Communications Blog Block: What to Write?!

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by Rachael Bloomfield

I was stoked when I heard IABC/Toronto would be giving its members the opportunity to submit blogs. Then shortly afterward I thought, uh oh, what the heck was I going to write? Communications is such a broad subject with so many possible story angles. Plus, it can be difficult when your job is indirectly communications (blog ideas under those circumstances can be harder to come by). And don’t get me started on the frustration of trying not to write stories that have been written to death.

I know some are thinking, ‘just write about what you know’, but it’s not that simple. For example, I know Jazz, which is a considerably narrower topic than communications. But if I were to write a Jazz Blog would I write about Jazz Genres? Female Instrumentalists? 1950s Jazz Flutists? Jazz Photographers? Jazz Sidemen? Classic Albums? CD Reviews? Concert Reviews? Canadian Jazz Singers? Toronto Jazz Singers? Obscure Jazz Singers? And so on. See my dilemma?

What was I to do?

Well, a few days later it hit me…for my first IABC Blog I could write about what to write about! In other words, where could one find the inspiration for writing blogs? Communications blogs, that is.

For those of you who, like me, get occasionally stumped, here are a few ideas for dealing with blog block:

1) Reading newspapers, watching television, and reading books and magazines are great sources for uncovering blog ideas, but you knew that.

2) Sign up for Google Alerts, which brings the news to you. It’s pretty straightforward: Type in your keywords; select other parameters; and, voila, in your inbox will appear articles on various subject matter. And the matter will keep coming until Google Alerts is turned off. Just a note, you’ll probably have to tinker with your filters to cut down on irrelevant articles.

3) Attend IABC events. While conversing with fellow members, there are bound to be topics that come up that will trigger a communications blog burst.

4) Attend IABC events and write about what happened: What you saw, who you met, what was learned, what you taught, how you felt, etc.

5) Attend any random event or place – like a Jazz Club, perhaps? – and, again, write about your experience. It might be a challenge to come up with something from a communications perspective, but it’ll be an interesting and fun exercise. Of course, don’t disregard your real purpose for going to said event or place; just keep eyes and ears open for anything that could be considered industry-related.

6) Look at other blogs. Now be careful not to inadvertently plagiarize, or pilfer someone else’s idea. But you can probably find a nugget of a topic within another person’s blog and do further exploring.

Well, there you have it. I hope these suggestions banish blog block (that’s a tongue twister) forever and inspire amazing IABC Blogs. I know these are what I’ll be looking to when writing my next one.

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