Content Creation Secrets

The blog post got me interested.

It was discussing how you could have ideas for blog posts all the time.

Among the methods suggested was to have an ideas file. You’re encouraged drop ideas from your notebook, pages torn off magazines, newspaper clippings and even brochures into this file. Anything that you think can spark off ideas for blog posts.

You’re then also encouraged to also have a folder in your computer. This is where you keep ideas jotted in your notepad and it’s recommended that you transfer ideas from your offline file to it.

The post elicited several comments, mostly thanking and praising the blogger for the suggestion. Some even said they’ll follow the suggestions at once. One said he had been looking for such a solution for a long, long time.

However, there was one comment that was a little unusual. The writer said he was already following the suggestion of throwing into his folder anything he can use as inspiration for his blog posts.

His folder is now full and his desk is now full to overflowing with newspaper clippings, pages from his notebooks, materials printed from the web and so on.
With so many ideas around him, he had a problem – writer’s block. He often finds it difficult to get started writing a blog post.

At once I sensed that this chap is suffering from the Idea Overload Syndrome. He has too many ideas fighting for his attention that he isn’t quite sure which to choose and write on.

The decision-making process is simply too painful that he abandons any attempt to get started. But the thing is he keeps on collecting blog ideas and throws them into his folder or on his overcrowded desk.

I have a confession to make.

I used to maintain an ideas folder in my early days as a writer. I soon learnt that they were practically of no use to me. I never relied on them when I’m looking for ideas to write on.

Many ideas are lying in the folder for fifteen years and more and I hardly look at them. I stumble upon them when cleaning my studio, but they don’t spur me to expand on them and write.

Now I consider it a waste of time collecting ideas. They’re time consuming and they don’t bring me returns. Also, I don’t want all these ideas to crowd my mind and give rise to the Idea Overload Syndrome.

For the Content Creation Secrets, I’ve never worked on more than two or three ideas at a time. Out of a possible three I choose only one and discard the rest. There have been times when I’ve yet to settle on an idea for the next day’s post. That’s alright. I can always come up with a single idea hours before making a post.

At the time of writing this post, I have two more post ideas, but I’m not sure whether I’ll be working on them. I’m not going to worry about them until I start writing tomorrow’s blog post. I may discard both and come up with something fresh, hours before posting.

The one thing I told promised myself when I started this blog is I want to enjoy writing the blog posts here. So, keeping an ideas file has the potential of defeating my purpose and even put me in the position of the bloke who’s struggling with writer’s block despite being swamped with ideas.

I need no more than two ideas at a time, just in case I can’t come up with something fresh and good before making a blog post.

So, if you’ve been suffering from the Idea Overload Syndrome, chuck your ideas folder aside and have no more than two or three ideas to work on at any one time.

Too much preparation can put additional strain on your mind and prevent your from achieving the results you desire.

Today.com has done a good job in redesigning its Home page.

When I started this blog, I was wondering whether I had done the right thing by placing Content Creation Secrets under the Hobbies section.

Those were the days when you see your blog post (if selected) lumped together with those related to gardening, knitting or even dog grooming.

Now it’s heartening to a see a separate category devoted to writing and displayed prominently on today.com’s Home page.

It gives blog posts related to writing a better chance of getting noticed. Readers interested in writing don’t have to hunt for blogs related to the subject.

If you’re running a blog related to writing, you should thank today.com for revamping its Home page.

Chances are, within an hour of making your blog post, it will be listed in the Writing category. My blog posts have been listed for an entire day, instead of being pushed out by other incoming blog posts within a few hours.

You may be promoting your blog outside of today.com to draw readers, but I think the promotion today.com offers is second to none. If anything, traffic to your blog is only going to get better by the day with the help of the revamped Home page.

But then being listed alone doesn’t mean you’re assured of traffic to your blog.

What will determine whether readers who browse through the listings end up visiting your blog?

You guessed it right. It’s your title.

