We’re past the age of heroes and hero kings. … Most of our lives are basically mundane and dull, and it’s up to the writer to find ways to make them interesting.”
—John Updike #wisdomwednesday
Writing – whether it’s creative writing, short stories, letters, poems website content, blogs, facebook posts, twitter posts – the truth is – WRITING IS IMPORTANT! The Writer is the one that makes life interesting!
3. KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid.
You don’t need to write long bloviating posts. Tell a story. Make a point. Highlight an idea.
SURE there’s a lot you could say about any one topic – but you don’t have to say it all.
More words a better blog post does not make. –Yoda (not really)
Here’s two crazy truth’s about your blog that you don’t want to know.
1. No one reads it.
2. It doesn’t matter that no one reads it.
I know that sounds CRAZY with a capital P.
You should assume that NO ONE is clicking your blog everyday just to read it, because they love reading you. YOU MAY have that – and if you don’t have it – YOU MIGHT EVENTUALLY ATTAIN THAT. But in the meantime – look at your blog posts as fishing hooks.
The more you have in the water, the more potential you’ll have to snag someone.
(This is why a CALL TO ACTION on every page and post is important – it funnels them to take action and give you their money, or whatever it is that is your END RESULT.)
As people are searching for answer to the question: Where can I get a good steak dinner in Cleveland? They’ll find your blog post. Your job is to answer the question – and then sell them something.
You may occasionally have a self-absorbed high and mighty lofty sermon to deliver via blog post – and there’s NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT on occasion – just make sure that you recognize that what you are doing when you blog is to write to get google’s attention, and get google to send readers your way. Then your job is to sell that reader something… whether it’s to click on another post – or to buy your book, or shop in your store.
You ought to be able to do that in a few paragraphs.
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
—Ernest Hemingway #wisdomwednesday
Hemmingway was right! No matter what our trade – we need to guard against the feeling that we’ve “arrived”… the truth is – if we get comfortable – people start “moving the cheese” …
There is always more to learn – more to grow – and places that we can expand our expertise! Keep learning – Keep Digging – Keep Growing!
2. Break it Up.
Plan it out. Take all of your ideas, and try to break them up into a 4 or 5 part series to post once a week. Pick a day of the week that they will hit – and keep in mind – you CAN schedule your posts with most blogging platforms. So you can do all of the work at once – and don’t really need to do too much with it.
Start with a Topic – and then make an outline of four or five points underneath it.
Example:
Topic: What your website needs
Week 1 – SEO
Week 2 – Blog
Week 3 – Social Media
Week 4 – Call to Action
Week 5 – Contact Information
If you make TEN of these lists – your work is half done for the year!
The next step will be writing each post.
It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.
—Jack Kerouac #wisdomwednesday
I’ll admit I’m a Keroac fan… the crazy beat poet who submitted a manscript typed up on a ROLL of paper, instead of sheets of paper.
Bad grammar aside – he makes a GREAT point here. It’s not always important what you are writing about – it’s important that you are writing!
It’s important, no matter what your business – to have GOOD CONTENT – for your blog, for your website – for your twitter – for your facebook! Spend some time this week writing!
1. Don’t start just yet.
Take a couple of weeks to think, take notes, and find articles that you like, or that tell a similar story. (I would say “that you want to rewrite” – but I want to warn you that plagiarism is not cool. Your ideas need to be original – but you can certainly use other blog posts for inspiration)
You should have a notebook, or use trello or evernote or some other way to capture ideas.
Take time, gather those ideas. While you’re on the john, in the car, waiting, watching tv – use those moments to gather your ideas.
I think you ought to be able to do this in a month maximum. But what would really help is if you schedule your day to blog. If I were you – I’d schedule two days right in a row. If you get it all done the first day – you can have a DAY OFF as a reward. But if you get off track, you’ll have that extra day just in case.
Part 2 will be here next Wednesday!
1. Premeditated Murder
If you don’t have a blogging plan, and your posts SCHEDULED – guess what happens? You get behind, and you don’t make forward progress! You’ve got to sit down, make a plan, and work ahead. If you are writing your blog post for this week or next week today, you are not working far enough ahead! Make an appointment with yourself, carve out the time to write AHEAD a month or two. (Interestingly enough – I’m behind on my blogging. It does happen. It was going so much better when I was working ahead!)
2. Blunt Force Trauma
Sometimes the fastest blow is the quickest way to get the deed done.
No need to write lengthy paragraph after lengthy paragraph. Blogging does not have to be about long stories and drawn out explorations of the human psyche. Sometimes, 150 words is just as effective a blog as 3500! In fact, you can get good SEO from 150 words, if you place your keywords right!
I think the fear of long blogs is honestly what keeps people from A) writing blogs and B) reading blogs. Keep it Simple Stupid – like a candlestick to the head.
3. Bullets
Websites like Mashable, Viral Nova, and Buzzfeed (love them or hate them) are the kings of using bullets. (They are also really good at writing headlines – which is a WHOLE ‘NOTHER blog post for another day!) Create a numbered list – and then fill out the content. It makes it easy to read, helps you communicate your message in a clear and concise way. Do you need to do it for every post? NO. But it sure helps you get some content out there!
4. Serial Killing
Sometimes, I struggle finding a topic. Here’s a quick tip. Pick 12 themes, one for each month. Try to make them appropriate for the season, if necessary.
Then, break each of those months into four or five weeks – and write up your posts.
If it helps, try to picture one title – with four installments for each month….
This helps you build anticipation for the NEXT week’s blog post, and it gives you a reason to keep people engaged.
It also makes one really long blog post split up nicely into multiple posts – filling up more time for your blog!
5. Arsenic and Old Lace
Up until two minutes ago – I thought arsenic built up in your system… like someone can sprinkle some on your food everyday, and after a year you die. As it turns out – this isn’t true about arsenic (though it is true about anti-freeze)
So let’s pretend that this IS true about arsenic – because I really like using “Arsenic and Old Lace” as a bullet point.
Think of this as the “trickle effect”… the more frequently you post – the more your reputation with your network, your readers, and with search engines happens. Post a little every day – and share it on linkedin – facebook – twitter – wherever…. and you start to build brand recognition.
Even if people don’t click the link and read your blog – they will start to identify your brand, and when they need you – they know you.
Over time, you have them eating out of the palm of your hand.
And in terms of Search Engines – if you set your page up with the right Search Engine Optimization – every post is like raising your hand and saying, “OOOOH! HERE I AM GOOGLE! PICK ME!”
I hope that none of you would ever take ANY of this advice if it came to ACTUALLY killing someone – but I’m sure if you apply it to your blog – you’ll be the Hannibal Lecter of the blogosphere in no time!
Chris Anderson, author of “The Long Tail” says:
Increasingly, the mass marketing is turning in a mass of niches.
This is important to understand – especially when it comes to SEO.
You will NEVER dominate a short keyword in a national market.
There are a million companies that offer “landscaping”
So how do you expect to turn up on a nationwide search for “landscaping”?
However – there aren’t as many people who turn up under “landscaping services in Butte Montana”
“Long Tail” keywords are the keywords that have more words in them – so that you can dominate a smaller NICHE.
Find your NICHES – and then stack your blog full of those keywords!
Hey folks – Pinterest is often known as a “chick thing” – and it certainly is a platform dominated by women.
Remember that A) women have buying power… so while you MAY be masculine – it doesn’t mean you should avoid all those DIY Crafty Recipe Decorating stuff appearing on Pinterest.
That being said – Pinterest can be a GREAT resource for growing your brand.
