Anatomy of a blog post

So last week I had a creative block, in spite of having a fun and engaging week. Well, it happens. The easy way out would be just skip my blog post for the week, but I really wanted to keep up the momentum of weekly posts.

As I was struggling to finalize last week’s post on “What’s new in marketing?” I had the brainstorm to also write a post on what happens when I write a blog post. So here goes.

I tried the old, “just sit and start writing.” I kept perusing the Internet and ended up buying Shaun T.’s new Focus T25 Insanity Series.

I tried bribing myself, “if you write a draft, you can go for a walk afterwards.” The temperatures last week were in the 90’s so I wasn’t too excited about my reward. Scratch that.

I tried just sitting at my computer and thinking. I kept getting up to check to see if the mail had been delivered. I had a field day with the latest version of the Amazon Vine newsletter and ordered a boatload of new books. It’s only 10 am and the mail doesn’t usually come until 3 pm, but you never know.

Think marketing, think marketing. Okay, I got the title, “What’s new in marketing?” I should add a quick paragraph about the Hubspot Inbound Marketing Conference in August and the 10% off (with code IH033). Now what do I say in between?

I worried that I was sitting too much. After all, the latest health research shows it’s good to get up and move around every hour or so. So now it’s time to run downstairs and check up on our chipmunks. If they’re out and about, I really need to feed them.

Finally, inspiration came as I was eating my lunch. That day it was low-fat cottage cheese and fruit. After I got over wishing I also had a Dairy Queen Mocha Chip Blizzard to top off my lunch, the blog post started coming together.

It’s funny how we can’t force ideas to come, they arrive in our minds when they arrive. And for me, it’s usually when my mind is at rest and I’m doing something else.

So what about you? How do you write your blog posts?

Photo is courtesy of DHester’s Morgue File.