You may have written a fantastic post, highly beneficial to your readers. But if your title is Blogging, Writing or My Holiday or something like that, you don’t have much of a chance to draw new readers to your blog.

These titles sound like they belong to school essays where titles need just explain the subject of the content.

What made you read this post? You probably wanted to know which porn clip changed my life and how it did so.

By now you would have realized this post has nothing to do with the porn clip that changed my life.

That’s why the second part of the title emphasizes it’s for content creators only. I wanted to attract content creators (not porn addicts) to this post to drive home a point about blog post titles.

Work hard on your titles to benefit from today.com’s new Home page.

Better still, write a catchy title first before writing your blog post.

Have you seriously asked yourself this question and honestly answered it?

When I started this blog, I made myself the promise of making daily posts no matter what.

But keeping the promise has been anything but easy. From experience you and I know we can make a promise at the spur of the moment and then later have doubts about keeping it.

While thinking about whether I could keep the promise, I decided that I could better understand my challenge and measure up to it if I ask myself what I really wanted from my blog.

This is a simple question that I did not consider when I started this blog.

I now decided to answer the question honestly.

I wanted this blog to help me cultivate writing discipline. I’m proud to say that I came to the blog with some built-in discipline. I write at least a thousand words each day. Now that I’m writing for some content sites, I have no choice but to write more than my minimum quota.

Still, I feel that the writing discipline I have cultivated is not good enough. It’s not good enough for me to write on various topics each day for the content sites.

I wanted to cultivate the daily discipline of writing on a single subject or theme – in my case writing about content creation.

When I found doubts creeping in about the ability to write on a single theme daily, I asked myself, “Do I want really to cultivate such a writing discipline through my blog?”

That usually settles the matter and gives me the tonic to continue, to eliminate the pain of thinking up topics to write about.

Since I’m beginning to get what I want from my blog, I don’t foresee any problems with making daily posts here.

Now, that’s all fine and fantastic if everything is going well. But what if you want a specific thing from your blog and you’re not getting it?

What will you do if giving up is not an option?
Say for instance you want your blog to make money for you.

You have blogged for months and you’ve not made any money or very little of it.

What would you do? You could work out a plan on how you can make more money with your blog.

You could list down all the action steps – sign up for revenue-sharing programs, buy ebooks on traffic generation tactics, make forum posts, sign up with social bookmaking sites, comment in blogs with high Pagerank and so on.

Well, this is a fine action plan and I’ve done this sort of thing in the past.

But nowadays I know that this kind of action plan does not really work. When I look at the list, I usually get overwhelmed and put off doing anything on it.

The secret I discovered is not to concentrate on a list of things. You have to focus on just one thing. That thing does not necessarily have to help you directly get what you want – in this instance make money.

It must help you get nearer to what you want. Yes, it must help you move in the right direction.

For instance, if you want to make money with your blog, you can take just one step for the time being – sign up for a blog at today.com.

In my case I want to make daily blog posts at contentcreationsecrets.today.com. Instead of setting out to write many posts in advance (I know I can never do this because of other writing commitments), I just write down the titles of the blog posts I could write.

I can write the titles anywhere – at my desk, at a coffee shop or even at the park. I can easily write a few within minutes.

Then all I have to do is to reflect on these titles without straining myself. This is important because I need energy for other writing assignments.

Usually writing the titles down is effective for me. When it’s time to write (I allocate time in the morning for blog posts), the words flow because the subconscious has been given enough time to work the content out.

So, the key to keeping your blog going is to honestly answer what you want from your blog. When that question is answered, do just ONE thing that will put you on the right track.

I’ve read about writers who can go on writing for up to 13 hours, day in and day out.

These writers never seem to tire out. On the contrary they speak as if they feel more energized after each bout of writing.

Most of us can only dream of being in that position. At best, our writing energy lasts us for only a few hours, after which we are spent and can’t go on.

