you had better concentrate on creating something quality to market first.

One excellent way to create value is to teach your readers something.  If you’re a business blogger, chances are there’s at least one area where you possess some expertise, so share your knowledge with your visitors.  By helping others you can help yourself.  An example from the sports world – hockey great Wayne Gretzky recorded more than twice as many assists as goals (1963 career assists vs. 894 goals), and he still holds almost every possible scoring record.  It’s clear that he helped his teammates succeed, and now he’s considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Focus on what you can give to your readers – “ask not what your readers can do for you, ask what you can do for your readers“.  Yes, I took some serious liberties with John F. Kennedy’s classic phrase, but it’s important for bloggers to remember that they must contribute to community in order to reap its rewards.

Almost all bloggers are going to encounter critics at some point, especially bloggers who are passionate about their topics and committed to sharing their ideas with the world. Passion and conviction can polarize people, and it takes courage to publish your thoughts, especially if your topics are in any way controversial.

Criticism is a Fact of Blogging Life

A thick skin is vital to participating in blogosphere, because you are opening yourself up to criticism in the form of comments and emails, and even if you don’t enable comments or provide a way for your readers to contact you, that won’t necessarily stop them from talking about you – but isn’t that why you started a blog?  To make people aware of you and your company?  However, it’s important to differentiate between constructive criticism and flames (criticism for the sake of being derogatory or insulting, essentially taking cheap shots in order to pick a fight).

Examine Your Critics

Basically, you have to understand the source – know when to take someone’s opinion seriously and when to dismiss it as a mere feedback.  For instance, you’d take the opinion of an expert in your field much more seriously than someone completely unfamiliar with it, so take a look at who is doing the criticizing.  Also, pay attention to the numbers – are many of your readers disagreeing with you on a particular point or is there is a lone dissenter? Remember that you can’t please everyone all the time, and if you try to do that, there’s a good chance that you’ll end up with a bland, entirely forgettable blog.

Be Open to Change

No matter how much expertise you have, it’s always important to be open to new ideas and concepts.  In fact, that’s one of the many reasons blogging can help you achieve your business goals – it’s a continual learning process that forces you to keep up with the latest news and trends in your field, and exposes your ideas to many more people than any other method.   Blogging is a form of media, after all.  By publishing your thoughts, you’re inviting others to join the discussion, and they may have some amazing knowledge to share.

Blogging is essentially a social, conversational medium, so it only goes to follow that you can’t successfully blog in a vacuum.  You have to read and respond to other bloggers, link to outside websites, and be aware of what others in niche are talking about by participating in the popular social media networks.

Basically, you have to read at least as much as you write.  First of all, reading and absorbing the work of talented writers is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to developing your own writing voice.  It only goes to follow that, if you want to get the most out of your blog, you have to read other blogs as well.  Besides, being aware of the current popular topics in in the blogosphere is valuable, and you’ll never know where you’ll pick up a great tip or two.

You don’t even necessarily have to read tons of blogs about blogging (although as your Blogging Coach, I would say that you should definitely keep an eye on a few meta-blogs); useful, well-written advice and positive examples can be found on blogs in any niche.  It’s also important to check out blogs that discuss similar topics to yours, so you can pick up on market trends and see if anyone has written, linked to, or created anything interesting.

One of the key differences between blogging and more traditional forms of media, marketing, and public relations is that it’s a two way street.  Yes, your readers can and will respond to your posts in the comments, but other bloggers can write responses on their blogs too.  Reacting and sharing opinions are a key part of participating in the blogosphere, so it’s not only useful, it’s imperative that you read at least a few other blogs.

Don’t think that you have the time to read?  Try subscribing to your favorites and scanning them in a reader (I personally prefer Google Reader, but there are tons of options out there), or tagging posts that intrigue you with a “toread” tag in del.icio.us and coming back them when you have time to spare.

What other blogs do you read? Do you read them for news, education, inspiration, or entertainment (or a mix of all the above?)

If you read blogs on a regular basis, you’ll probably notice that popular or well established bloggers often take the time to interact with their readers, in the comments section or by replying to emailed questions.   There’s no doubt that one of the things that differentiates writing for the web from traditional media – on the net, your readers can (and will) participate, respond, and offer their own viewpoints.

I’ve written before about how bloggers should take the time to answer questions from their readers, but it’s also possible to use questions as more fodder for your blog. Here’s a list of five ways to use Q&A’s to beat blogger’s block.

1.   Reply to a reader-submitted question in the form of a post.  If one of your readers makes an interesting inquiry through email, chances are they aren’t the only one who could benefit from reading the answer.   You don’t necessarily have to post the entire exchange, but writing a post as a follow-up to a query can be an excellent to interact with your readers while adding compelling content to your blog.

2. Answer a real life question.   Are there a few questions that customers and clients ask on a regular basis?   Create a FAQ for them.   Did someone ask you a really intriguing question?  Write a response to them on your blog, where you can be more thoughtful and detailed than you can in person (plus you can link to sources).

