Just because something has a name does not mean it exists. If you stare at a blank word processor document with your mind just as unpopulated don’t blame it on writer’s block. You wouldn’t start out on a journey without ensuring you know the route, so don’t do it when copy writing for an email marketing campaign.

There are various little tricks that many of us go through in the hope that it will get us typing away, but in essentials this is nothing more than groundwork, something that is a requirement for all writing.

Preparation is everything. For most of us, deciding on what is going to be covered in an article, blog or paragraph in a marketing email is the hardest part. Everything else is just picking the right words and putting them in order. 

I carry a writing notebook with me at all times. Ideas come from all sorts of sources and a quick jot in the book lowers the chances of struggling for a subject. The specific content comes later and more slowly.

I use a method I’ve called Lighthouse. Despite the enigmatic title it is fairly mundane and can be summed up as using subheadings as prompts, directions if you will. I use pen and paper and just jot down phrases as the thoughts come to me. Later I arrange them in a rough list.

Next I consider the target audience: email marketing lists, those who might visit the website, and who might be searching for advice. Once the faces come to mind, I start to fill in the detail under the subheads. If ideas don’t flow I imagine I have face to face conversations with them. Don’t feel you have to follow me on this, especially if you work in an open office. 

Then, and only then, do I open the word processor and start to tap some keys. I tend not to correct as I write. If I’m struggling as to whether it is who, whom or what I leave that for later. I ensure the keywords are there and that’s it. 
 
When people suggest they have writer’s block they are mistaken. It is unpreparedness; easily resolved.