Successful Blog

Cataloguing Creativity: How Do You Organize Your Ideas?

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Are you a collector?  Do you see something on television or while you’re out shopping and just have to have it?  Perhaps this scenario sounds familiar: You pick things up, here and there, and over the years you;ve acquired quite a collection.  Then, one day, you’re inspired to use one of those handy-dandy items and you can’t find it anywhere!

I am not a collector.  That isn’t to say that I don’t have a collection.  Through the generosity of various relatives, I have stacks of cookbooks, fancy kitchen tools, and  various odds and ends.  These items are carried in by the truckload by the helpful relatives and deposited in my house, where I am left to stash them away for future use.  And stash them away I do, here, there, and everywhere.

Days pass, sometimes weeks or months.  Suddenly, I’m inspired.  Where’s that Super Doodle Noodle Maker Aunt Bonita gave me?   Where in the world did I store it away?    I want to make Super Doodle noodles and my Super Doodle Noodle Maker is nowhere to be found!

Do you catalogue your creativity?

What’s the point?  Most of us collect blogging ideas as we go through life.  Our great, creative ideas for our blogs  can get lost in the hodgepodge of daily life if we don’t develop some way to catalogue them.   Finding a way to organize those ideas is a essential to having them when we need them.

There are many ways to keep track of those great ideas.  One tool that has helped me is a small notebook.  I carry it around in my purse and when I hear or see something that I think I could use later, I jot it down. Sometimes, the little notebook isn’t on hand, so I grab a piece of paper and write it down there.  So, now I have a small stack of papers and notebooks that I keep beside my chair, on hand for when I need to find that great concept from the past.

A little notebook is a start but it certainly isn’t going to keep things organized for future reference.  To keep things on track, I divide my concepts into categories for quick reference.  Ultimately though, something more will be needed.  Ideally, a file drawer organized alphabetically and divided by category would work best.  Being able to access information quickly and accurately when needed is an absolute necessity when you need to recall that one great idea or when inspiration runs out and you need to pull from your catalogue of creativity.  If my kitchen were as organized as my blogging ideas it would be a cinch to find my Super Doodle Noodle Maker when I need it!

How do you keep your ideas for blogging organized?  Let us know what works for you.  

Jael Strong writes for TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction pieces for print and online publications.  She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas .

Thanks, Jael

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

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Spice Your Blog With A Dash Of Old Bay Seasoning

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By Terez Howard

I didn’t know what Old Bay was until I saw its name on a bag of popcorn in a Virginia Beach gourmet popcorn shop.  (When I reread that sentence, it sounds like the start of a piece of fiction).

But, I’m serious.  I’m from Ohio, and I had never seen it before.  After my trip, I found that my local grocery store’s employees placed the Old Bay seasoning near the fish since the spice is traditionally sprinkled on seafood.  I overlooked it every weekly trip I took to the same store for five years.

So why was Old Bay the flavor of choice for a bag of popcorn?  I’m not really sure.  My husband and I decided that after a sample of this popcorn, we were hooked.  We devoured that bag, and I’ve been craving it ever since.

My point?  Jody’s Gourmet Popcorn got it right.  Jody and her husband, Alan, gave us something unexpected, and we loved it.

Salt, garlic and Old Bay?

This is what I know.  Every recipe I make calls for salt and garlic.  Well, it doesn’t formally call for those spices.  I just cannot imagine a meal without them.  All you knowledgeable cooks, keep quiet!  I know there are ways to spice food without these two.  But they’re my staples, and my family loves them.

When you blog, you have salt and garlic.  You have some general topic, and you create content to support it.  That’s the salt.  You make it unique by peppering it with your personality.  That’s your garlic.  Those are the basics, your staples.  You would not have a decent blog without them.

