Do you ever feel STUCK and not know what to write on Instagram?!

So, you resort to a generic “loved these pretty peonies” or “such a great day!” or …. just an emoji? Yeah, wellllll, it may be all good and well if you’re not running a business on the ‘gram, but for those of us who need to MARKET ourselves on a platform buzzing with nonstop posts, a pretty picture with a half-assed caption isn’t always going to cut it to get the engagement your biz needs to start THRIVING!

Here’s the thing – LIKES don’t always equal dollar signs, but someone (yes, a REAL person) connecting with ONE Instagram caption could be the difference between you booking a new client or not! You know why?! Because we’re building a CONNECTION in the captions.

Likes are more for our ego, captions are meant for creating conversation! Money aside, if you’re just trying to up your personal brand game, sharing meaningful captions is one way to start showing off your dynamic personality.

I’m longwinded – I make long posts, I write long blog posts, I write long emails! Girlie’s got a lot to say; howevaaa, I know that sometimes writing an Instagram caption doesn’t come so easily for everyone. Whether you decide to write your posts ahead of time or write them in the moment, here are 3 quick tips to always being ready with a caption before you decide to post for the day!

1. Keep a note in your phone with a running list of ideas for captions!

My ideas come at such random times of the day – usually right before bed or when I’m driving, so I just voice record them into my notes! Whenever you need an idea, you can pop over there and grab one that feels right to you for that post! You can spend some time pre-writing them out or just use the idea to spark a more candid, in-the-moment response!

You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel – if you had a conversation, heard a podcast episode you loved or saw a YouTube video that inspired you, formulate your own opinions on it and adapt it into your own entirely new post.

2. Give yourself prompts or challenges!

Yep, like homework but make it fun and relatable! Spend 10 minutes writing out a list of topics for the week. Maybe this week is ‘About Me’, so you could brain dump 7 ideas for 7 new posts!

• Monday – Share your why or passion for what you do
• Tuesday – Share 5 fun facts about yourself
• Wednesday – Share your workspace and why you love it (or don’t love it!)
• Thursday – Share about the type of clients you adore and why
• Friday- Share about 3 goals you have in life or business
• Saturday – Share about your process behind the scenes
• Sunday – Share your biz journey and how you got to where you are now!

 

If you don’t want it to be so structured, write out some topic headers (like About Me, 7 Favorite Wedding Day Moments, 7 Poses You Love, New Color of the Rainbow Each Day of Week, etc.) and braindump the post ideas under each category. Then, just add them to your notes, so you can just pull those ideas when you need them! No need to do 7 straight days of one topic, but sometimes that structure helps people get new content posted!

3. Tell a STORY!

People connect with stories so much more than you just telling them about yourself. They want to feel like they are a part of it, too. So, if you are inspired to talk about something personal, is there a way to twist it and write it so that it speaks to others instead of just about yourself? If you feel compelled to talk about something you struggled with, PLEASE make sure to include some advice on how you fought through it or are currently working through it. Reading sob stories that feel like woe is me with no ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ is HARD for your followers to digest and it brings THEIR day down. So, how can you spin that life moment into a lesson or something you can help others with?!

If you’re not in the mood to share YOUR story, share someone else’s! If you post a picture of one of your adorable couples?! Talk about their love story and share what makes them so unique! If your post is more generic, can you share a story that you heard on the news or from friends and put your own spin on it. Give your opinion on it or share your takeaways from it!

In the end, don’t be so hard on yourself! I’ve had posts that totally flop and others that do amazing. Just keep GOING. Instagram rewards consistency, and truthfully, nobody will remember or care at all if you write a caption that doesn’t ‘do well’ (if it makes you feel any better – only about 6% of your followers even see each post, so just keep trying again)! People are just happy to see you showing up, sharing, and creating!

Questions?! What do you struggle with when it comes to writing captions? Share your thoughts in the comment section below! I’d love to help you!