How To Think Like A Writer

So you’ve set up your blog. Maybe it’s a business blog, maybe it’s personal. You want people to read. You’ve declared to the world that you’re a writer. Now what? You have to think like one.

You don’t want to disappoint. If you are looking for a following in today’s market, you better write. Do you have enough ideas to fill blog posts at least once a week, probably more? You’ll want to start finding blog ideas in every aspect of life that you can imagine.

Writers find ideas in all walks of their life. Why not carry a small notebook with you? When inspiration strikes, take it out of your pocket. Put this thought, quote, or idea on paper so it’s there when you need it.

You can also find all sorts of inspiration online. You are reading what your competitors are doing, right? It’s best not to blatantly rip them off, but you can find something inspirational. Industry blogs, websites, magazines, newspapers and books are all great factories of ideas.

Find the power button. Live a good portion of your life offline. Pay attention to the people in your life, and if they give you inspiration or ideas, write it down. You never know when you might need it.

Austin Kleon suggests that working on a computer puts a piece of glass between you and everything that you create. Computers are ideal for publishing. Sometimes a paper and pencil is all you need to create. Don’t be afraid to go analog for a while.

Creative people sometimes get a reputation for being lazy, and that’s not the case. Always showing up late and taking smoke breaks every five minutes doesn’t make you better at what you do.

Don’t be afraid to step away from your work every once in awhile, however. Take five minutes before you publish your blog. Step outside, unload the dishwasher, whatever it takes. Make sure your ideas are sound. Make sure you didn’t misspell anything. Sometimes those short breaks bring the clarity you need.

Happy writing. 

When Should You Post?

There’s always a lot of discussion and debate as to what the best time to post content on your social networks is.

Shareaholic studied their metrics for the 2011 year, and came up with some pretty exact results. Thursdays between 8 a.m. and noon is the best time to post material you want shared on social networks. Page views are better on Mondays.

Traffic generally slows down around 9 a.m. but spikes again after 9 p.m. The before work and after work hours are the strongest.

This should give businesses and marketers a pretty good idea of when to post information. The more you can work in the off hours, the better.

The quality of the content still matters considerably. If you can post good content at the right time, that’s your best combination.

Inject Voice Into Your Marketing Materials

Writing with voice used to be something only novelists, journalists, and ad people had to figure out. With social media, now everyone is a writer. If you want to stand out, you have to learn how to be interesting. Period. You have to market smarter.

There’s a deluge of competing businesses out there happy to get in on your market. They sell what you are selling, and might even have a higher profile social media presence. It’s the truth. So how do you stand out? What do you need to do to ensure that your business is receiving the attention it deserves?

That’s where finding your voice comes into play. Don’t just tell me that you own a coffee shop in Chicago. Tell me why your cup of Joe is better than Caribou or Starbucks—and do it in an entertaining and engaging way. Otherwise I’m going to the big guys to get my caffeine fix.

If you are in business, it’s only fair to assume that you are passionate about whatever it is that you sell. That passion needs to ooze out from the material. It needs to be contagious to all who consume it.

How do you get there?

Pretend like you’re talking with someone in person about the benefits of what you sell. You’ll want to be persuasive about the importance of your industry without being obnoxious on a hard sell. There’s a line there.

Find your unique selling point. Tell me why people should buy from you rather than your competition.

You want to be conversational, yet professional at the same time. That means minding your grammar and spelling. Look something up if you have to. Have someone proof what you’re writing if you have to. Just make sure it’s right!

Watch your abbreviations. I know tweets are only 140 characters long, but that doesn’t mean that u r right to abb. everything. It grates on your readers. A little may be OK. Too much can make you seem lazy. Be careful.

Don’t be an ass. There, I said it. You wouldn’t walk up with someone at an in person networking event and pick a fight. So don’t be rude online, and practice patience with people where required. It should go without saying, but when you get a group of “experts” gathering in one spot, there’s a tendency by some to look down on the common folk. It’s just not necessary.

Funny how? It’s easier to deliver a one liner in person. Facial expression and your voice all play a part in delivery. There’s no font that depicts sarcasm. Believe me, I wish there was. It’s much harder to convey humor via written word. If you can carry it off, go for it. Otherwise, revise. 

Blog Ideas Fall Out of the Sky

The pulse of the cursor blinking on a blank white page. The temptation to walk away from the computer and grab a quick snack. The lure of the television. Writing can be an intimidating practice. Sometimes it’s one that you have to force yourself to endure.

This is especially true for those who aren’t feeling the creative juices flowing. You know that you need to be producing content. You know that delivering your ideas to the outside world is the best way to be found. When it comes time to act, you’ve got nothing.

Many marketers will tell you that you need to produce an original piece of content daily. When a more detailed idea strikes, the blog is a great place to do just that. But where do you find the ideas? The ideas are everywhere. You just need to know where to look. Here’s just a few ideas any blogger can grab from.

A Client Question

Maybe you’ve been asked the same question a lot lately by clients, or potential clients. Putting it in a blog post, and then directing people there is one way to develop a built in audience. Maybe it’s just one really good question from a single client. Blog ideas stem from conversation.

New Product or Service

Is your business doing more than before? A quick post detailing the importance of this product or service could pay off. Be careful not to make it too salesy, but go ahead and hit on why people need it.