Now for the Old Bay.  I like to think of this as your own little dose of the unexpected.  I find the most engaging posts I’ve ever read include a little something I cannot foresee.  You can spice up your blog with:

  • A quote from someone famous or not so famous. I read a blog post recently that included a quote from Ernest Hemmingway.  A quote can drive your point home.
  • Results of a study. I find study results to be extremely powerful.  If you’re telling people that they should write more how-to’s, then you could also include how much traffic a blogger has gotten from posting how-to’s.  (You could also conduct your own study).
  • A reference. This can be as simple as referring to a detail someone else made on a blog or in an article.  Link to them, and give your readers a more complete post.
  • A joke. I’m not a comedy writer, but I think most readers are up for a laugh.  A joke can lighten an otherwise heavy topic.
  • A personal story. This one is my favorite things to do because I feel like my life events and blog go hand in hand.  A personal anecdote makes your blog relatable and an enjoyable read.

A little goes a long way

I’m not for drenching a meal in any particular spice.  So, when you are finding your voice by trying to include something a bit unpredictable, don’t over do it.  Every single sentence does not need to be a pun, a quote or another reference.  A dash will do.  Just talk.  Be natural.

How do you dash your blog with Old Bay?

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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
Work with Liz on your business!!

Have You Really Tried Everything?

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By Terez Howard

My daughter is so stubborn.  In many ways, she is the most stubborn person that I know.  In some ways, it’s good.  I know that no one will be able to make her do something she doesn’t want to do, and far more important, something she should not do.

When it comes to eating, she is stubborn.  Last week, she had a McDonald’s Happy Meal in front of her for lunch.  (It’s one of her favorite things to eat, like any kid!)  And guess what my little girl ate?  One lone French fry.

Right now, you’re probably making excuses for my 3-year-old.  She wasn’t hungry.  She didn’t feel well.  She doesn’t really like French fries.  I can assure you that all of those reasons are far from true.

Micah refuses to eat because she does not want to.  She wants to do something else, like play with her Leapster.  Or, she wants to make me angry.  Yes, I believe that she secretly likes the attention that goes along with my disappointment in her.

I have tried everything to get her to eat.  My husband and I have done rewards, punishments, baby doll mimicking, ignored her, prayed with her, just about anything you can think of.  When I told my mom about this, she gave me one tactic I hadn’t considered.

“I will try anything!” I told her.

Have you done everything with your blog?

Maybe you don’t have many readers.  Perhaps you would like to have a higher number of subscribers.  Do you want buzz surrounding your name?  That’s what I want for my blog and my business.

So, what do you do?  “I will try anything!”

That should be your response, and that certainly is mine.  But recently I took an honest look at my business and my blog, and I have to admit that it’s not where I want it to be.  So, I’m ready to try anything and everything to reach my fullest potential.

I have tried everything.

Really?  Me, too.  I’ve done cold e-mailing, blog commenting, guest blogging, interview requests, article writing and more.  After all that, why am I not where I want to be?

Time 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 has a place.

With my blog, I haven’t had clear-cut plan to take me from point A to point B.  Do you ever feel like you’re dabbling in a little this and that to surround your blog with buzz?

This and that are not going to cut it.  Trust me.  I believe in trying everything before signing your blog off as no good and starting anew.  I also believe that everything must be organized.  What am I going to do?

I’m going to try to market myself and my blog one way every month.  I am going to spend time focusing on making one form of marketing work for me each month.  My blog will chart what I’m doing and the progress I make.

Any of you other bloggers out there claiming to do everything and not getting ahead are free to join me in this challenge.  I’m determined I will not fail.

What’s your plan for getting your blog heard?

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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
Work with Liz on your business!!

What Are You All About?

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By Terez Howard

Do you want me to read your blog? Then tell me about yourself?

Dan Keller recently wrote that blog post, and it got me thinking. When I check out blogs, and I am in the constant state of searching for new content, the absolute first link I click on if I like what I’m reading is the About page.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

  1. Who is this blogger? What does he/she do for a living, and why?
  2. What does this blogger hope to achieve with this blog?
  3. How am I going to benefit from following it? Am I going to benefit at all?

I ask myself these questions every time I click on that About link. But I’ve never put them in writing. Now that I have, I feel I have some work to do. Are you giving your readers this basic information?

You know you need a change, but how?

