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Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You're only a stranger once.

How Physical Exercise and Blogging Has Resulted in Empowerment in my Life

Filed Under Guest Writer, Motivation/Inspiration, Writing | 1 Comment

If you are like the rest of the world then you must have encountered days when you feel depressed, dismal, and alone. Sometimes it’s easier to go through the life without even thinking about the challenges but the reality is that they are out there, and you will be facing one sooner than later. There may be things in your life that don’t work out as expected and this leaves you with a feeling of glum and optimism. It is normal for someone to feel this way.

In my experience, having bouts of sadness during tough times has become a learning experience, providing me with wisdom and strength. Life can take you in different directions and the end game isn’t always certain even when we feel that we are in control. The important thing to realize is that there is always a choice, to stand up and fight through another day instead of letting the adversities to pin you down and drowning in sorrow and despair.

So, how to overcome these challenges in life and stay resilient? For me, two things have helped me a great deal i.e. Exercising and Writing (AKA Blogging).

Mental and Emotional Toughness:

You might have heard of the expression “life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it”. It’s true that “how we manage our lives” can make a huge difference to our lives. It is how we perceive problems that dictate the outcome in the end. Avoiding the feeling of being victimized can help you overcome adversity and triumph against your problems, when you feel strong both mentally and physically you will be able to view your situation with a sense of power and confidence.

Working out to lose weight can help overcome negative feelings

Staying in shape or losing weight through training can help you become more agile and in control of your physical well-being. When you are out of shape you might end up with a lot of habits that can hinder your wellness and make you feel weak and helpless. By becoming active and engaging in active lifestyle, you can start to empower yourself and gain the resolution that you may have lost.

How blogging can help overcome negative feelings

You have to understand that even at a standstill, life continues to progress, and you have to treat your body and mind as such, even when you are facing hundreds of problems, you’ve got to keep going. Writing can help take the edge off negative thoughts and creates an outlet for expression and problem solving. When you blog, you can let off some steam and help you gain a clear perspective of challenges that you may be facing.

Writing and Exercising to empower yourself

Writing and exercise is a means of caring for your inner being. Exercise and fitness encourage you to become stronger in life by honing your physicality. When you start working out, you are actually making the decision to do something good for yourself and nurturing your spirit by improving your overall physical state. The same can be said when you express yourself through writing. Sharing your positive (or negative) thoughts with others and getting their response can inspire you to maintain a good outlook towards your life and seek the solutions that may have evaded you in the past.

Getting involved in positive activities like writing or exercising will result in a healthy mental paradigm. Taking responsibility of your physical and mental well-being is imperative, so that you can perform better in life and develop a sense of self that is empowered and understands your true worth. Regular exercise is not just a bid to stay fit; it is a step towards more control and empowerment in your life. These are the principles that you will see getting highlighted at diet or weight loss programs like Medifast and Nutrisystem.

When you are taking good care of your mind and body, and spending time taking care of your personal well-being you will notice that everything else in your life will start to fall into place.

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Arba Hana is a young online entrepreneur, she writes for a discount websites sharing medifast coupons and nutrisystem discount code. There are other coupon codes like medifast or nutrisystem as well.

How To Write Great Blog Posts – Quickly

Filed Under Productivity, Successful Blog, Writing | 2 Comments

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Successfully Working From a Home-based Office

A blog is a convenient tool that can serve many purposes. It can be used to chronicle personal events, marketing or branding. There are millions of blogs on the internet and the competition is fierce. The job of the blog writer is to write interesting posts so that it proves useful to the readers and keeps the search engines interested. The onus should on writing quality articles and not on increasing the number of articles mindlessly.

Think of blog post ideas

You should devote some time to think of blog post ideas or go into the admin section of the blog and add them in the drafts. This will save a lot of time and you can find the topics very easily. You can also think of using a timer if you take a lot of time in writing a single article. Once you are using a timer you will not be tempted to check your email or open the social networking page in the middle of writing an article. Always try to complete your articles before the deadline that you set.

Write what’s in your mind

This is the simplest way to write. Just write what’s in your brain at the moment. Choose a topic from your list, give yourself a 60 min time and start writing. Just keep writing whatever comes to your mind so that you do not lose the flow. If there are any spelling errors, you can always correct it later. Start by jotting down the facts related to the topic. Then one-by-one starts expanding on those topics and provides useful ideas. Readers are always in search of ‘benefits’ and ‘tips’. So write accordingly.

