What to Do When You Run Out of Ideas

I’ve recently found that I have been running out of ideas for writing – on many different topics! Some come and go but others I’ve gotten to a dead end and have no idea what to move onto next. So, what should you do if you come to a dead end and run out of thing to write about? Here are some tips that have helped me.

What Do You Need Help With?

When you think about your topic of expertise, what information would you like to know? What did you need help with when you first started out? There is bound to be something that you haven’t covered or could offer a unique view on it. Make a list of everything that you have ever thought about, wondered or researched into your topic and how they could become articles or blog posts.

What Are Others Writing About?

Research into the type of posts others are writing about within your field. You can gain ideas from them. If you run a weight loss blog, can you write about similar topics to others from a different point of view? Maybe you can add your personal experience on a weight loss programme. Do not copy someone else’s work; use it for inspiration.

Reading others sites will also help you see why others write about what they do and the type of material they offer. It will help you stay interested in your subject while you suffer a writer’s block.

Take a Day Off

Just because you are self-employed doesn’t mean that you can’t have a day off. I spent a few months thinking that if I didn’t work, I didn’t get paid so I had to write. My husband soon pointed out that he had two days off a week and didn’t get paid on those days so having a day off wasn’t the end of the world. I took a day off and have the chance to do nothing apart from relax, refresh my mind and body and do the things that I’d been wanting to do for months.

Take some time off when you start running out of ideas. Your blog will survive and your clients can wait an extra day – as long as you haven’t agreed a deadline on that day. If you regularly take a day off, switch it one week to another day to give your mind the chance to recover.

Go Somewhere Different

You may find that you just need a change of scenery to gain some inspiration. Go somewhere that you wouldn’t usually and have a rest. You may find that ideas come straight to you while you try to take in the beautiful sights. I often took a drive out to a local beach before I moved to where I am now. I could sit and watch the waves and just let the thoughts come to me; now I tend to take a walk down the high street with the buggy and watch the people around me!

Tips Now NaNoWriMo has Ended

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is over. Time to put the computer down and stop typing! For now at least. I completed my eBook by November 27 and had three days to take a break and just glance over my hard work and it was hard work! I have to be honest, I didn’t think that I was going to complete it after a really difficult week a couple of weeks ago. How did you do? Did you get to the end?

Don’t Publish Yet!

You may think that your novel is all finished and ready to be published but it really isn’t! Remember the whole just write and don’t edit? I admit, I did some editing along the way – mainly the last three days when I’d finished – but mine definitely isn’t ready to put up yet. I have at least two more rounds of editing to do before it is anywhere near ready.

The problem with trying to write so much in a short space of time is that most of it will not make sense and will be complete rubbish! If you send your novel off to a publisher now, it will be sent back with a lot of work needing to be done. So save your time and look at editing it now.

Take Some Time Away

Because you have been staring at the same piece of text for the past month, it is best to step away from the computer and leave it to sit for a while. Start working on another novel – some people get ideas while writing – or do something else for a few days, weeks and, for some, months! I’ve just got my Open University materials for my next law degree, so I’m going to look through them for the next few weeks, possibly into the New Year, before I touch my eBook so that I have a completely free mind on the text included.

Don’t Be Afraid to Erase

Before editing, read through the novel in full. Never be afraid to erase the rubbish from it – you may find that you cut thousands of words out because of this. If you find work that you could adapt, highlight it and go back to it after reading the novel. I use a yellow highlighter for the work that I can adapt or may be able to adapt, a blue for the areas that I am unsure about and a red for the areas that can definitely be erased. It lets me go through the piece first before making any edits at all.

Change the Ending

Did you abruptly end the novel? Many people do because they realise the month is coming to an end and they need to prove they have completed the challenge. It doesn’t matter as you can go back and edit accordingly. Make changes to fit the way that you actually wanted to end the novel or make some changes in the run up so that the current ending fits – it is completely up to you. An abrupt ending may work if you decide to create a sequel to the piece.

My one important tip is to let it stew for some time, especially if you have written a fictional novel. This will give you the chance to step away from the world you have created and then go back in to remove the bad and adapt the not so bad areas. You may find that the whole novel changes but at least you can say you completed NaNoWriMo.

Make Money with Your Own Website

Be your own boss. Image by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The whole point of becoming a freelance writer is to be your own boss. The problem is that the tradition relationship between clients and writers leads to the client being the boss. The client chooses when the work needs to be completed by, the topic of the work and any keywords used. This limits you as a writer. To really become your own boss, run your own website!

Single- or Multi-Author Websites

The decision you need to make is whether you create a single-author or a multi-author website. There are pros and cons to both of these. With a single-author site, you control all of the content that is placed, you write what you want and can arrange your own schedule. However, you will have to do the tech side, the writing and the management of the website. It becomes a lot of work for something that will take time to get off the ground.

Multi-author websites means that other writers will supply content for you so you can concentrate on the behind-the-scenes work. While this takes some pressure off you, you will need to decide how you will pay the writers and how to stop duplicate content being placed on the website. This can take too much time for some people but once you have a method, you will find it easier than doing everything yourself.

Do Some Research into Niches

Finding a niche is extremely important. You may decide to work on a technology site, a history one or a travel one. However, you will need to do some research into that niche before you even think about doing the design work or the type of content that you will share. This helps you find out more about the type of content people search for, the best layout and how you will monetise your website.

Design and Produce Content

Make sure you do the design work and have some content ready to go before you get your website up. This will help you rank better in search engines – you will have content for people to read, which will reduce your bounce rate. I am currently working on a couple of websites and will make sure that I have a handful of content for each page before it is made public.