So, I look at my About page on my blog, and it answers what I hope to achieve with my blog. That’s about it. I’d say this is the easiest question to answer. Most, if not all bloggers, know what they are writing about. This is the time to provide a brief synopsis to your readers. Simple.

Looking back at my About page, it doesn’t say who I am. How can I, and maybe you, too, get personal? I would like to tell readers:

  • How long I’ve been writing
  • Where I’ve written
  • Why I love writing
  • What I do for a living
  • A little about my family (They’re my life!)
  • Where I live
  • A fun fact about yourself (Be creative.)

I’m going to add a headshot to my About page. Dan recommends posting a quick video so that people can get a glimpse of your personality.

An About page needs to tell people why they would care to read my blog. This is going to be different for every niche. The basic, foremost question you need to answer is:

What are readers going to take away from your blog that they can use?

I only read blogs that somehow relate to my life. For instance, I have natural hair, and I’m constantly looking for new styles, hair care tips and insights. When I’m looking at a new blog, I want that About page to tell me that I’m going to get what I need. Of course, I enjoy reading about personal information, like why a woman went natural and rants on natural hair. But I want to learn something for my hair. It has to be about me to a certain extent.

With that in mind, bloggers write about personal matters. However, if posts never relate to your readers, there will be no readers. Right of the bat, readers can know from your About page that you are going to help them in some way.

Ask yourself:

  • If I were visiting my blog as an outsider, what would type of information would I want to see?
  • How can readers use the information in my posts?
  • Why will readers want to come back to my blog?

Answering these questions can help you get on task for constructing an About page that tells your readers what they want to know. I’m ready to make some changes on my blog.

What else do you include in your About page?

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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
Work with Liz on your business!!

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

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By Terez Howard

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:

  • Invite guest bloggers to share some fresh ideas.
  • Spotlight notable individuals in your niche market.
  • Include a different medium in your blog, such as video or audio.
  • Expand your niche, or add another.

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:

  • Monday – Inspirational post
  • Tuesday – Business post
  • Wednesday – Review
  • Thursday – Guest blogger’s post
  • Friday – Interview

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?

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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
Work with Liz on your business!!

What A Timeshare Presentation And Blogging Have In Common

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By Terez Howard
When I went on vacation a couple weeks ago, my family was stopped on the street by a woman trying to get people to sign up for timeshares. We had no interest in purchasing a timeshare, but we agreed to listen to the presentation for the free gift cards to restaurants at the Virginia Beach resort.
After listening to the sales pitch and taking a tour of the condo we could have bought, the saleswoman asked us what we thought.

“We like what you have. The accommodations are beautiful,” we told her. “But we don’t see the value for our family.”

We just took a ten-night vacation and paid nothing for our rooms in three different hotels. Two of those nights were spent with my brother, but the rest were paid with credit card points we had accumulated.

After we revealed our travel secret, I wondered how this salesperson was going to try to hook us. Was she going to try to convince us that we could get a cheaper package? Was she going to say that the rooms we stay in are sub-par compared to their condos? What was her bait going to be?

Instead, she said that if people were as smart as we were, there would be no need for timeshares. She gave us our gift cards, and we walked.

What does this presentation and blogging have in common?

Well, a blogger can have a life-changing message or a time-saving product to share on her blog. Personally, I believe in the way that my family goes on trips. It works very well for us, and we save hundreds of dollars.

This is the bottom line: It’s not for everyone.

That saleswoman was willing to admit that their timeshares did not compare with what we do. To spend hundreds of dollars each month or to spend nothing? There’s no contest.

We bloggers get very passionate about our subjects, and we should not be afraid to bite the bullet and stand out. However, we do not and will not always have the best idea or product for every person in our market. We have to be open to admit that we do not have the best in every instance.

Humility is a virtue

I know that patience is a virtue, but I think that being humble is necessary to a being successful blogger. Some people might just be in it for the gift cards, like I was. In other words, some readers might want your valuable information and not want to buy into the whole package. That does not mean you are a failure.

It actually could mean the exact opposite. I will never forget this timeshare company. My husband and I decided that we would do our research to see if we could gain a profit from owning a timeshare.

If your blog is unforgettable, you have done your job.

 

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Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!

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