You can do your own research or just read 2 – 3 articles on the topic and summarize that information in your blog post using your own words. However, copying or duplicating information is strictly unethical. By the time your timer goes off, you should have a reasonably good content at your disposal.

Think of a good headline

All great blog posts boast of good headlines. It is prudent that you think about the headline of the article after you finished writing it. It is always easier to create a catchy and accurate headline once you have finished writing the post.

Add the final touches

Once you have completed writing the post, read through the article at least twice to ensure that there is no phrase which does not sound right. Your post should not sound like an editorial; the reader must feel that you have written the post exclusively for him/her. Talk to the individual and not to the general public.

If there are any spelling errors, correct it. Run the spell check function in MS Word to be doubly sure. If possible add photos to your post as they introduce an element of interest in the article. You can create your own photos or get them from Google but use only those photos which are not copyrighted or has watermark in it. If you follow these guidelines diligently then you can soon write great blog posts quickly.

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Author’s Bio:
About the Author-: Brianne is a freelance writer and writes about most expensive cars and Lamborghini Aventador. She has also written a number of articles for different blogs. She loves writing on technology and luxury. You can find her on Twitter as @Brianne. ”

Thank you, Brianne!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Give Your Content Marketing An Emotional Storytelling Touch

Filed Under Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 1 Comment

Guest Post by Stacey Acevero

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Stories Stay With Us

Remember as a kid when you listened to stories around the campfire? The ones that gripped you and stayed with you long into the night were the ones that played upon your emotions. They scared you or made you cry or made you laugh. In other words, they moved you.

Do the same for your online audiences. Use storytelling to make your content marketing stick in their heads. When you do, you’ll give your content more mileage because not only will people respond to your message, they’ll remember it longer, too.

You may wonder where storytelling fits into your content marketing. After all, you’re just trying to get the word out on your brand, right? Wrong. Just getting the word out isn’t enough to create a following. You’ve got to make a connection with people and there’s no better way than drawing them in with stories that tap into their emotions.

To give your content marketing an emotional touch, follow these 3 storytelling tips:

1. Find The Stories Around You

When we meet new people, we establish connection through sharing stories — where we went to school and why, what kind of work we do, what things in our lives define us. Imagine your reader is a new acquaintance. What kind of story can you tell to get them engaged quickly?

Think about the things that set your company apart – those details that you’d share first to give people a sense of you and your brand. For example, at the heart of every company is the story of the person who had a big idea. Think about your company, what is the inspiration behind its inception? You’ve got a story right there.

2. Build Your Story Around A Character

A strong story has a character audiences can connect with and a plot that keeps them engaged. Find the human factor in your brand and make it your central character. Introduce employees who are making a difference in their communities or share compelling profiles of the people who have benefitted from your products.

Then offer readers a glimpse into how these people changed, i.e., through the volunteer work for an important cause or because of the positive impact your products made in their lives. The journey of a character through circumstances carries more clout when readers see how those events shaped that character.

3. Use Emotion To Make An Impact

People are drawn to emotional images and language, so use those powerful tools in your content marketing.


Photographs and video can immediately boost your content curb appeal. They can also provide inspiration to your content creation. For example, a humorous video can not only grab audience interest, it may just have the emotional impact to go viral.

Give your written content more life and emotional connection, as well. Use active language and sentence structures to make reading easier and more interesting.

Try this simple way to start – change all your verb forms of “to be” into active words. For example, instead of “Our company was looking for a way to be a better supplier for our customers”, try “XYZ felt our customers needed better service. These new changes do just that”.

The best way to keep your content marketing fresh is to play with it. Experiment with new perspectives and integrate the things you find interesting.

Keep in mind that your message should always compel your audiences to act. Use your story to motivate people to visit your website, check out your product or download your latest whitepaper.

Have you had success integrating emotional storytelling into your content marketing? We’d like to hear your best campfire story here.

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Author’s Bio:
Stacy Acevero writes about PR and social media at PRWeb.com. You can find her on Twitter as @sacevero.

Stacey, you and your stories are irresistible! :)

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Start in the Middle on Your Report, Blog Post or Presentation

Filed Under Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | Leave a Comment

Put a Sock in It, Julie!

insideout logo

Who hasn’t heard Julie Andrews sing it?

Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.
When you read you begin with ABC, When you sing you begin with do-re-me.

