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No Time to Blog for Your Business?

June 2, 2014 By Linda Dessau

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“Not enough time” is one of the most common reasons I hear from business owners who abandon their blogs or refuse to start blogging in the first place.

My blog posts, workshops and presentations are all devoted to making blogging easier, but the best blogging tips in the world won’t help if you don’t take the time to apply them.

Let’s say you invest in a blogging plan for your business, or do the work to create your own blogging plan. You’ve been listening for ideas and have several blog post outlines all ready to be developed.

What next? Cobwebs (gathering in the corners of your ghost town blog) and crickets (no attention from prospective customers), unless you go one step further and actually implement the plan, blog consistently and promote your blog posts.

This guest post for 12 Most is all about time and making the most of it to achieve business blogging success.

12 Most Fierce Ways to Protect Your Blogging Time

Fierce lion roaring
© emiliau – Fotolia.com

[Update June 21, 2016: The 12 Most site has been taken down, so I’ve republished this post here at Content Mastery Guide: 12 Most Fierce Ways to Protect Your Blogging Time.]


Filed Under: Blogging Consistently, CMG Guest Posts, Productivity

Curating Content With Twitter and HootSuite (Slideshow)

May 18, 2014 By Linda Dessau

Everyone is feeling overwhelmed by how much new information is always flowing towards us, especially on social media. By becoming a trusted resource for relevant content, you can help others AND attract new customers who recognize you as an expert about the topics you’re posting about.

In this SlideShare presentation, you’ll learn three steps to get you started with content curation for your business, complete with examples from ESS Direct in Barrie. Hint: You don’t have to be active on Twitter to use it as a content curation tool.

For more information, see How Content Curation Keeps You Visible and Valuable to Your Network, or these other posts about content curation.

Filed Under: Content Curation, Productivity, Social Media

The Truth About Your Business Blog

September 10, 2012 By Linda Dessau

True-or-falseWith another Barrie Business Blogathon approaching, this is a good time to do a health check on your blogging habits.

True or false?

  1. You feel embarrassed to send anyone to your ghost town blog because you haven’t posted in so long.
  2. You’re bubbling over with new blog post ideas and just haven’t had the time to develop any of them.
  3. You’ve been staring at the same unfinished post for longer than you can remember or care to admit.
  4. You read about new writing skills but then forget what you’ve learned by the time you’re sitting down to write your next blog post.
  5. You don’t know what to blog about, so you don’t blog at all.
  6. You made a New Year’s resolution to blog more this year – but you haven’t.
  7. You get writer’s block every time you sit down at your computer.
  8. You start to work on your blog but end up distracted by other things.
  9. Your blog always ends up last on your to do list.
  10. You get a lot more done when you can work at a relaxed pace and focus on one thing at a time.

If this quiz revealed any unpleasant truths about your business blogging habits, I dare you to attend the next Barrie Business Blogathon! Spaces are limited, so click here for all the registration details. I can’t wait to see you there!

Filed Under: Blog Planning, Productivity, Writing Tips

Ten Secrets to Blogging Consistently

September 2, 2012 By Linda Dessau

While I’m thrilled that more and more people in the Barrie business community are recognizing me as a business blogging authority, there is a downside. Sometimes, people cringe when they see me, because seeing me reminds them that their blog has turned into a ghost town.

Please be easy on yourself! We all miss a step now and again and my own blog is a good example of that. I want you to experience only the benefits of blogging, not the stress.

While I’m going to keep encouraging you to be consistent with your blogging, I’m also going to keep offering tools, resources, suggestions and services that will help you do that effectively.

Weekly-calendar-bookThe biggest secret of all is that none of the things I’m about to reveal are secrets. They’re tried and true productivity habits you may already be using in other areas of your life. Now let’s apply them to blogging!

  1. Build the blogging habit – Try pairing blogging with something you already do on a regular basis, such as your weekly invoicing time.
  2. Jog your memory – Until blogging becomes a habit, set up physical and electronic reminders for yourself.
  3. Catch your ideas – Be sure you always have easy access to a notebook, smartphone application or computer file where you can quickly jot down and store ideas for future blog posts. That will give you a jump start on your next post.
  4. Convince yourself – Always stay mindful of your end goal and how blogging is going to get you there. Even if you’re not sure how this blogging thing is going to work for you and your business, be 100% committed to the experiment for at least six months.
  5. Make a list and check it twice – Break down the blogging process into a system so you can approach each step separately. A written log of your progress can help with both encouragement and organization.
  6. Use your time and energy wisely – Consider which part of the day is most effective for you to work on your blog. If blogging is something you’ve been avoiding or procrastinating on, try to “eat that frog” at the beginning of your day.
  7. Buddy up – Find another business owner who is using blogging as a marketing strategy. Share your goals and support each other to achieve them. You can also share each other’s blog posts via social media.
  8. Choose a mentor or model – Find a blog that accomplishes what you’d like to do with your own blog. Whether it’s someone you know or just admire from afar, watch how they use this tool and learn from that.
  9. Reward system – Build in rewards for every step of the process – from creating a list of future blog topic ideas to sketching out blog post outlines to finishing and publishing a completed post. Your reward could be as simple as calling a friend, treating yourself to a hot drink or getting out for a nature walk.
  10. Get into action – Use a structured event like a blog writing action day or blogathon to spark some momentum for your writing project. You can even create your own blogging retreat.

Filed Under: Blogging Basics, Blogging Consistently, Productivity

Where Do You Blog?

May 8, 2012 By Linda Dessau

Clip_holding_papersWith mobile idea catchers and connections everywhere, you never know where you're going to come up with your next blog post. But where will you settle down to finish it and go through the other steps to writing an article?

I first explored the topic of the creative environment in a 2005 article about how creative artists can connect with their surroundings, which then became a chapter of my book, Ten Ways to Thrive as a Creative Artist. 

In the article, I discuss several factors, including how you can use "deliberate decorating" to inspire your creativity and how too much clutter or not having a dedicated writing space can hinder your creative efforts.

One of the things I noticed about my own creative space was that my idea catchers were making my desk too chaotic and messy. You see, I often capture my ideas for blog posts or my business on small pieces of paper (I don't want to waste paper by using more than necessary). 

These piles of paper collect on my desk in between blog writing sessions or other times dedicated to catching up and working through my ideas. Yet if my notes were scattered all over the desk, that caused my mind to feel scattered as well.

Just the simple act of straightening the pile of papers changes how my desk looks and how focused I feel. And when it's time to turn my brainstorm of blog ideas into the draft of my next post, my notes are neat and easy to work with.

The more deliberate you are about when, how and where you sit down to blog, the more successful it will be as a marketing activity.

I am working on creating an optimal blogging environment for you at a future series of blogathon events. Stay tuned to http://www.businessblogathon.com for information and announcements about upcoming virtual and live blogathons.

Filed Under: Blogging Basics, Productivity, Writing Tips

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