Instead of worrying how you can find more energy to write, you should be more concerned about not wasting whatever writing energy that’s available to you.

Here are tips on how you can avoid wasting your writing energy.

Focus on One Project at a Time
If you have many writing projects to finish, stop worrying about them. Only focus on the project you’re working on. Worrying about projects you’re not working on currently will not get them done. It will only drain your mental energy.

Work with a plan to handle your writing projects. Decide when you’re going to do what. With a plan in place, you’ll have very little worrying to do and end up saving precious energy.

Take Breaks Even When Pressed For Time
Your writing energy gets drained when you push yourself too far. Yes, you may have a tight deadline but taking breaks will keep you from tiring out faster especially when you work for a long stretch of time in your excitement to finish your writing project.

You don’t have to take long breaks. Even ten or fifteen minutes away from the desk can work wonders for your energy.

I usually go for a brisk walk for fifteen or twenty minutes before returning to my desk. This never fails to energize me.

Cut out Distractions
Frequent telephone calls. Someone knocking on your door asking you to do something. Your children playing around you.

These may seem trivial and even welcome. But they can all accumulate to demand your attention and concentration, thus sapping your energy.

Work in a distraction-free environment. Get away from your regular writing place if you can’t avoid distractions.
Work in a café or library and return when there are no distractions to demand your energy.

If you have written something worth reading or done something worth writing, you are ready to take your writing to the next level with the second part of Benjamin Franklin’s content creation secrets.

He put to use these strategies after he was ticked off by his father for not `writing eloquently’.

Be a Content Surgeon
Ben began reading like a writer. Instead of just reading only to consume the content, he went a step further. He started `cutting open’ the content to see how it’s all arranged, connected and built to form a whole.

He began to understand content construction and the knowledge of it came handy during his own content creation process.

The next time you find content that impresses you, read to consume the content first. Then play surgeon. Cut open the content and see how its parts are fitted together.

Make notes on your discovery. Through my experience, I’ve found that this is a far more effective method than reading how-to books on content creation.

Of course it entails much work and slows you down if you’re a voracious reader. But then this is the price you have to pay if you want to be successful at content creation.

If you really want to be better writer, you would be ready to pay the price.

If you’re a little uneasy about implementing this method, just limit it to content that makes you say, “I wish I could write like that.”

Be a Walking Photocopy Machine
The other technique Benjamin Franklin used was copying wholesale content that he admired. He did this not plagiarize the works of others but to get the feel of writing down the exact passages himself. This allowed him to absorb fully the rhythms and nuances of the passages, the appreciation of which he hoped would flow into his own writing.

Some years back I read a writer interview in a magazine. When he was asked how he got into writing, his reply was he did not intend to be a writer in the beginning.
He was only typing up articles and stories for another writer. As he kept doing it, he developed a love for words and sentence construction and this led him to try his hand at writing.

Benjamin Franklin even took a step further. After copying his favourite content, he would put it away and then write it up in his own words.

Again this is not going to be easy, but if you’re desperate to become a skillful writer, you would surely want to give this technique a try.

So, be a content surgeon or a walking photocopy machine when you’re not creating content. The work you put into these areas would surely contribute to the quality of your writing.

There’s one Benjamin Franklin quote that can help an aspiring writer as it had helped me set up a content website and add to my earning from freelance writing.

If you follow the advice in the quote, you may end up with enough material for a blog, ebook or website of your own.

The quote is: “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

This is a simple but profound quote that should set any writer going.

The quote will benefit those fond of complaining that they don’t have anything useful to write about.

Such writers should exercise the second option by going out and doing things worth writing about.

One of the things you could do is travel. Many writers focus on travel for their writing material. Think of VS Naipaul and Paul Theroux among others. Their travel experiences, more often than not, result in books.

If you can’t afford the luxury of travel, you can do something small but meaningful, something that others would be eager to know about.

