A Never Ending Source for Blog and Article Ideas!

As a social media manager specializing in blogs and written content, I often hear people say, "I would start a bog, but what would I write about?" Here is one way to have an almost inexhaustible supply of fresh article or blog ideas. The internet is full of articles, informational websites and news stories that are full of fresh, timely ideas for you to write about, but hunting them down daily, or even weekly takes a lot of time. Automate the hunt for ideas with a Google Alert or two.

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First, log in to your Gmail, or Google account. If you don't have one, Google Gmail and sign up for free. Next select More from the menu button in the task bar at the top left of the screen. Select the bottom entry, "even more".

                                         
                                         Select the "alerts" option next to the golden bell icon.

Type in any search terms that you like. For example, writing for a lawn care blog? Enter "lawncare tips", or "mower repair tips". Set the frequency that you want to receive your alerts. Enter an email address that you want your alerts sent to and wait for the great ideas to be delivered to you!

Set up as many alerts as you want. Keep track of the ones that deliver the best ideas and delete others. While you're at it, set up one for your name, your company name, and anything else you want to know when it's mentioned online. Use quotation marks around your search terms for exact results only.

So, what about you? What tips tricks, gizmos, gadgets or software do you use in your writing? Leave us a comment to let us know!

Who says resumes have to be boring?

CREATIVE WRITINGCheck out this hgihly creative written work of art. I realize it is only a resume, but it is definitely one of the most creative uses of the written word I have seen in a while. I hope it inspires you to use words in new ways! Share a link with us anytime when you find something this good!

This is a test post of the email posting process

 

Start Bossing Yourself Around!

How to Boss Yourself Around

A couple of weeks back I was speaking with my 10 yr old son. I have eight children, four sons four daughters, this son is my fourth child. He was having some challenges in his school work. We homeschool and it seems that he was frustrated with having his mother always "bossing" him. My first inclination was to give him my patented, "She's your mother and you don't have to like it, but you do have to respect her.." speech, but I thought better of it. I decided to ask a few questions.

"So, you don't like being told what to do?"
My son looked up at me, "No."
"And you like it when your mother is happy with you,"
This time he looked at me like I was crazy, "Of course."
"And she's happy with you when you complete your assignments on time, the first time, without being told again?"
He rolled his eyes and grunted, "Yes" at me as if I were Captain Obvious.
"Well then, there is only one solution." I smiled.
"What is it?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"You have to start bossing yourself." I said, and turned to leave.
"Wait, what?" He stood from the chair and grabbed my arm. "What do you mean, I have to boss myself?"
"It's easy. The only way the assignments get done is if somebody is bossing you, and you don't like anybody else to boss you, so, you have to boss yourself." I said, as matter of factly as I could.
"I don't get it."

And honestly I had just gotten it myself. After fifteen years of being my own "boss" it suddenly occurred to me that I was really very bad at bossing myself. This had led to me being bossed by my wife, my creditors and my clients on numerous occasions, all of which was highly unpleasant. I had gotten out of working for others in part, because I did not like having someone else tell me what to do, yet I had failed to take on that responsibility for myself on numerous occasions.

It comes down to this. We are all governed by habits. Good habits lead inexorably to success, bad habits leave the door wide open to failure. By not truly being my own boss, I had been working under the assumption that things would just get done, instead of really managing myself and purposely setting out to do them.

As a writer this is very hard. We want to rely on the "muse" to move us. We want the writing to flow organically onto the paper in the perfect words, and some days this happens. Most of the time it doesn't it, but still no one wants to pay me for weeks of inactivity, they all expect results. They want their content, whatever that might be, and they are more than willing to "boss" me around if they don't get it.

So, what about you? Are you like most freelancers, do you hate being told what to do in a negative sense? Have you ever considered hiring yourself as your own boss? If you did, what would you the manager tell you the writer? How would you encourage, or reprimand yourself? What bad habits would you insist you give up? What would you admire?

How to Get Your Audience to Chase You!

The Number Five Principal, Getting and Holding and Audience

I know, from nearly two decades and over a hundred productions as a theater director, that it is not that hard to get the attention of an audience. It is only marginally harder to maintain it, but once it is lost, it can be nearly impossible to get it back again. That is true in almost any pursuit in life. Here's a little illustration from life to outline the process.

