Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Blogging Research Tips and Tricks

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How does a daily blogger keep up with both his writing and the research it takes to produce well-rounded articles? Those are the questions that led me to interview fellow SteamFeed contributor Darin L. Hammond of ZipMinis.

Our conversation actually led to two blog posts. The first was published here at Content Mastery Guide, and focused on how to balance your time between blog research and writing.

The most recent post, published at SteamFeed, delves more deeply into Darin’s research methods, and includes guidance for how to vet potential sources, and create your own collection of reliable sources you can keep coming back to again and again.

http://www.steamfeed.com/strengthen-blogging-research/

© olly - Fotolia.com
© olly – Fotolia.com

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?

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 Accidental Blog Post – How to Free Your Trapped Blog Content

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© learchitecto - Fotolia.com
© learchitecto – Fotolia.com

Charlie Gilkey shared a great concept with our BOOST coaching group the other week. He talked about how all business owners have a gold mine of “trapped content” – things we’ve already written for other purposes, then forgot about or left behind.

“How many times,” he asked us, “Have you answered a question in private that you could have answered in public?”

I liked the concept so much I used it as one of my five blogging tips for time-strapped business owners in an upcoming guest post for SteamFeed. I honed in on email, since that’s one of the main places you’re probably leaving this valuable content behind.

Let’s look more closely at the potential sources of your trapped content, how to spot it, and most importantly how to re-use it as blog posts.

Blog posts are hiding in your emails

Have you ever answered a “quick question” from a friend or family member who knows what you do in your business and asked to borrow your expertise? Did your answer take longer to write than you intended, and spanned four or five paragraphs before it was through?

Also consider the email responses you’ve written to clients, prospective clients, or blog or newsletter readers. If one person asked a question, chances are that others have wondered about or struggled with the same thing.

What you’ve already written could have the makings of a great blog post, once you fill it in with an introduction, conclusion, and other connecting thoughts.

Be proactive in mining for new content when people reach out to you by email. Even if they haven’t asked a question, when someone writes to thank or compliment you about something you’ve written, ask if there are any topics they’d like to read more about on your blog.

Social media messages disappear, but a blog post is forever

Do you find yourself with lots to say on social media but then stumped when it comes to blogging? Here are my suggestions for Facebook and LinkedIn. If you like to share quick tips and ideas on Twitter, you could compile those together around a specific theme and turn that into a blog post.

Similar to email, watch for questions people are asking. These don’t need to be directed to you personally. Search hashtags or other key phrases to find real-time questions and concerns about your topic. (Tip: How to use Hootsuite for social listening.)

What are others discussing?

Do you belong to or follow any online groups or forums? As you add your voice to those conversations, see how you could expand those thoughts into a blog post. You can also use the discussion as a jumping off point (this is one form of curated content).

For public groups, you can link to a group discussion as you would any other social media post (tip: here’s how to find the permalink of a social media post), or embed a post right onto your blog from Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.

For closed groups, you can write in general terms about the topic and your take on it, but do not quote anyone else without their explicit permission or paste any screenshots.

You can re-purpose a course, report or tutorial

As you’re creating a resource to share with current or prospective customers, consider making some or all of it available via your blog. You may be wondering, “Why would someone pay or sign up for something that’s available for free?” I addressed that concern in an earlier post.

The idea for the post you’re reading now came from my own accidental blog post. I was working on my blog planning worksheet and I realized that the section about social media promotion didn’t quite fit the style of the rest of the document. It was more of a tutorial than a worksheet.

Did I scrap it? No way! I turned it into Blog Post Promotion on Social Media – Five Key Ingredients.

Where is your own trapped content hiding? Free it up now to fill your blog with valuable content.

Ease Blogger’s Block With Mental Rehearsal

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Girl Daydreaming
© beornbjorn – Fotolia.com

Have you ever found yourself staring at a computer screen, with your eyebrows scrunched together and your muscles all tensed up because you must finish this blog post today? It’s time to step away from the computer!

We know that mental rehearsal improves performance for athletes and musicians and that mental exercise can advance recovery and functioning during rehabilitation. Can we use this same concept in the blog writing process?

In my experience, we can! Let’s call it mental blogging.

The gift of mental blogging is that it takes you out of a stressful state of mind and body. It gives you access to the abundant flow of creativity inside and outside each of us, and lets you think about your blog post topic when you’re relaxed and free from the pressure to write.

The three things you need for mental blog writing

  1. A written outline

To make the most out of your mental rehearsal time, you must have an outline (a title probably won’t be enough) and/or a set of questions you want to answer about the topic. You don’t need to have it with you at all times; I’ve found that the act of writing or typing the questions and looking them over occasionally helps me remember them.

I don’t need to memorize the exact language from my outline. I just need some notion to float into my head at the precise time that I see a connection or come across a serendipitous fact, idea or story that would complement my blog post in progress.

This is similar to the practice of writing down a problem or question and then setting it aside so your subconscious mind can work on it, while you seamlessly channel the resulting ideas from your intuition, the universe, or a spiritual guide.

  1. Idea catchers

Keep an idea catcher handy to jot down your insights and ideas, but also trust that when you do actually sit down to write, the mental rehearsal process will help you replicate the ideas and calm creativity you experienced when you were away from your desk.

Unlike mental exercise or mental rehearsal, I find that mental blogging must be spontaneous, as your mind wanders naturally to your blog post topic. When that happens, gently guide your thoughts to imagine your blog post taking shape on the page or screen.

Notice the words that appear. You may even see images or colours, which you can translate into text, icons, photos or other graphic elements. Picture your ideal customer having just finished reading the post, and the type of things they’ll be thinking and feeling.

  1. An editorial calendar

The mental blogging process lets a blog post “percolate” over time. That means you can’t be on a tight time line. Ideally, you’ve finished and pre-scheduled at least two or three weeks worth of posts from your editorial calendar. That gives you the freedom and space you need for mental blogging.

If you have several outlines and posts in progress, it opens you up even more to coming across ideas or insights about any one of them.

I know this blogging technique is a little out there, but are you willing to give it a try? What if it meant you could publish more blog posts with less effort? If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!