Writing Tips – Page 14

Summertime and the Blogging is Easy

June 12, 2011 By Linda Dessau

As I’m settling into my first summer in the waterfront community of Barrie, Ontario, I’m noticing that my new neighbours sure take their recreation seriously! I only hope it rubs off on me. As local translator and copywriter Ashleigh Grange linked to on Twitter last week, summer vacation eludes many of us entrepreneurs.

Here are five ways to make blogging easier this summer, so you can keep building your business relationships (and your mountain of content) while still enjoing a vacation or staycation:

Batch your tasks to make the most out of your time – When you’re feeling creative and buzzing with ideas, draft two or three posts instead of just one.
Get ahead of the game – Pre-schedule your blog posts and emails so they continue to be on a predictable schedule, even if you’re not.
Write easier posts – Ease off the pressure to be a thought leader and write the posts that come naturally to you, whether those are top 10 lists, product reviews, frequently asked questions, or connective content.
Catch the sparks – Whenever you head out into the world, you’re bound to feel revitalized by the new people, places and ideas you encounter. Keep a notebook or smartphone app handy (I’m experimenting with Evernote for iPhone and Dragon Dictation for iPhone) so you can build on your experiences and share them with your readers.
Make creative connections – What does staying up on water skis have in common with whatever your readers are striving for? What can packing for a vacation teach your clients about the techniques they need in their toolkit? What business lessons can you adapt from a popular vacation spot with long lines of happy customers?

So enjoy your summer, take some time off, and most of all keep blogging!

P.S. If you want to make your blogging even easier, check out my blogging services!

Let’s turn down this thought leadership pressure cooker!

May 30, 2011 By Linda Dessau

Since last week's Wealthy Thought Leader conference (I attended via simulcast this year), I've been thinking about innovation. It started when we were watching a very creative presentation from Jennifer Lee of Artizen Coaching, when one of my colleagues declared that she's simply "not creative."

Then, we heard from Michael Port that as entrepreneurs, we are already being creative.

That brought me back to a question I asked previously about writing thought leadership posts: "Do you need to be a thought leader?"

If you're feeling pressured to come up with something new and exciting every time you post to your blog, no wonder you're having trouble keeping up.

Let's turn down this pressure cooker and take a reality check!

Consider your readers:

Are they really expecting or wanting to read something innovative every time they hear from you? Or are they are looking for concrete and practical information that will help them solve whatever problem they're experiencing right now?

Are they exposed on a daily basis to the newest work from all of your industry colleagues (like you are) or are you their only link to these ideas?

So relax, please. When it's time to write a thought leadership post, you'll know it (and here are some tips that will help). In the meantime, just keep building your mountain of content, one solid, boring, helpful post at a time.

How to Write For Different Learners

May 23, 2011 By Linda Dessau

While I was researching and preparing for the presentation call "How to Write So People Will Learn," I was thrilled to find Marcia Conner and the resources on her website.

Most people love taking self-assessments, and I'm no different. I tested and wrote about my own learning style in this previous post, How Do You Like to Learn?

Thanks to Marcia, we've got four new juicy assessments to help us learn about and improve our own learning process.

Here are the four assessments, along with my suggestions for how to gear your writing to people with different learning styles.

(1) What's Your Direction Style?

To make sure your content appeals to both global and linear learners, balance your blog with both thought pieces and "how to" pieces.

(2) What's Your Engagement Style?

Think-to-talk learners will probably appreciate the opportunity to interact with your new ideas by studying them alone. For talk-to-think learners, you may want to offer additional opportunities for them to discuss the ideas with you one-on-one or in a group.

(3) What's Your Motivation Style?

For readers who are goal-oriented, remind them of the results they may see if they apply what you're suggesting. For people who are relationship-oriented, give them the opportunity to share their learning with others. Or remind them of how your solutions will improve their business or personal relationships.

For readers who are learning-oriented, offer plenty of links for them to continue reading and learning.

(4) What's Your Learning Style?

For visual learners, consider incorporating graphs, images or video into your blog posts. For audio learners, try recording your post with Audio Acrobat. For tactile/kinesthetic learners, close your article with active ways they can implement what they've learned.

While you won't apply each of these strategies to every blog post, there are plenty of ideas here to help you stretch your writing to appeal to a wider range of learners.

These four assessments were published in Marcia's 2004 book, Learn More Now: 10 Simple Steps to Learning Better, Smarter, and Faster. Marcia has continued to write and teach about the topic of learning, including a blog on the Fast Company website and a new book, The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media (with Tony Bingham, forward by Daniel H. Pink).

Fame is Fleeting But a Blog Post is Forever

April 24, 2011 By Linda Dessau

“When you share a well-written, relevant, helpful article, it’s like a bright flash that lights up the online world for a moment, an hour or a day. There are links, tweets, retweets, accolades, introductions, referrals and maybe even a sale or two. Then, in the span of a moment, an hour or a day, someone else shines their light and people move on. Good writing is pointless unless you’re doing it consistently.” – Content Creation Manifesto #3

Another benefit of building a mountain of high-quality content happens long after your brief moment of fame, retweets, comments and emails. And that’s when people stumble upon your blog posts on their own.