As a father of eight kids I spend a good deal of time in a folding nylon chair on the sidelines of local Soccer clubs. Last Saturday, while watching my son's team battle to a difficult defeat, I had a epiphany. Well, since there were no Angels, or music, perhaps it was just a realization. Anyway. I watched time and again as our team attempted to regain the ball, only to be outmatched by teamwork, then I noticed something.

One particular young man in the number 5 red jersey (My son's team was wearing blue) was consistently stealing the ball from even our quickest players. I watched a few times, and here is what I saw. This young man would match, then gradually exceed the speed of the player with the ball. When he was ready to make his move, he would neatly slide in between player and ball and continue on in the same direction the ball had been going! After a few steps, he was then able to turn it, or pass it off to get the change of direction he needed.

I watched our boys, including my own son, who is no slouch of a soccer player. With one or two exceptions, they would invariably step in between player and ball and attempt to make an immediate course alteration. Typically what happened was this; a red jersey would intercept the ball as it was being turned, and continue on in the same direction.

It is often said that the way to become a leader is to find out where people are going and get in front of them. While this may seem antithetical to maintaining your integrity, consider the illustration. Once the player was in control, it seemed simple to steer the ball wherever he wanted it to go. Newton's first law of motion tell us that, "A body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force." It think number 5 might have instinctively understood and put this to use.

So, what happens when we attempt to make a big course correction in the thinking or habits of a group of people? Are we effective, does it really get us where we want to be? Or do we end up standing still, wondering where the ball we have so masterfully stolen moments before has gone, as the crowd sweeps by us? Do people pay any attention to the player at the back of the pack, who does not have the ball, yelling, "Wrong way! Over here, over here!"?

So what do you do to get people's attention? Is it working, or are you falling prey to Einstein's definition of insanity? (Continuing to do the same things while expecting different results)

So, Little Caesar Lady Liberty and a Gorilla were standing on the corner...

A gorilla, Little Caesar and Lady Liberty are standing on a street corner. And, that's it, there is no punch line, and it isn't even a joke. I actually saw three people in these costumes in front of a local strip mall advertising their products. I thought to myself, "Really? This is the best these three companies can come up with?" But, as soon as I thought it, I recognized that these three goofy costumes were putting these three ahead of the other businesses surrounding them, when it came to attracting walk-in business, because people know that they are there.

Many times in life it is not the guy with the most talent, skill, or knowledge that ends up on top. We have all heard business owners lament their lack of sales. Saying something like, "If people knew how good my work was, how much deeper I understood the product or service, how much education I have...", the list goes on, that they would have more business than they could shake a stick at. They say it and walk away shaking their heads and do the same thing they have always done, expecting different results. (Einstein's definition of insanity)

As writer's we are no different. I read online writing forums and hear people slam the companies they write for, bemoaning low rates and bad titles, but I bet not one of them keeps business cards and hands them out. I know this, because I go to networking meetings all the time, and the response I get is, "You're the first writer that we have ever had in this group." Yet, every business, bar none, either uses writers, or could benefit from using one.

So, if you are one of the writer's that gripes about the low wages he is earning, or the bad titles available from the "content factory" she works for. Hear some advice I read the other day on a writer's blog (I wish I could remember who, if it is you, send me a message and I will give you credit) "The writer's who think that people writing books talking about $100+ an hour being their rates are liars, still think that Google searches and Craigslist ads are going to net them big contracts. This kind of work comes from a friend of a friend who knows you're a writer." So, what about you, what ridiculous promotions have you seen, or been part of? Tell us what worked, and what didn't!

How to Make People Care What You Think

Dale Carnegie, in his famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People talks about the magic of developing genuine interest in others. As writers, sometimes we have a selfish streak a mile wide. After all, that is why we write, to share our "unique" view of the world with others. Have you ever written anything, posted it and just known that everyone would flock to read it, only to discover that hours, or even days later, your blog traffic was still hovering at 3 hits and those are your own?