A method you could use is getting hold of a device/gadget that you’re curious about and start exploring it.
In the process of doing so, you will learn some tips and tricks and also meet with problems that will spur you to explore other related areas.

Some twelve years ago I got curious about camcorders and acquired a unit. Now that I was capturing video footage, I began getting interested in how I could remove parts that I don’t want. I also wanted to know how I could add music in lieu of annoying background noises.

Exploring further, I found that I could do it using a video capture device that I could hook to my computer.I went out and acquired one.

Before long, I discovered that the video editing software that came along with it didn’t really meet my needs.
The natural thing to do is explore alternatives. This was an exciting journey which led me to learn things which I would not have learnt if I had not gone out and acquired the camcorder.

The thing is when you set out to explore something you’re curious about, you’ll end up learning many other useful things. This is also a form of travel. You visit a place with preconceived notions about it, but once you’re there, you learn things you never expected to learn.

My digital video exploration led me to acquire enough know-how to set up my own website and later getting paid to write about it for content sites.

Do something worth writing about.

This is Benjamin Franklin’s content creation secret that I use to ensure that I don’t run out of writing material.
If you have not yet done something worth writing about, then go out and start doing something you’re curious about.

Rest assured that you’ll have a long and pleasant content creation journey.

Until I started blogging, I used to write down notes, reminders and quotes that pop into my mind.

This usually happens when I was in the middle of writing something else – when I was hit by a dilemma, doubt or when the spirits were running low.

These reminders somehow revved up my spirits and gave me the tonic to continue writing.

I usually don’t go back and read these reminders, but I occasionally, I stumble upon them in various notebooks when I’m cleaning my study.

I’m always surprised at the directness and profundity of these notes.

They contain a kind of energy which you don’t see in preplanned writing.

I use to wonder how I could have written such profound notes when I was in the throes of doubt and struggling with my writing.

As I thought deeply about it, an answer began to emerge. It was not the struggling writer who has written it, but a greater self.

That greater self is a teacher, who knows it all, who knows what’s good for his student.

When the student stumbles, he steps in and shows the student the way with advice, pointers and suggestions.

Yes, you are a student and teacher rolled into one.
The student is the one who’s learning and doing his homework (writing).

The trouble with the student is he thinks he’s smart. For a time, he thinks he knows everything and wants to go it on his own.

He does not need the teacher because the teacher is always comeing up with something that makes his life miserable. That’s what most good teachers do for the student’s own good.

So, he openly tells his teacher that he doesn’t need any advice. He turns a deaf ear to what his teacher has to say.
The ignored teacher, however, is patient. He waits. He knows one day the student would need and appreciate his help.

Looking through the notes I recognized the presence of the teacher and his wisdom. I decided to use his services whenever I run into a writing problem.

I went to him with the firm belief that he will help me eliminate any writing problem I face. I know he has the answers.

So, for instance, when I’m stuck writing, I don’t ask the student what I’m supposed to do.

If I ask him, he’ll surely say, “Quit and do something else.”

I ask the teacher and he says, “Just write down a sentence. Don’t worry, just write down a sentence.”

So, I write down a sentence.

Confidence comes to me because I know the teacher is beside me to offer guidance.

When I hesitate after writing the first sentence, he’ll say, “Go on, write down the second sentence. You’ll be fine.”
The student makes a face and says, “But I don’t know what sentence to write.”

The teacher firmly replies, “You don’t have to know what sentence to write. Just write down any sentence. Go on.”

Since the student is lost, he just goes on and writes the next sentence and the next and the next. Before long, he makes a connection and the writing starts flowing.

I then realized that the student is always complaining, always offering excuses when he meets with the slightest obstacle or difficulty. He’s always trying to avoid inconvenience, even the minor ones.

There was a time I gave in to the student and found that he’s taking me nowhere in my writing.

This is when I started listening to the teacher and started writing down what he says.

These days I just listen to the teacher’s voice in my head, He’s speaking most of the time and hardly allows the student to complain.

