4 Tips to Overcome Writer's Block

The irony of writing this post is that I’m experiencing writer’s block at this very moment. I know what I want to write about, but I can’t seem to find the words to get started.

All professional writers experience this during their career, and most will experience it regularly. Sometimes it’s more challenging to write for certain clients, topics, and industries than it is to write for others. These are my 4 tips for beating writer’s block:

1. Do Your Homework. It’s easier for me to write when I have a plethora of information at my fingertips to source and draw inspiration from. The more I research and the better informed I am, the more likely it is that I’ll be able to write.
2. Get Organized. I habitually list the key details of each thing I write in the header so I can refer back to them while I’m working. Usually I put what I’m writing for (publication, website copy, advertorial, etc.), who my target audience is, and what my deadline is. If I get stuck with on a paragraph or particular word choice, I refer back to the basics – who, what and where – to spark creativity, keep me on message and ensure I meet the purpose of the piece.
3. Write Out of Order. The more seasoned I become, the more I rely on this strategy. As a young, obsessively organized writer, it felt wrong to write a body paragraph prior to the introduction. But by starting with something that’s easy to write, I quickly find my voice and rhythm. As I continue to develop my writing skills, I see this can be a very valuable way to circumvent writer’s block and create a powerful introduction that aligns with the meat of my work. One note on this tactic, I find it’s most effective when I am following an outline so I don’t go off on tangents. 
4. Write Something Else. In the agency world, there is always something else that needs to be done and I would often complete unrelated tasks to “warm up” for a large writing project. At worst, this means cleaning my office and organizing my desk, but at best this means editing something I’d previously written, responding to emails, coordinating logistics, or even writing an easy press release or pitch. Of course, it’s not always feasible to employ this strategy due to deadlines or workload, and there is a very fine line between writing something else and procrastinating.

Jon Stewart Taught Us The Importance of Authority and Authenticity

I, like many of my friends and colleagues, was sad to hear that Jon Stewart will be retiring from The Daily Show. To be honest, I had no knowledge of the show prior to college and assumed that Stewart had been a part of the program since it’s inception – which isn’t true.

Sonia Simone, co-founder and Chief Content Officer of Copyblogger Media, posted an insightful blog on the brand’s website explaining why The Daily Show has succeeded where other news programs have failed. It comes down to two things, which Jon Stewart and the team at The Daily Show taught us time and time again – authority and authenticity are critical in 21^st century marketing.

Simone labels Stewart, “a content marketer of ideas,” and identifies his product as “a critical, unsparing approach to politics and current events coming from a particular point of view and set of beliefs.”

She goes on to identify five things that Steward does exceptionally well that can be used by marketing professionals in any industry.

Read Sonia’s post on the Copyblogger Blog here.

B2C Instagram Best Practices

I attended an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) luncheon earlier this week to learn about B2B Instagram best practices. I was a bit skeptical that Instagram can show ROI and measurable results with regard to B2B marketing.

In the end, I felt the speaker, Rochelle Coles of Sister Act Media, proved there are ways to utilize Instagram to engage B2C clients, but not as much for B2B clients. Much of her presentation seemed to focus on basic best practices for social media, but she did recommend Iconosquare for Instagram measurement, which was helpful. In all, Rochelle's shared 5 "proven strategies" for increasing Instagram followers and engagement, website traffic and sales - which can be used for most social media marketing:

1. Make the most of every opportunity on your profile. Visuals are incredibly important on Instagram, so be sure you have a profile photo that accurately represents your brand and is attractive to your target audience. The only space you can put a live link on Instagram is in your user bio, so make sure that you have a URL to your website, Facebook page, or LinkedIn profile so that people can find you and make a purchase. 
2. Post images that reflect what your target clients post. This applies to all social media channels, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. If your target clients are animal lovers, make sure that you are posting platform-appropriate content that appeals specifically to that interest.
3. Leverage your words to establish and reinforce your message. Be sure you're utilizing the brand voice in all company communication regardless of the platform. Additionally, write like a human. Consumers do not respond well to corporate speak on social media platforms.
4. Use video to connect. Digital marketing is becoming more and more about a complete user experience instead of just text or just images. When appropriate, post behind-the-scenes video, clips of ads, etc. on your Instagram feed.
5. Invest in current followers and proactively pursue new ones. Like images your followers post that resonate with your brand. A recipe for success is to spend five minutes a few times a day liking five images and commenting on three images for one user so that you come up prominently in that user's feed. This is a great tactic if you're trying to empower brand evangelists or get noticed by local media contacts.

Tips for Managing Professional Stress

During my tenure at a PR Agency, I was plagued by debilitating stress and I became a pretty negative person. It affected my health, my relationships with loved ones and my passion for hobbies. 

Public relations is a notoriously stressful profession, and today, PR Daily posted "6 ways (plus a few more) to stay positive in PR." 

They list some obvious things like get away from your desk and take a walk, talk/vent, listen to music   and meditate. One of the recommendations was something I hadn't heard of before, 750 Words. This is a completely anonymous website that encourages 750 words of writing each day to help alleviate stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. 

All-in-all it was an interesting read and something that was meaningful to me. Some of these tips are things that I employed on a very regular basis, such as playing music in my office. Others I will keep in mind for the future.