Yesterday we talked a little about a universal sales formula. The first step in that process is a thing called "prospecting". This is the discovery process that a salesperson must go through to determine who wants, and or needs their product, and which part of that audience they have easy access to. As a part of that process a good salesman will spend time finding out about the potential customer, or developing a genuine interest in what makes them tick. As artists it is easy for us to attempt to forgo that part of the process, break out the soap box and start in to add our two cents to the conversation. The internet has made that even easier.

When we assume that people will be in shock and awe when they discover the TRUTH that we have single-handedly revealed we do ourselves a great disservice. We must always keep in mind that, just like us, others are most interested in what effects and benefits them, and not what we think they should be interested in. So, how can we go about this discovery process? What if we just slowed down long enough to think about our audience, before hitting the "publish post" button? I am intending to ask myself how it will sound to someone who has not had the benefit of my experience. How can I make it relevant to them?

So, your turn, what other questions should we be asking about our intended audience? And, how should this effect what and how we share as writers?

How to Sell Anything, Anytime, to Anyone!

How You Can Sell Anything With Your Writing

Most people assume that the primary tool required to be a successful writer is talent. That could not be further from the truth. While there are many talented writers who are successful, if you ever watch television or films, you, like most of us, are constantly surprised at some of the scripts that get sold and produced.

In his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad (a must read by the way) Robert Kiyosaki tells of an interview with a young reporter whose work he had read and admired. She asked for his advice, since he has written multiple New York Times best sellers, on her own attempts at publishing her novels. He suggested she take a course in sales. The young woman was enraged, it seemed she was insulted that he thought her Masters in English Lit was not enough, why would she want to learn sales, she was a "writer". He gently pointed out that the cover of his book touted him as a best "selling" author, not best "writing", she like others who ask a guru for advice, left disappointed with the Truth.

So, here, loosely adapted from my good friend and networking master Boe Parrish from Corporate Care is the road map to writing to sell.

1. Know your audience. Who are they and what do they want to hear?
2. Find out what they want that you have to offer and find a way to ask this question: If I could solve your problem in a way that benefits you, would you buy.....
3. Tell them how you can accomplish just that!
4. Present your solution in terms and pictures that will appeal to them, based on step 1.
5. Ask them to buy from you, join your organization, donate to your cause, whatever the case may be.

So, what about you? Which steps do you typically leave out? Are you the typical "artist" or "writer" that only wants to hear themselves talk and forgets to say things that his audience will care about? Or do you forget to ask them to take action? What else do you find works well for you?

Three Big Mistakes I Have Made With My Blogs

I recently went to a writer's lunch at Lifechurch in Edmond Oklahoma to hear Tony Steward of Joetoprocycling.com talk about his experiences with creating online content, both in his own private ventures and also as a member of a content creation team for Life Church's online communities. Here are three things I learned from his talk that I was doing wrong.

Number Three: I don't have a plan. I have a lot to say, but it all just sort of comes out in no particular order. I have heard him speak on the subject briefly once before and he shared his tools for planning blogs, which I need to get from him again, because as I already pointed out, I DON'T HAVE A PLAN. (people with plans amaze me, and I am sure would have recorded his initial advice and already be using the tools to organize their posts into meaningful thoughts)

Number Two: I am not encouraging conversation. While I desperately want to hear what people think of what I write I don't write in such a way to encourage them to engage in commenting. I have a tendency to "share what I know". Tony expressed, that while he is learning a lot about cycling, and quickly gaining expertise, he leads with his ignorance. In other words, he starts with a question, or something he wants to learn and asks for opinions and advice, leaving room for others to add to the conversation.

And the Number One mistake I have made: I try to say everything in a format that is meant to be bite sized. Rather than condense one or two good points on a topic into a few good paragraphs, I write a novel. There is a place for Tolstoyan literature, it's called a library. People on line are busy. They are picking up your blog in the three minutes between the end of their morning projects and the drive to lunch. While they want to hear what you have to say, they don't want to hear ALL of it right now. Give them a few actionable ideas or thought provoking questions and leave it at that.

So, what about you, what have learned to or not to do with your writing? What works for you, or what would you like to do better?