Learn SEO

Search engine optimisation is important if you want to rank well but there are so many different tactics – good and bad. You need to learn more about SEO and implement it on your website and pages. This does take time and effort and can take years to learn everything – and it changes regularly! – there are people out there who will help you and have written eBooks that explain SEO step-by-step.

Websites are definitely useful to really be your own boss. I’m working towards that with Student Survival Tips and my blogs. You don’t need to worry about anything clients want and can really write what you want and when you want!

The Benefits of Writing an eBook

There are many writers, bloggers and website owners who opt for writing eBooks – or have them written. Some of these will be on sale for $0.99 and above but there are some available to download for free. The question that many have is how writers benefit from these electronic books, especially the free ones.

Link Back to Your Website

One of the best things about an eBook is the ability to add your full name and website in. Once people have finished reading your book, they can go to your website to find out more about you, other books that you have on offer or the type of products that you sell. When you offer a free eBook, people are more likely to download it.

However, you need to have quality information. Take the time to really think about the type of information people will look for in a book. If you write about internet marketing, think about the common questions that people have. If you write about photography, think about the best tips that you can share with your readers.

Become an Authority to Others

By writing about something you know a lot about and sharing it, you start to become an authority. This is beneficial for you in many ways. First of all, by becoming an authority online, search engines rank you highly because you offer trustworthy information and not spam. Second of all, you can gain publishing deals with print networks, be asked to do conferences or for interviews. You gain more money in the long term by writing a book that may take you a few months.

If you sell a product, you will quickly become an authority and it will help you sell more. Think about this for a minute – how many others have written about the product you offer. Unless you offer a generic product, there are high chances that hardly anyone has. It offers a quick way to reach out to the masses, quickly.

Offer Blog Posts or Articles on Topics in the eBook

If you have a vast amount of information in the eBook, you can take small snippets and write a blog post on them. This is an excellent way to create back links to your eBook and encourage people to buy it. You could also opt for article marketing. Both of these will help you become an authority on the subject and rank higher in search engines.

Create an Affiliate Option

Ever seen how people sign up to become an affiliate and then promote someone else’s product? People will be able to promote yours if you set up an affiliate section. You give away a set percentage of your eBook sales and then keep the rest of the money. The benefit is that others are promoting your eBook to their friends, family, Twitter followers, Facebook friends etc. and you gain more sales than you would doing it yourself; all for a small percentage of the sales. There are thousands of people making money with affiliate marketing so now is the chance to do it.

Create an Email List

Want to create an email list but have no idea where to start? Offering a free eBook is an excellent way. You offer your traffic something that is helpful and unique and just ask for their email address. The addresses are automatically added to your email list and you can continue to send out posts and market other materials afterwards. This is a great way to keep your customers up to date with everything that you are doing and any new eBooks or products that you have.

No Publishers to Deal With

It is possible to self-publish your eBook through websites such as Amazon and Smashwords. You could even offer your eBook through your own website in PDF format. The benefit is that you will not need to go through publishers or need to find an agent. You quickly get your words out there and start making money instantly.

It’s Free to Do!

You don’t need to spend a penny. All you need is a word processor and the ability to write well. If you really need to, you can hire a writer, which will not cost you a lot of money. Once you have your eBook, you sell it through your website or through other self-publishing platforms, which are free to sign up to. You instantly make a profit with your first sale!

So, what are you waiting for? Become an authority on the internet and start selling your eBooks today. Wondering where to get started? Why not look into Angela England’s 30 Days to Make and Sell a FabulouseBook. This will take you through the process step by step so all you need to do is write! Good luck!

Ways to Monetise Your Blog

Blogging is something that I do on a daily basis. I have six different blogs and post one each one once per week. I also have a website where I post some fun writing that is not for profit on a Sunday. My main blogs all have ways of earning money. The question is how they do that and how can you benefit financially from blogging.

Advertisement Revenue

The first thing to do is look into advertisement revenue. This most popular option is Google AdSense, which is used on this blog, but you could also opt for Chitika and Value Click. Some of these are pay per click, where you gain a small amount of money for each person who clicks on the adverts; others are pay per view, where you gain a set amount for each 1000 views that your blog gains.

There are pros and cons to both of these and you will need to look into all options. Something that you need to remember is that this is a tortoise’s race and not a hare’s. It is a long process and you need to update your blog everyday to earn money through it. You will also need to promote your blog so that people know that it is there and read it.

Affiliate Marketing

Another popular option for bloggers is affiliate marketing. This is where you promote other people’s products for a share of their profit. You use your affiliate code in your posts and write on the topic to entice people so that they click and buy the product. There are different options for affiliate marketing that are legitimate and safe, including ClickBank and Commission Junkie. Check out my post on using ClickBank for affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing offers the chance to earn more money than advertisement revenue but it is harder to gain sales. It is worth using both within your blogs to gain the most out of making money online with your writing.

Use Your Blog to Promote Your Book

If you have written a book, whether hard copy or eBook, then use your blog as a way to promote it. You could opt for someone to write a review and post it on your blog or you could write a description about everything the book includes. This will help direct people to the download or store to buy from.

If you have an affiliate option, you could make this clear in your post. This will help others promote your book so you earn money. This will also help you gain more exposure as a writer so people go to your blog posts to read more.

There are many ways to monetise your blog. Look into the options that you have and find out which ones will work best for you. Whichever you use, make sure that you update your blog on a regular basis with posts that are helpful to others and serve a purpose. Learn more about SEO to help your blog to rank highly and write with your audience in mind.