Writer’s block is a real thing. I suffer from it frequently, and I have 20 years of experience as a professional writer. Fortunately, though, there are ways around it.
If, despite your best intentions, you struggle to get your thoughts down in writing, I invite you to consider three barriers that may be standing in your way.
A topic pops into your head and you’re about to start writing when your inner critic jumps in with, “that’s been done before,” and you’re probably right. Pretty much every idea in the universe has been covered before – but not by you, and that’s what matters.
Your prospects aren’t simply people who need your services. They’re people who need your services and resonate with you as a human being.
Your packaging is what makes you unique; your language, your opinions, your insights. So own them and delve into a topic, even if it’s been covered 150,000 times before. If anything, a topic’s popularity proves there’s an audience eager to receive a fresh perspective on that very subject.
Raise your hand if you’re a perfectionist? (Thanks. You can lower your hand now.)
When I’m writing for my clients, I labour over every sentence I write because I’m being paid to deliver high-quality work. It’s my job to deliver an A+.
As a blogger, though, I aim for a B-. Why? Because my goal isn’t to win people over with my writing skills, and neither is yours. Your goal is to demonstrate your expertise while building or strengthening your rapport with people who matter.
So, follow a few best-practices, like keeping paragraphs short and proofreading your work (always), and trust that if you miss a comma here or there, nobody’s scrutinizing you because they’re not interested in your writing skills; they’re interested in your content.
If any of the above resonated with you, this may sound familiar.
You sit down at your desk, straighten up your keyboard, take a deep breath, and prepare to write. A few seconds later, you realize you haven’t eaten lunch so you stand up and head to the kitchen.
Or perhaps you think about writing a post but hey, you have a business to run, which means you have calls to make, invoices to issue, courses to take, and networking events to attend.
I get it, but here’s the thing: if you really want to write, you need to commit to the goal of writing and hold yourself accountable to that commitment. If that means setting aside an hour a week and publishing one article a month, then do it.
Commit to that hour. Put it in your calendar and show up for it as you would if you were giving that hour to a valuable client. Alternatively, join our co-writing community. We meet for two hours every second Friday and we get some serious blogging done.
Perhaps I’ll see you there!
Viv
Viv Singer is a Toronto-based freelance copywriter with 20+ years of experience helping solopreneurs and businesses of all kinds and sizes express themselves through the written word. Whether she’s writing newsletters, websites, announcements, advertisements, blog posts, or social content, she’s passionate about crafting words that capture the attention of their audiences and compel the right readers to read on.
Check out Viv’s professional copywriting portfolio, explore her personal blog, or email her to learn more about her copywriting services.
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Anonymous
August 25, 2021
Love this! Thanks, Viv!