Eventually, every blogger runs out of gas. The causes vary – could be writer’s block, or you’re too busy with something else – but the result is always the same: less quality writing, and less participation in the blogging community.

What you need is a little inspiration. You need a spark lit under your rear. You need a new goal to sink your teeth into.

Here are 3 great resources that can help light that spark, challenge you and re-energize your blogging efforts:

1. Pat Doyle has 23 Great Ideas for Blog Posts. Some of her ideas can help you ease your way back in. For example, prepare a helpful resource list related to your topic. Labor intensive, but mechanical in nature. Here are some of her other suggestions:
   • Explain something about your subject that might be confusing to newbies. This is very smart. Don’t forget the person just dipping their toes into your waters.
   • Tell why or how you first got interested in this topic. This is great for allowing your natural enthusiasm to shine through. And again, it could be very appealing to newbies or new subscribers to your blog.
   • Interview someone. This is often overlooked by a lot of bloggers, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to get great interviews. They’re not hard to do, and they can make great discussion pieces.
2. Patrick Altoft has The Top 10 SEOmoz Linkbait Articles. This is a very detailed analysis of SEOmoz and the success that blog has had from linkbait. You should be interested in linkbait. It might sound dirty, but it’s not. And the results of writing linkbait can be extremely rewarding. In my mind, you should always be writing in an effort to attract links and attention; whether it’s an ultra-kick ass headline, or by linking to other blogs, or what have you, think: linkbait.
3. Leo Babauta has Fifty Most Influential Bloggers, which is in and of itself brilliant linkbait, but also a great list of great bloggers. If you’re looking for inspiration from the masters, look no further.

The gas tank will run empty. It’s inevitable. Blogging takes a lot of time. Just keep these resources handy. Read through them, make some notes and keep those notes close by. When you feel writer’s block taking hold or your interest waning, you can go back to these resources for renewed inspiration.