Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Curated Content Examples to Make Business Blogging Easier

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© bellemedia - Fotolia.com
© bellemedia – Fotolia.com

If you’re having trouble keeping up with your blogging schedule, a curated blog post may just be your new best friend.

A curated blog post is one that refers and links to a post on an external site. While it’s common (and recommended) to link to other blogs in your posts, a curated post is completely centered around the outside link.

As I explained in an earlier post, Creating Curated Content for Social Media, Email and Your Blog:

“In between your own original posts, you may want to offer your blog readers additional insights and perspectives from other experts in your field, or related fields. This is a great way to keep your content flowing consistently, build and deepen relationships with industry leaders, and learn new ideas.”

Here are two approaches to writing a curated blog post, with examples:

  1. Expand or comment on one source post

When something inspires you, fires you up, or enlightens you, introduce it to your readers by adding your own commentary and insights. While this type of post can be just as long and in-depth as any other original piece of content, it saves you from always needing to think of new topics.

Here are some questions to guide you in using another blog post as a starting point for your own:

  • Do you agree with the premise of the article? Why or why not?
  • How does the content relate to your specific audience?
  • What points do you think were missing from the article?
  • What is your unique way of presenting a similar message?
  • Are there examples from your life or business that illustrate points from the article?

As you write your post, be very clear about when you’re quoting or paraphrasing the original post, and keep quotes brief (one or two sentences) to adhere to fair use guidelines.

Example #1: Are You Afraid of Ghosts Haunting Your Lawn Care or Landscape Blog? (Landscape Writer) [Update Oct 7, 2016: This post is no longer available.]

Luckily I use online monitoring tools (talkwalker and mention), which alerted me when Wendy Komancheck published this post and included my name. Notice how she customized the title and her comments to be relevant for her audience.

Example #2: Free Your Trapped Content (Productive Flourishing)

What’s really fun about this example is that while Charlie Gilkey used my post as a springboard, it was his idea that I had expanded on in my article.

  1. Gather links from multiple sources, grouped around a common theme

Hopefully, you’re already filtering your content curation through a set of core content categories (topics you’ve identified as being helpful and relevant to your audience).

To find a theme for your curated post, you can browse your social media analytics (I use Buffer for this) for insights into how many people liked and clicked on the links you’ve been sharing on social media. Use the most popular links as a starting point for choosing your theme, then find other related links.

Or, choose a theme first and then look for posts related to that topic – perhaps something you haven’t written about for a while.

Write an introduction for your blog post that explains the theme and why you think it will be interesting for your readers.

For each link, pull out a key phrase to use as a sub-heading in your post. This breaks up the text for easier reading, and shows readers and search engines what topic you’re writing about.

Before you paste the link (remember to use permalinks here), share a bit about where you found the link and/or who wrote the content, and most importantly why you think it’s valuable and worth reading. You can include a brief quote (as I mentioned above, just a sentence or two), and summarize the content.

Wrap up your post with some concluding thoughts about the key message you were aiming to convey, and offer a related resource and/or product or service the reader could use to take further action.

Example: Improve Your Marketing With a Learner’s Mind (Content Mastery Guide)

Now that you have these guidelines and examples for writing a curated blog post, why not lighten your load by including these types of posts in your business blogging schedule?

Time-Strapped? Here’s How to Keep Blogging

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Blogging helps you gain trust with your audience by sharing free, helpful information. Yet for many business owners, it seems impossible to make time for one more thing.

In Linda’s latest guest post at SteamFeed, she offers five time-saving blogging tips that will help you:

  • Generate new blog post ideas
  • Get those ideas into writing
  • Make the best use of the time you have
  • Re-use content you’ve already written
  • Bring more people into the blogging process

http://www.steamfeed.com/startups-blog-dont-time-blog/

© Pixelbliss - Fotolia.com
© Pixelbliss – Fotolia.com

Five Daily Business Blogging Habits to Improve Your Productivity

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© grounder - Fotolia.com
© grounder – Fotolia.com

“I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes at nine every morning.” – William Faulkner

Four years ago I wrote about the power of a daily blogging habit, and how that doesn’t mean posting every day (which is neither appropriate nor realistic for most small business owners).

As I explained, “A daily blogging habit is a commitment to devote time to your blog. It means that no matter what day it is, you have at least one blog post that you’re working through the stages of the writing process.”

My own daily blogging habit has certainly fluctuated since then, but one thing is certain: finishing a blog post is much, much easier when I spread the task over several days.

On any given day, I may open my draft document and work on a post, write promotional messages for a post that’s finished, or complete other steps in my streamlined blogging process. Or I may simply let my mind wander towards my topics so I can do some mental blogging.

Here are the five habits I rely on to build and stick to a daily blogging routine:

  1. Schedule a blogging time

I have a recurring appointment set in my calendar. As it happens, right now it’s 9:00 a.m. every weekday, just like in Faulkner’s quote. This means I won’t schedule other work or appointments at that time, or if I do, I’ll see the conflict and reschedule my blogging time. I have a longer time block scheduled on Sunday mornings.

  1. Set up for success

I plan posts ahead of time and do the pre-work of outlining the basic ideas I want to cover (if I need to, I’ll use this time for outlining).

I eliminate distractions by closing unnecessary programs and browser windows, and turning off notifications.

I imagine my ideal readers and clients and how I want to help them. I also think about the people who graciously share my posts on Twitter (I call them my retweet heroes).