–the character, Maria, sung by Julie Andrews in
The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein

Put a sock in it, Julie.

Starting in the beginning might work well when you know the story, but when you’re first forming your ideas it can really screw you up. By the time you figure out that clever beginning you might forget the what the story was going to be about. After all, when planning a special occasion, it’s not usually the best idea to start with what you’ll say on the invitation … we have to know what the gathering will be about.

Turn off, Julie Andrews and the tape recordings in your head that tell you what you’re supposed to do. They just get in the way. Unique problems require unique solutions.

Beginnings Have a Part to Play in Setting Up Your Conversation

Who cares about how the fire began if you need to get out of the building NOW? Get the facts and worry about how it started later.

When you’re creating something new, problem solving, or envisioning what could be, information is nebulous and coming from many directions. The challenge is to order it and give form–not to find the beginning. Here are some tips on how to get your idea going before the blank screen and the beginning knock you down.

  1. Write your idea as a compelling question you want to answer. Then write the answer as – bullet points.
  2. Describe an action that you’re looking to make happen.
  3. Write the list of important points that you want to share.
  4. Outline the steps of the how-to.
  5. Lay out the key point of the product review.

If you do one of those first, you’ll know what it is that you want to say.

Then, you can consider one of two things key to context:

  1. Connecting to prior knowledge: What will most of your audience already know about what you’re going to tell them? How can you connect that to what you’re adding to the conversation? That connection is the place to start.
  2. Building background: It might be a fair assessment that most of your audience won’t have experience with what you’re about to tell them. What information or analogy will give them a setting in which to place your conversation? Make that setting the beginning.

Now the beginning is an integral part to play in setting up your most important statements.

Do you ever start in the middle when you’re preparing a report, a blog post, or a presentation?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

When the going gets tough – The Tough don’t give a damn

Filed Under Productivity, Writing | 3 Comments

For quite some days, I’ve been caught in a writers’ block. Now, I am a web content writer and writing is my bread and butter. But despite the fact that I felt like writing, and I had quite some ideas to write on, and I felt pretty much capable to write, still I just kept failing at it, failing to put my pen to paper, just like a bird caught under a cast net, who knows and feels he can fly but fails miserably when trying to take off. And there I was, dawdling for weeks and hoping that all of a sudden, the “net” will disappear and I will be able to take to the air … How wrong was I and how wrong is everybody else who thinks procrastinating will somehow put an end to the predicament they are facing.

Problem with dilly-dallying and waiting for the right time is … it never arrives, the time just keeps flying by, and when you are aware that something needs to be done, the passing moments will just keep adding to the pressure, and the mounting pressure will make it even harder for you to do anything about it. And that is exactly what I was going through, and it’s not that it was the first time. In fact, the pressure cooker situations are quite frequent since my early years of education, the time when exams or final dates for assignments were fast approaching and I had spent all the time procrastinating and waiting for my geniuses to arrive (and I am still waiting …). These are the times when it gets tougher and tougher as the time pass, and getting depressed doesn’t help at all, you know that you’ve got to do something, but knowing that “I’ve got to act fast” only adds to the problem.

So what’s the best way to break the shackles, and to avoid giving in to the pressure?

To be honest, there’s a very easy way out. All you need is to follow two simple steps, first give a damn to the circumstances, and second get down and start doing something about it. Problem with getting bogged down by the circumstances is that you get stuck in the paradigm and get paralyzed. It transpires into a downward spiral and you start to fall short at everything, you fail to do a post on a topic when it’s hot, you can’t cash in on a trend or platform when it’s relatively new, you don’t get to pitch your product or services to some potential client you’ve stumbled upon, the opportunities keep slipping away and it gets even harder to come out of the trap, in spite the fact that most of the times, there’s no real trap, it’s all between the ears, a decoy that you shouldn’t even bother about in the first place.

The take-home point for this post is best described in the old adage …”when the going gets tough, the tough gets going” but what I was looking to add is to stop bothering about the tough goings as soon as you’ve got down to work, because if you do, the resulting panic will start consuming the much needed energy and time. So, from now on, when the devil throws the “cast net” by reminding you of the circumstances, you can simply dodge it by not giving a damn and continuing with your work.

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Author’s Bio:

Rahil is an Internet Marketing expert and a part time writer. He writes for a coupon code website where you can find hp promotional code and skinit promo codes. In addition to hp and skinit, you will find many more discounts.

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