There's no such thing as writers block (but that's not helping me now)

Seth Godin says “there is no such thing as writers block.”

Writing is work. It is emotional labor. It was what we do every day because we are professionals, and professionals show up to do the work.

You would never hear a plumber tell you he has plumbers block. So why do writers get a special exception?

As much as I hate to admit it, Seth is right.

I am not suffering form writers block. I am suffering from publishers block. I am suffering from the fear of putting myself out there to be scrutinized and judged. It’s not that I have nothing to say, it’s that I think what I have to say isn’t any good.

Isn’t that always the case?

This is the endless battle back and forth in my head. When I write every day, I have no shortage of things to write about. The downside is that writing every day can block me from writing the pieces that are truly remarkable.

It’s the battle of the artist and the marketer. The killer and the poet.

If I want to generate traffic, my best bet is to write long form articles with perfectly woven CTAs. This will increase my search traffic and will allow me to spend time targeting the type of traffic that is most valuable to me.

But if I want to generate ideas, my best bet is to write pithy articles that flow my from heart and help me elaborate my thinking.

Last week, I published a video about self promotion, and the value of “Showing Your Work.”

I meant every word I said in the video. But talking about it and doing it are two different things. I must keep my commitment to show my work.

I must continue to fail in public. Let’s do this.

I’ll talk to you tomorrow.