Throughout the week, I seek out and try new ideas to improve my writing and productivity.

  1. Sit with discomfort

I set my Pomodoro timer, though sometimes it’s not as much to ensure I stop and move on to my other tasks of the day, but to make sure I don’t stop writing and let myself off the hook, even if the words or ideas aren’t flowing.

  1. Go with the flow

With several posts on the go in various stages of completion, I can match my energy of the day with how I use my blogging time.

Instead of fighting with a post that’s not working, and before I decide whether to scrap it, I can work on another post or switch to a non-writing task like finding links or images.

Of course, this requires the self-honesty to acknowledge when I’m really just letting myself off the hook from writing.

  1. Allow time for all stages of the blogging process

Trying to start, finish and publish a blog post in one sitting creates way too much pressure, and is a recipe for typos, readability issues, and unfocused writing. When I sit down to finish a blog post (usually on Sunday mornings), I’m reviewing and polishing what I’ve already been drafting for several days.

(You can even give yourself permission to write a “shitty first draft,” which is writer Anne Lamott’s advice for banishing perfectionism.)

Can you spare 10, 15 or 30 minutes each day to make some progress on your next blog post? I guarantee it will be easier to finish if you’ve already started!

The Best Experts Are Not Always the Best Bloggers – Ghost Blogging Tips and Tricks

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If you want to receive all of my latest posts by email, click here to subscribe to the Blogging Tips newsletter.

Want a vibrant and busy blog but don’t have the time or talent to write posts yourself? Ghost blogging may be the answer. In my first guest post for Content Marketing Institute, I address these three common objections to ghost blogging:

  1. Is it unethical?
  2. Will the finished product still sound like me?
  3. Is ghost blogging social enough for social media?

(Hint: You don’t have to worry about any of these things!)

I also reveal my top tips for a successful relationship with a ghost blogger.

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/01/ghostbloggers-fuel-company-blog/

© bst2012 - Fotolia.com
© bst2012 – Fotolia.com

Blog Post Writing Tricks to Supercharge Your Motivation

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fit woman motivated for blog post writing
© Dirima – Fotolia.com

I’m feeling strong and powerful these days, thanks to the caring crew at Fitness Infuzion in Barrie. Amazingly, most of the time I truly WANT to go to the gym, and I’m disappointed if other obligations cut short my workout time.

This hasn’t always been true, and I’m not naïve enough to think it always will be – there will be days where I come up with a million excuses, and I have to talk myself into following through with my planned workout.

Blog post writing might create a similar scenario for you. You know that business blogging is good for you (i.e., it can attract prospective customers to spend time on your website, and helps them get to know you and see your expertise firsthand), yet you have difficulty dredging up the motivation to write blog posts and promote them on social media.

If that sounds like you, here are five blog post writing tricks that can supercharge your motivation for business blogging:

1. Pull up an empty chair

I’m in business because I love to make a difference in other people’s lives. When what I’m doing will help someone, it inspires me to push through any resistance or procrastination.

Who will your blog post help, and how? What changes are possible for that person’s life or business? Use the words and phrases your ideal customer would use to describe their situation and problems. (Learn more tips for reader-focused blogging.)

This strategy requires you to know and understand your target audience. If you’re trying to reach everyone, you’ll have a hard time reaching anyone.

2. Make it matter for your business

When your business is successful, what will that mean for your life? For your family? What difference can you make in your local community? Your global community? What legacy can you build and leave behind?

While we all want to help people, it takes money and other resources to sustain ourselves through that process. To motivate your business blog writing, you must know precisely how blogging is going to lead to revenue, even if that is a long and winding road. (See how blogging leads to business, both customers and referrals.)

When choosing their top business blogs of 2014, Social Fresh judges looked for a clear business strategy. On your blog, that might be to ask the reader to subscribe to your newsletter, leave a comment, or check out one of your resources.

3. Find a motivating model

Find a blog that accomplishes what you’d like to do with your own blog. Just beware of the common tendency to feel overwhelmed or inadequate from comparing your own progress to someone who has been at it longer, someone in the marketing field (who eats, sleeps and breathes marketing strategies all day) or a multi-million dollar business.

Instead, look to these blogs for inspiration and ideas. If they’re producing a high-quality blog, you can too! Notice what you like and don’t like about what they’re doing. You can even use some of their posts as a springboard for your own content.

4. Leap into your blog writing time with both feet

Cynthia Morris has inspired me for years with her bountiful creative juju. Recently, she offered 10 creative transition ritual ideas that can help motivate and prepare you to write blog posts. These include free writing, listening to specific music, and taking a walk before you write.

To dive deeper into writing rituals, Darin Hammond explored the topic at SteamFeed [that blog is now closed]. He explained that all rituals tend to involve manipulating one of these three elements: environment, behaviour or time. Which rituals might get you in the mood for writing? Try the ones that appeal to you and stick with what works.

5. Reward yourself and celebrate with someone else

Which rewards do you find most motivating? Build these into your blog writing process at different milestones, e.g., sitting for half an hour of focused writing, finishing a blog post, or publishing four posts in a row. I use Pomodoro breaks to reward myself with music that lifts my spirits.

I credit my business coaching group for getting through my own recent blogging slump. Let other people know about your blogging targets and be accountable for your actions. They can support you in your struggles and cheer on your achievements.

If business blogging keeps falling to the bottom of your to do list and never gets done, use some or all of these strategies to spark your motivation.