Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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August 25, 2010

When You Need To Reinvent The Wheel, Build A Hover Car

Liz wrote this at 10:55 am

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Recently, I’ve felt like my blogging has become perfunctory.

The reason? It could be that my family took several vacations this summer. We were away for a combined total of three weeks out of three months. Each time that I returned home, I felt less and less energized to do my work. I wrote without a real purpose

My partner, Jael, and I have both been feeling like our blog needs a defibrillator.

Reinventing the wheel

What do you do when you feel like you are regurgitating the same information on your blog? Reinvent the wheel! What I mean is that you try something new to infuse life into your blog. What are your options?

Here are few that I came up with:

As you reinvent the wheel, you need to have a plan. I recently got to speak with Liz, and I’m sure that she would not mind me sharing this priceless tip she shared with me.

Get organized

Liz suggested to create a weekly or monthly calendar for a blog. It could look something like this:

Every week would have the same routine. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert, but I like to think of myself as a reasoning person. I consider myself a very organized person. After she told me this simple idea, I had one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments.

It’s OK that I didn’t come up with this and that my organizational skills did not spill into my blog. I’m just grateful that someone wised me up to this level of organization.

My plan for a hover car

So, I’m going to reinvent my wheel by scheduling a certain type of post each day I publish a post. After I get that established, I will create a detailed monthly calendar, which outlines what I’m going to write about. Of course, if I’m struck by a lightning moment, I will blog about that and push my prescheduled post to the next week or month.

I figure that if I get very organized about my writing, I will maintain my excitement for writing, rather than fall into the perfunctory state I was in. Also, when I have a plan and a purpose, I feel more driven to reach my goal.

How do you keep your blog filled with fresh ideas? What’s your plan and purpose?

—-
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility.  She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small.  She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Filed under Successful Blog, Writing | 9 Comments »




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9 Comments to “When You Need To Reinvent The Wheel, Build A Hover Car”

  1. August 25th, 2010 at 11:57 am
    James said

    I was kinda hoping for a hover car ;)
    One thing to do when you find yourself out of ideas and energy is get advice from someone else. Looks like you’ve done that.
    At the moment, I’ve got no loss of fresh ideas, but I know that could happen in the future (I’ve seen it happen to myself before). For me, it came down to finding a focus and purpose for my blog. I needed to start over.
    I’m still working on building the new blog, but now I really know where I am going, something that I did not know on my previous blog. Knowing where I am going and feeling good about what I am blogging on helps to keep me energized to keep working.

  2. August 25th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
    terez said

    James, That’s exactly what I needed! I feel re-energized, and I have a clearer purpose in mind.

  3. August 25th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
    Julie (Etsy Stalkers) said

    I just stumbled upon your blog and I’m glad I did! I’m a blogger newbie so I have a lot to learn. I honestly never thought of making a schedule for my topics – great idea!

  4. August 26th, 2010 at 4:42 am
    Anonymous said

    Liz Strauss at Successful Blog…

    Strategy, ideas, social media, and the business of a successful blog and online presence. Successful Blog is where bloggers meet to share their successes and swap strategies. The content is organized, thorough, and relevant. The conversation is fun, fa…

  5. September 8th, 2010 at 7:30 am
    Have You Really Tried Everything? | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog said

    [...] for another honest look in the mirror.  I haven’t been organized enough, and I consider myself a very organized person.  Visit my home, and you will see that everything [...]

  6. September 29th, 2010 at 7:30 am
    Quality Or Quantity - Which Ranks Higher On Your Blog? | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog said

    [...] far as quantity goes, I have a set writing schedule that I can keep up with as a busy stay-at-home mom.  I’m not writing every single day.  [...]

  7. September 29th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
    Ivan said

    Hi Liz,

    Quantity (frequency) increases traffic as Google indexes the site faster and gives it more prominence in search results… but

    Quality increases the likelihood that those who find your site will come back again and/or subscribe to RSS or newsletters.

    So, a blended approached works best when you need to hit several moving targets at the same time.

    Ivan

  8. December 21st, 2010 at 2:16 pm
    What ‘Julie and Julia’ Taught Me About Reaching Goals | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog said

    [...] With a blog, it’s hardly a necessity to make your content stick to a strict 10:30 a.m. deadline. However, there are benefits to establishing a blogging schedule. [...]

  9. July 28th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
    teaching learning said

    You inspire me, just like the quotation, “Sutton lost 13 games in a row without winning a ballgame..”.

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