Blogging 101: Inspiration

for other installments in this series, check out Getting Started, Next Steps, and Growing Your Readership.

one of the questions i’m most frequently asked is, ‘where do you find inspiration to write your blog?’. being inspired is an essential part to writing – it provides ideas, motivation, and content. if you’re not inspired, you’re probably not writing. 

since i’ve been blogging for almost three years now, inspiration comes naturally to me (if that’s possible). what i mean is that, most of the time, i have plenty of ideas swirling around in my head for what to share on the blog. i’ve established my voice, my areas of focus, and i know what my readers are interested in reading about. whether it’s an idea for an outfit, a DIY project, or a beauty-related post, it doesn’t usually take me long to decide what to write about and get to it. 

certainly, there are times when i feel completely void of ideas and am in need of some serious inspiration. in those times, my first stop is typically Pinterest. it’s bursting with ideas for just about anything you’d want to write about – style, DIY, home decor, food, beauty, etc. i can typically find something that sparks an idea within the first 30 seconds of being on Pinterest. 

some other great sources for inspiration include other blogs that you enjoy reading, magazines, books, stores, or your interactions with people. oftentimes, i’ll see an outfit in a magazine or store that i love and get an idea of how i can create something similar using items i already have. when i’m feeling especially crafty, i’ll just go walk around a craft store to see what piques my interest. truth be told, i’m sometimes inspired just by getting out of my apartment and walking around. because i work from home, it’s essential for me to get out of my regular environment so that i don’t tire of it too quickly. this also serves as a great time to experience new things or explore new places that may spark an idea in my head. 

sometimes, i’ll throw out a question on my Facebook page or Twitter to ask my readers what they’d like to see on the blog – different outfits, more personal posts, specific questions? that can usually give me some good ideas, or at least some areas of focus for future posts. if you don’t quite have the following to do that yet, tap your family members, friends, or co-workers to see if they have any ideas. you never know what they could offer up! 

there have been times when i’ve tried all of these things and still come up blank. for a long time, i would hate when that would happen and would put a lot of pressure on myself to write something, anything for a post. almost 100% of the time, the posts that resulted weren’t even worthy of being posted. i’ve learned to let go a bit, to allow myself the option to not have a new post every single day, monday through friday. it’s taken a lot of the pressure off and i tend to enjoy those post-less days as days when i can spend time being inspired. 

inspiration is everywhere! sometimes you find it when you’re not even looking for it. when an idea does hit you, be sure to write it down somewhere. there’s nothing worse than having a great idea only to forget it moments later! 

have specific questions about finding inspiration or some ideas to share? leave them in the comments below or shoot me an email!