Posts tagged blogging
The ultimate guide to blogging when you don’t have time to blog
Jan 26th
This is a blog post for anybody who has trouble finding the time to blog. In other words, everybody. I humbly submit a few practical ideas to help you become a time-efficient blogger.
1) Leap.I mentioned this in a recent post, but it bears repeating. The number one challenge most bloggers face isn’t time, it’s CONFIDENCE. Can we agree that you will take the leap? You will? Good, I knew it! You may proceed to item 2.
2) Don’t be Chris. Kids practicing basketball pretend they’re Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. They won’t be, but they can still have fun playing basketball. When I first started blogging, I tried to be Chris Brogan, who writes at least one post every day. I nearly killed myself. The bionic blogger and has set the bar unbelievably high. You can’t be Chris, but you can be YOU quite successfully. That’s good enough.
3) Take a little bite. Take the pressure off yourself by setting a goal of writing just one 400-word essay a week. Doesn’t that sound MUCH easier? Bonus points: Long posts lose readers any way.
4) Set sacred blog time. How long will it take you to write that one short essay? Probably an hour? Give yourself the gift of one quiet, undisturbed, productive hour each week to write.
5) Write lots of headlines. It takes time to come up with ideas so write them down right when they come to you. Inspirations for blog topics are everywhere. When I see an interesting tweet or news article that could be a post subject, I go into WordPress and quickly write the headline for the essay. That way, when it comes time for my quiet hour, I have a whole list of essay topics to choose from.
6) Stop second-guessing. Go back to your essay a day or so before you intend to publish it. Proof it. Tighten it up. And after 15 minutes, stop! You can waste far too much time re-writing and second-guessing yourself.
7) You don’t have to be profound. Here’s a recent post from my friend Danny Brown. He saw something interesting — a video demo of the electronic magazine of the future. He simply pasted the YouTube link into his blog, wrote a brief comment, and voila — c’est le post. This was a fun, interesting article. He did good work. How long did it take him to write it? Probably 10 minutes.
8) Listen to yourself. A lot of people tell me that my blog posts reflect questions and concerns they have but have never articulated. Why not? When you have a thought, idea or rant — write it out at that very moment when it is fresh and you are full of passion. This is the most efficient way to write and it almost always results in a great post.
9) Leave the technical stuff to a technical person. Don’t spend your precious time trying to figure out why your blog widgets are haywire. Pay an expert to figure it out, even if you like that technical stuff … especially if you like that stuff!
10) Try a video blog. I haven’t worked this area myself yet, but if you’re naturally eloquent, it might be a lot quicker for you than writing out a post. Best practice: Jason Falls.
11) Turn your comment into a post. You probably contribute comments to other blogs. Why not re-use the time it took to write that comment? Copy your comment and use it as the seed for an original post. Look at the comment section today. How many of these ideas could become a stand-alone article?
12) If you run out of ideas, see number 6. Repeat as needed. Seriously though, Google “ideas for blogs.” There are lots of lists of thought-joggers out there. If you are having trouble blogging, write about it. Seems like that would be the best cure.
I hope that gives you a practical framework to have some blogging success, even when time is tight. What other time-saving tricks can you recommend?
Other posts that might help:
Ten ideas for the beginning blogger
Can you out-source authenticity? (Great comment section!)
Successful business blogging in just one step
Blogging is the ultimate team sport
How to be a ghost blogger
Stop hiding behind “snarky”
Jan 21st
One of my pet peeves is this whole “snarky” thing.
I often see people excuse away their unprofessional on-line behavior by saying “Well, I was just being snarky.”
Since when is it acceptable to be rude, sarcastic and dismissive to other well-meaning, professional people? We probably wouldn’t act that way in a face-to-face interaction but somehow in the bizarro world of the social web, it’s OK as long as you call it snarky. Inexplicably, it’s usually the more experienced bloggers who hide behind this position, and seem to be proud of it. They wallow in their snark.
Gratefully, {grow} has usually been a snark-free zone. The folks in this community take accountability for their thoughts and words and don’t hide behind euphemisms. Thank you.
As for those who mask cynicism and cruelty behind snark, grow up. Be accountable. Be a leader. Set an example.