3.  Respond to another blogger. Bloggers often pose questions to their readers. If you come across a good one that inspires you to write a lengthy comment, try making it into a post instead.  Don’t forget to link to the original question so that the other blogger and readers can follow the conversation through trackbacks.   Also, check out forums that are related to your niche and make note of any common questions, because they might make good blog posts.

4.  Follow up on search engine queries.   Look at your stats and the search terms that brought traffic to your blog.   Are there any relevant questions there?  If you consistently rank for search terms that ask who, what, where, when, why, or how, write a post or two responding to them.

5.   Turn the tables and answer yourself.   Is there something that you recently looked up?   Did you find an excellent resource or come across something great in the course of your research?   Others in your niche may have the similar questions and appreciate it when you share your findings.

Next time you find yourself suffering from blogger’s block, think about the questions you’ve recently asked and answered, and you may find yourself overflowing with ideas. You could even answer a more complex question with a whole series of posts.   Besides, responding to your readers and other bloggers sends a positive message of openness, helpfulness, and general goodwill.   Now, do you have any questions?

Promotion and marketing are usually the main motivations that business bloggers have for starting their blogs.  Yes, they may want to join the conversation in the blogosphere in order to learn more about their niche and interact with other smart people, but in the end, their goal is promote their brand – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, many business blogs focus on how wonderful the company is, or how awesome their products are – and while that may be true, a company may provide top-notch services and their products may indeed change users’ lives, these bloggers are neglecting to realize that they are not taking full advantage of their presence in the online community.

In order to really promote your brand, you have to take the focus of you, your abilities, and your products.  You have to make the reader the hero.  Tell your readers what you can do for them, use your blog to provide value by sharing your knowledge, and show them how you, your company, and/or your products can improve their lives.

Testimonials from happy customers can help accomplish this goal, as long as they give a concrete reason why you’re great – be sure each testimonial offers specific examples instead of generic praise.   For instance, if you’re a real estate agent, you would want to feature a testimonial about you found your client their dream home in an ideal neighborhood and helped them negotiate an excellent price, not a testimonial stating “X is a wonderful, hard-working agent.”  If you are going to use testimonials, have your customers tell the blogosphere how you changed their lives.

But while testimonials alone can make your blog good, teaching and helping your readers improve their situations can make it great.  From self-help bloggers like Steve Pavlina (“Personal Development for Smart People) to career bloggers like Deborah Ng (Deborah Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs), bloggers have used their sites to promote their expertise and brands by helping others.   They’ve made their readers their heroes, and because they truly want to see them succeed, they’ve achieved success themselves.

Making your reader the hero can also lead to a boost in terms of word-of-mouth marketing.  After all, if you help someone solve a problem, they are that much more likely to tell their friends and family about your blog and your business, because people tend to share content that they consider useful and valuable.

In conclusion, remembering that it’s not all about you can have a positive effect on your blog and your business. After all, if it weren’t for your clients, customers, and readers, you wouldn’t even have a business – so make sure they get to be the hero by focusing your blog on their wants and needs.

Like I said in my last post, it’s important to remember that most of your readers don’t know you in real life, and they may not be particularly familiar with your field and its buzzwords, particularly if you’re blogging to promote your business (you want them to stick around and get to know you, not click away to look for a different source of information).

Therefore, you may want to avoid using highly technical or niche-specific terms without clearly defining them for your readers, or at least pointing them to a good definition with a link.

“But what if these are words or phrases that I want to use a lot?” You might ask.  After all, defining a term every single time you use it in a post gets old – and overly wordy – real quick.  Plus, you don’t want to turn off the readers that are more knowledgeable about your topic area by constantly explaining the same things.  That also gets old fast.

So what’s a smart business blogger to do?

For starters, you can create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) or a dictionary for readers who may be unfamiliar with your niche but still very interested in the topic.  This is also a good way to build some cornerstone content that other bloggers will link and readers will bookmark because it’s such a quality resource.  In fact, it could end up being the most important and popular page on your blog.

If/when you decide to create a dictionary, it’s probably best to post it as a page, so that it remains outside the chronology and hierarchy of the rest of your blog.  Besides, then it will remain on the sidebar or header and be clearly visible to your visitors, and you can update it without interrupting the flow of your blog.

For an example of a dictionary page, look no further than my own blog dictionary, which I created after getting questions from readers about some of the terms I used.  Although I’ve covered plenty of the phrases that you’ll come across in the blogosphere, it’s an ongoing project as new buzzwords crop up and I come across more words that might require clarification for newbies.

Of course, you don’t have to write anything as lengthy as I did, but a FAQ or dictionary could go a long way towards teaching people about your topic, proving your expertise in your niche, and ensuring that your readers stick around because you’re providing them with valuable content.  Yes, it is likely that they could find similar information on other sites, but you’ve got all the info in one place and it’s nicely organized.  You make it easy for them, and they’ll reward you by bookmarking your site, recommending you to others, and even becoming customers or clients.