In those days, when I realized the importance of the teacher’s advice, I had him write letters to the student. They were long letters which I forced the student to read and put into practice the suggestions offered.

The more letters the student read, the less were his complaints.

But then the student can’t totally give up his habit of complaining about the same old things. But when the teacher steps in and tells him what to do, he stops complaining and starts writing. He always ends up praising himself for taking the teacher’s advice.

The student in you will always be complaining – I’m not in the mood to write, my writing is not good enough, I’m too tired to write…etc.

If you listen to him, you’ll get nowhere. Call in the teacher and hear what he has to say. He knows what’s best for the student, just like a doctor knows what’s best for a patient.

I’m sure you would have heard the teacher’s voice, but may not have paid it much regard. You may be listening more to what the student has to say.

Ask yourself, “What have I benefitted from listening to the student?”

Ask yourself, “What will I benefit from listening to the teacher?”

Listening to the teacher is your secret weapon to successful content creation.

Call in the teacher now and ask the student to shut up.

So you have been blogging for quite a while – making regular posts and receiving the odd comment?

If so, you’re on the right track. All you have to do is just carry on with it and you’ll be fine.

Not happy with this advice? I’m not surprised if you are. Many who are doing quite well with their blogs are not sure whether they should be satisfied with what they’re doing.

Of course occasionally they get the `high’ feeling that they are doing right but then most of the time they feel they could do with a little endorsement – a third party to say they are doing it right.

Endorsement usually comes in the form of comments. As bloggers, we can never get enough of them. Even a one-liner `a great post’ comment cheers us up for the rest of the day, until we write the next post and don’t receive a single comment for it.

I’ve touched on the matter of comments in an earlier post – if you don’t receive comments, it doesn’t mean your blog isn’t good enough.

It’s just that most people are too lazy to comment or are in great hurry to hop to another web page that they can’t spare a few seconds to post a few words.

The great majority would like to comment but simply can’t express their thoughts in writing. So they just read and move on.

Just ask yourself how many times you have read a great post and weren’t moved to comment. Why, yesterday I read a couple of great posts. I was moved to even print out one of them for future reference, but was not moved to comment.

You have just got to believe that you’re winning silent approval every time you publish a post. But then most of us will still not be satisfied until the approval comes expressly.

We have to be told loudly in our ears we are doing a fantastic job. That’s the tonic for us to continue blogging.

Let me tell you that this is a dangerous wish. If external approval is your only tonic to continue blogging, then you’ll be disappointed most of the time. You simply can’t have approval on demand.

To be on the safe side, don’t expect approval from anybody, except the inner voice that tells you that you’re doing fine and you’ll get better if you keep on with it.

It’s this inner voice that Mozart relied on to become what he was.

A group of music students went to see him to ask for advice on how to become a great music composer. Mozart told them they should start small with jingles, lullabies and so on.

One student, dissatisfied with the advice, said, “But you were composing symphonies when you were only twelve years old.”

Mozart replied, “That’s because I didn’t ask anybody for advice.”

Mozart’s message is clear. You don’t need peer review, media coverage or even comments to keep your blog going.

The Blogosphere would be very much better for it if you steer clear of this subject.

Yes, I’m talking about starting a blog on how to make money blogging.

It seems to be one of the easiest blog subjects to get started with.

I said easy to start with, but not necessarily easy to keep the blog going.

Anyway, let’s look at a few titles of blogs centering around the subject: Make Money Blogging, How to Blog for Money, Money-Making Ideas for Bloggers……

Isn’t this interesting - a bloke who has not made a single cent blogging and probably is blogging for the first time starting a blog on how to make money blogging?

Research could have pointed him to this subject. Make Money Blogging. Making money doing anything is always a red-hot subject for web content. There is always a hungry crowd waiting to devour such information, never mind if you can’t really make the dough.

Yes, making money blogging is a red-hot idea. All you have to do is tell your readers you can make money blogging. You’re assured of their undivided attention. They never seem to question whether money can really be made or whether you have really made the money.