Whew. That felt good. : )
Addendum: The day after I wrote this post, I saw this quote from American entertainer Conan O’Brien, commenting on his emotional exit from the Tonight Show: ”I hate cynicism. It’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
Ten ideas for the beginning blogger
Jan 10th
If you look around the web, there is so much advice about blogging it’s not funny. Still, I’ve learned a few lessons that might help if you’re a beginner blogger and I thought I would give you the inside scoop.
1) The biggest obstacle to blogging is … not what you think. It’s not writing skill or time or ideas. It’s confidence. People are generally shy about sharing their voice. If you can tell your kids a story, give nurturing advice to a friend or tell a joke, you can blog. Just Do It.
2) It takes time to find your voice. Be patient. The more you write, the more comfortable you will feel. Feedback from the blogosphere will trickle in and help massage your style, tone and topics. Stay with it and you will improve. Have faith.
3) “I don’t have time” is not an acceptable excuse any more. The only people who complain that blogging takes too much time never made it a priority. Chances are you and your business will benefit from blogging or you wouldn’t be reading this post, right? If you need to blog for your business, it has to be part of your job now, so approach it that way. Shoot for one decent post a week. That’s doable, right?
4) In the long run, blogging can SAVE you time! My posts have become a personal reference library. I’ll bet not one day passes by when I don’t send somebody a link to an old post as a response to a question or to help them in some way. This has been an unexpected benefit of blogging.
5) Be brief. Respect your readers. Respect their time. Spend the extra time it takes to write with brevity. Cut words ruthlessly. Best practice: Seth Godin.
6) Don’t write an academic thesis. It’s much more interesting to read blogs that are written in a conversational tone. Talk with your friends.
7) Write about what interests you. Your audience will find you.
8) Read more than you write. Much more. If you’re not an active reader of blogs, get on the stick. To be a successful writer, you have to be a great listener and learner.
9) If you want people to support your blog, support them, too. I just think it is an act of respect to support blogs written by your readers by commenting, tweeting and highlighting their great work. If you’re part of my community and you have a blog I will do whatever I can to help you. We’re all in this together.
10) If you run out of ideas, go to a LinkedIn forum for your industry. Find an interesting question. Answer it. That’s your blog post. Works every time. If you’re really stuck, go to Guy Kawaski’s blog. Put it on your record turntable. Play it backwards. That’s where the secret messages are hidden.
Let’s hear your comments, now. What advice would you pass on? Who is setting the standard out there for best blogging practices, and why?
Get out your dancing shoes, it’s time to blog
Jan 5th
Pop quiz: Over the next three years, what is the number one skill that will be needed by marketing professionals?
Answer: An ability to entertain.
I realize that is not normally something you would put on a resume. Let me explain.
I often wonder, “Who really has the time to read all these blogs?” Don’t you feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information coming at you every day? Of course. Who doesn’t?
Well, guess what … you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! 2010 will The Year of Content as the fight for your attention gets much, much more competitive.
Who do you think will win that fight? The organizations with the most riveting content.
What will make that content riveting? It will entertain, it will amaze, it will amuse.
And who is going to make the big money on the social web? Those who can make that entertainment happen.
Yes folks, the ability to entertain will be a white-hot commodity.
Of course creativity and an entertainment factor has always been in demand in advertising circles but I think we are looking at a future where you are going to have to employ Madison-Avenue-quality entertainment value just to get eyeballs to your company blog. Let alone understanding of the message. Let alone engagement. Let alone something that turns into a sales lead. Consumer expectations to be entertained, as well as informed, are rising exponentially. How will you deliver?
I’m not saying there isn’t going to be room for serious commentary and discussion. Of course there will. But let’s put it this way, if you have a choice to read a blog that’s interesting or a blog that is interesting AND consistently entertaining, where will you spend those precious moments of your time? Case closed.
What are you going to do to cut through this rising tsnamai of content with YOUR message? Do you really think a company blog or Facebook page is going to cut it?
As for me, I’m dusting off my dancing shoes. It’s Hammer Time. Can’t touch this.
Community alert: Jon Buscall, a frequent contributor to {grow} has written an excellent post on this same topic. Jon writes well but he cannot dance worth a shit.
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You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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