Industry Advice

As a business owner, you’re the expert. Tell people why your industry is important. Educate them on the ins and outs of whatever the service may be, and they’ll remember that. Focus on one aspect of things, and go into detail.

Keywords

Are you looking to secure your spot in the search engine rankings? Use the Google Keyword tool and try to find the phrases ranking well. With a little creativity you can usually shape a post around that phrase.

Pay Attention to Your Industry

You should be reading other industry books and blogs. Pay attention to what they say. Take a topic, do your research, and make the writing your own. People always appreciate well thought out material.

Explore Outside Your Industry

Sticking strictly to your industry is a quick way to become boring. You need to inject ideas into your writing. Maybe you can relate some things back to what you do, if the correlation works. Find a tie in to sports, television or some form of popular culture. Try something different. A little discomfort is a good thing.

Monitor Your Comment Section

Did a reader add a new thought or direction to where you went with your post? You can always add to the discourse with another blog post.

Stop Staring at the Screen

As cool as some of this technology is, electronics are taking over our lives. Don’t get so wrapped up in your virtual life that you neglect your real one. Work out. Go out for dinner. Grab a beer with friends. Sometimes ideas flow when you’re not trying so damned hard.

Overcome the Flinch

In a different world, the flinch saved our lives. The instinct that we are all programmed with became a necessary way to escape very real dangers.

Today humans don’t hunt our own food. We aren’t faced with the same types of day-to-day risks that we used to see as survivalists. So do we really need the flinch anymore? That’s the question Julien Smith asks with his free book on Amazon.

This instinct that was necessary for survival for so many years, may be the very instinct preventing you from going where you need to be. Smith, who authored Trust Agents with Chris Brogan, suggests that the Flinch stands between you and your goals.

We all want to lose weight and become healthy. We all want to amass a comfortable amount of wealth. How come we don’t all reach our goals? We flinch at the first amount of discomfort. We stop when we don’t want to sacrifice anymore. In other words, the flinch gets in our way.

Smith offers readers some homework as practice for overcoming this instinct, and understanding that pain from sacrificing for our goals is only temporary. While I have my doubts as to how much of the homework people may actually complete, there’s no question that it will adjust your mindset when faced with adversity.

Those who can overcome the Flinch can reach their goals. The Flinch is a good read for anyone with a goal.   

Don't Forget Your Neighbors

By staring at the computer all day long, it’s easy to lose track of what is happening next door, or in your town.

Don’t get sucked into your computer. Don’t get too cozy in that little office you built at home. Get out. Meet actual people. Experience a real-life handshake. Leave your comfort zone every once in awhile. You’ll be glad that you did.

Those of us trying to build our social media followings (as we all should) are concentrating on turning online strangers into friends. We’re trying to build relationships. The Internet allows us to do this with someone who would otherwise be too far geographically to talk with. This is an awesome thing.

I have just a simple reminder for people. Don’t build far-reaching relationships at the expense of local relationships. As awesome as social media is, and as effective as a blog can be, face-to-face beats online EVERY time. 

Know the people in your town first. Social media giant Chris Brogan has written a lot about this. In marketing, local will matter more and more.

Your neighbors are the ones who can really help launch your business to a success. Think about it from a practical standpoint for a second. Say you need a plumber to come to your house and do some work. Are you going to call the guy you know and trust from an offline relationship, or the guy who just started following your Twitter account? I think you know.

Most people in most businesses that I know, thrive on local relationships first. They are able to establish the foundation for business within their own community. If you offer goods and services that can easily ship, by all means, cast your wide net. But never forget that your neighbor may have a need for what you do.  

Unless it is drastically preventing you from doing your job, it’s hard to ever say that you are networking too much. This is how you meet the people in your community. This is how you build relationships.

            It’s also a good idea to be a connector. Have “a guy” for everything that needs to be done. Recommend that guy when your friends need services. Everybody is in search of a good garage. If you know one, that recommendation goes a long way. This simple act of connection will not be forgotten.

            So go ahead, and get to that next networking session. Keep the business cards, and take notes on who you meet. You never know when you’ll be in need of someone local, or when they’ll be in need of you. So concentrate your marketing locally.

Creativity and Innovation

I’ve recently been reading a few books about innovators, who have some recurring traits. There are no confinements to their thought. They’re not easily satisfied. They don’t take no for an answer, and there’s always a way to turn their visions into reality.

Innovation is not easy. It takes extra work, and it also takes vision. You need to set the alarm earlier, and you need to wake up with purpose. It also takes a high level of creativity.

Creative People Make a Difference

            We’ve been conditioned to look down on creativity. Consider those who graduate with a liberal arts degree. It does not unequivocally translate into asking the question “Do you want fries with that?” like the stereotype suggests.

            They are not the ones taking cigarette breaks every half hour, and showing up an hour late. Creativity takes work. It takes showing up, and immersing yourself in your craft. It takes an ability to see solutions, and execute. It takes being able to convince your superiors of an excellent idea. They are Seth Godin's Linchpins. 

            The creative people are the ones coming up with new ways to do things at work. They are the ones making your boss look good. They are the ones who have ideas and see them through. 

The companies that can utilize their creative employees are the companies that will have the most success in the future. With the newness of online marketing and social media, creativity is what will allow companies to break through.