I experienced a nice example of this last week when creativity coach Sue Mitchell posted a link to a blog post I wrote in December 2010 (her tweet is the third one shown below). The next thing you know, TWO people from her network posted the same link to THEIR networks. What a wonderful way to introduce my work to a new audience – the best way, in my humble opinion.

Here are five ways to produce “forever” blog posts, and help them be discovered, re-discovered and shared for years to come:

Balance your blog – Aim to write at least one “how to” or thought leadership post per month, and then build on that with connective connect to consistently keep in touch with your readers.
Connect the dots – Speaking of connecting, be sure to include links to other posts you’ve written about the topic – I also use the service LinkWithin, which automatically displays and links to similar stories at the bottom of each post. This step will help your readers find your earlier work so you can continue the conversation.
Be green – While you can find inspiration for new posts from seasonal themes or current events, make sure that most of your content will be relevant no matter when someone sees it – we call this “evergreen content.”
Say the same thing in different ways – Some of the most popular blogs cover the same topic many, many times, so don’t worry about repeating yourself. You just never know which analogy or collection of tips will finally help someone say, “Oh, NOW I get it!”
Check your work – Don’t let typos or grammatical errors linger out there for the world to see. Remember to use this simple and effective proofreading strategy.

Want to write more “forever” blog posts? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

And by the way:

How to Make Any Space a Blogging Retreat Destination – Some Creative Juju from Cynthia Morris

April 13, 2011 By Linda Dessau

On our upcoming Content Mastery Action Day call, I'll be revealing "How to Create Your Own Blogging Retreat."

I know for a fact that even if you need a blogging retreat, it may not be possible right now for you to travel to a spa, retreat centre or anywhere at all.

Does that mean you have to abandon the idea of a blogging retreat and just keep posting sporadically, hoping something will work?

Not at all!

You can make any space a blogging retreat destination – even the one you're in now. To help you do it, I went straight to my go-to expert on all things related to creativity and travel, Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse. The following list is an excerpt from her full article, Snuggling in for a Creativity Retreat at Home, and is reprinted with her permission:

1. Schedule your retreat on your calendar. Find a day or two that are free and X them out for your retreat. When people suggest getting together on those days, say no.

What else can you do to make these days inviolable?

2. Pretend you’re leaving. The week before your retreat, act as if you are going out of town. Take care of all the work and home obligations that need your attention. Consider what needs to be taken care of when you are flying the coop – pet and plant care, clothes for the trip, etc. Don’t let these projects lure you into dismissing your retreat time – the basement declutter project will wait while you write.

What loose ends can you wrap up or set aside to be focused?

3. Retreat from your other roles. Make a list of the roles you play in life: mother, spouse, employee, and writer. Give yourself permission to take time off from those roles to focus on one role.

What roles can you set aside for the weekend?

4. Choose a focus for your retreat. Work on one creative project or several, but know beforehand what this time is devoted to. This will help when you enter the writing zone to get down to work right away.

What do you want to have accomplished by the end of your retreat?

5. Enroll allies. Alert your people to your plans and make it easier to keep your boundaries. If your retreat means simply that you are tucked away in your bedroom or office while the rest of the family goes about their day, make sure they know that. Better yet, help plan an outing for them so they can have their own adventure while you write.

Who do you need to alert to your plan so they don’t inadvertently thwart your efforts?

6. Stock the kitchen. Have healthy snacks, tea or other beverages on hand. Prepare meals in advance or plan to order out so you can eat well but not get distracted by food preparation.

What foods will fuel your writing retreat?

7. Plan your exercise. Moving aids the thought process and helps counter all the time sitting and working. Plan walks, yoga or your regular workout, and don’t skip them!

What exercise will you commit to?

8. Tune out. Unplug the phone, leave your e-mail program off for the day and shroud the TV.

What else can you set aside to be on retreat?

9. Plan evening recreation. Perhaps rent a film about a writer or artist to inspire you. Have a juicy book to read, or make a date with another creative buddy.

What activities will enhance your retreat goals?

10. Consider other fuel that supports your creativity. Inspiring books about the writing life, favorite quotations, photos of artists who are role models may all be part of your retreat. Don’t forget music to encourage your creativity.

What goodies can you line up for your retreat?

11. Get out! Being on retreat doesn’t mean being holed up at home. If working in a cafe or at the library supports your writing, plan for excursions out of the house. Watch out for the errand monkey, who will try to yank you around town on a bunch of his missions!

What outings may you want to plan or enjoy spontaneously?

12. Give yourself permission to step away from your normal routine. Take this time to focus and be in full creative mode. A retreat of even a few hours can be a huge boon to progress on your writing or art.

Cynthia Morris, CPCC of Original Impulse helps writers and visionaries make their brilliant ideas a reality. Speaker, coach and author of Create Your Writer’s Life: A Guide to Writing with Joy and Ease, and Go For It! Leading Tours for Fun and Profit, Cynthia can be found at http://www.originalimpulse.com.

Thanks for your input, Cynthia – this is going to be great!