I’ve never seen comments on these areas. Maybe there have been comments, but deleted by the blogger. Comments are usually about how good the tips are. No comment has asked, “Hey, show me how you’ve made your money using these tips.”

Not surprising. Those who are focused on making money always want to hear the nicest things. That makes the work of Internet marketers a no-brainer.

Just say some nice things to them like you can earn $100,000 a week blogging on autopilot while relaxing in a Caribbean holiday resort and there will dozens of suckers who will be clamoring to buy the product that can help make the vision a reality.

Anyway, since the blogger writing on making money blogging isn’t challenged, he goes on with his blog, usually rehashing stuff from the ebooks he has bought.
But how long can he go on? Soon, it becomes almost mandatory for him to make money with his blog; otherwise he has no business keeping such a blog going.

After a while, smart readers, reading in between the lines of his blog posts, sniff him out as a fake. They deem it a waste of time visiting his blog.

The blogger himself realizes he has entered the wrong door.

If you’re an Internet marketing guru, you can write an ebook about blogging for money and get away with it although you have never blogged in your life. You’re more of a hit-and-run maestro. You tell your readers what they would like to hear, grab the money and run off to the Caribbean holiday resort.

But as blogger, you’re exposing yourself to your readers. You’re allowing yourself to be judged by each and every post you write. Readers expect you to go on and on with your blog, immaterial of the hardships you’re facing. You are an innkeeper; the Internet marketing guru is a guest. He leaves when his purpose his served. You have to keep the inn going.

But since the blogger himself has set out to make money with his blog on how to make money blogging, he will find the going tough when he has not made any money or very little of it.

Since his primary aim is not dissemination of information, he has no motivation to continue. He gasps for breath and gives up.

When he gives up, he sends out a loud and clear message: “Although you would like to, it’s not that easy to make money blogging. Just look at what has happened to me.”

This not to say you can’t start a blog on how to make money blogging. You can if you’ve been doing it successfully over the past few years and are still at it. You’ll have so much to write about, that you’ll be able to sustain your blog for a long, long time.

But if you’re not making much money blogging what are you going to say? Are you going to write on how you made $1 on Adsense for a whole week?

So, please don’t start a blog on how to make money blogging unless you want to expose yourself as a fake soon enough.

When you’re deciding on a layout for your blog, what do you have foremost in your mind?

Do you want readers to focus on your content or do you want them to focus on your ads?

Most of us want to monetize our blogs, to compensate for all the hard work we have to put in. We feel we are justified in doing so.

Of course we are. But then what we feel about our blogs is not as important as what our readers feel about them.

Readers are not interested in our predicament. They’re only focused on what benefits they can derive.

Let me say that again. They visit blogs to avail themselves of good content. If they don’t get what they are looking for, they leave. As simple as that.

So, if your blog layout is not in such a way to highlight your most prized asset – your content – rest assured that you’ll be leaving a bad impression on your readers.

How much space do you give for your content in your blog? That determines the your attitude towards the reader.

What do readers see first when they show up at your home page? Are their eyes drawn to your content or to your ads and other monetization strategies?

Take a honest look at your blog and ask whether you’re having your reader’s interest in mind with the layout you have chosen.

If you find that very little prominence is given to your content, choose a different theme which gives prominence to content.

If you must have ads in your blog, downplay them. Spread them out so that your content still remain the primary focus.

Just because you’ve signed up with all those affiliate programs, you should not bombard your readers with ads left, right, bottom and top.

If you’re just starting out, take it easy on your monetization strategies.

Being a new blogger, you’re not going to make much cash (unless you want to believe the Internet marketing gurus) even if you’re going bombard your blogs with advertisements.

Wouldn’t it be better to generate less cash and a good impression than generate less cash and leave a bitter taste in your reader’s mouth?

You decide whether you want to win the reader’s trust or make money first.