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How To Curate Content For Fun and Profit

June 29, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Content curation is the collecting and sharing of relevant content from around the web. That’s right, you don’t have to create everything yourself! How cool is that? It’s already there, it’s perfect for your audience, and you get to show how smart you are by sharing it.

The first rule of content curation is to actually read and have an opinion on the content your sharing with your audience. While there’s more content than ever to choose from, that makes your job as a curator both easier and more difficult. Easier, because you have a never-ending stream of good pickings, and difficult because there’s so much adequate content that in order to share it, you must maintain some sense of focus. With a focused lens on well-chosen sources and keywords, your readers will learn to expect only the best of the best as it relates to your subject. If it struck a cord in you, then you simply need to express what that cord is as you share it.

Let’s say you decided an infographic or podcast was perfectly suitable for your audience. It’s exactly the kind of thing your readers would like to know. You even want to contribute your ideas to the discussion, and get your readers’ opinions on it. It’s the kind of information that, if you were having lunch with one of your blog readers, you’d probably mention this topic.

If you can imagine sharing this information in a real conversation at a social event with your friends, followers and colleagues, then chances are the post is a great piece of qualified, curate-able content.

Keep your content radar on all the time.

Bloggers should always be thinking about the right mix of owned, earned and paid media, but as you’re doing research for your own content, don’t forget to also keep your eyes out for excellent curated content. Everyone has their own criteria about what that looks like for them.

Searching for content others create is something you probably already do, either for your own education in your development as a professional, or for pure pleasure and entertainment. Peppering your content with these curated bits is an easy and fun way to spice up your own stuff and keep you and your readers interested.

If you’re like most bloggers, you read a lot of blogs yourself. I use Feedly to keep an eye on my favorite blogs and websites. I regularly peruse my Feedly for the best of the best and decide which posts are most notable and share-worthy. A lot of posts are skimmable, somewhat interesting, but not necessarily relevant to your readers. Others are absolutely riveting from a personal point of view and you’d like to express that diversification into your own content (i.e it’s funny, cute, interesting, inspirational, etc.). Still other articles cover excellent points about a subject related to your own content, show your readers how to do something better, or help them with a problem they may be facing.

The best, most sharable posts do their jobs so well, that there’s no point in repeating the topic.

Don’t bother writing a post on the same topic when someone else’s post pretty much nails it. In many cases, the only thing you might want to add is a short editorial on why you recommend it, or some detail that came to mind as you read the post you want to share. You do that in two ways.

First, leave a comment below the post. Make sure it’s thoughtful and adds to the discussion. Keep comments on other people’s blogs short, relevant and concise.

Then, share the content on your social sites with a link back to the article and the name of the author. For example…

I tend to like to quote an intriguing phrase from the article itself, or paraphrase what the article is about. I might even insert a thought or opinion of my own as I share the updates.

You can share curated content on social sites very easily using an app like Buffer (my favorite) or you could even pull together a short weekly newsletter — “The Best From Around The Web” kind of thing – and send it through your email service. Mari Smith’s weekly newsletter is great for this. Even though she’s a trusted expert on Facebook marketing, she’s always sharing other, lesser-known bloggers’ stuff. The content is always related to blogging, search, or online marketing; and it always pairs nicely with the expertise she provides.

When you curate content you discover on the web and then share it on social media or via email, you accomplish several things, and provide your blog with added benefits than if you only created and shared your own content:

You’re audience will gain a broader perspective on the topics they’re interested in; the same topics you blog about, perhaps, but from another’s viewpoint. Make sure you also provide some commentary on why you think it’s noteworthy. For example, maybe you hold an additional viewpoint related to your industry or professional experience, and you are using this piece the build on the topic. If you share a story along with an explanation about why you’re sharing it, you double down on its value.

“Hat-tipping” is the nice, social thing to do. Your share lends support the voice of your colleagues and fellow bloggers in your field. You also get to add your voice to the discussion related to the interests of your audience, illustrating useful tips or trends without stealing another blogger’s thunder. [Just a quick acknowledgement that occasionally you may see a post eerily similar to one you wrote in the past. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve been copied, even though it may feel as though that’s the case. Great minds often think alike. At least that’s what I tell myself.]

By sharing others’ content within your industry, you draw attention from other people and bloggers in your field. Sharing is a great way to build your network, and get to know others. Content curation is noticeable, and may even get you a few links back to your blog.

Finally, there’s one major fringe benefit of searching for and sharing others’ content. You learn and grow as you read, watch and listen to what other experts are talking about. If you find yourself with more than a few lines to say about a post, then you probably have the makings of a completely new blog post of your own.

You’ll know for sure if you find yourself beginning to fill a comment box with hundreds of words. At that point, stop commenting! Shorten your comment and thank the blogger. Save your comments for your own blog post. Sometimes, if I recognize that an article is triggering a lot of new ideas, I just cut and paste my comments into a file of blog ideas with the link of the post that inspired it. That way I always have plenty of blog topics to write about.

Give good credit to the source.

If you make a habit of sharing great content you find, you’ll become a go-to curator for people interested in your topics.

However you choose to share content, make sure you give the original author credit by linking to the article that inspired you. It’s a great practice to also contact the blogger and tell them you shared their post.

You may not think of yourself as a curator, but your unique perspective is what makes you perk up when you discover something cool on the web. If you don’t already enjoy searching out great content to share, try doing it for a while and see how it opens doors and makes your blogging like easier, more social, and more fun. Soon content curation will become one of your favorite jobs as a blogger, and you’ll start to love your role as content curator!

Your turn… what’s your angle on content curation?

How To Make A Blog Worth Sharing

June 3, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

You, dear one, have something worth sharing.

You might even be one of those lucky people who have lots of things worth sharing!

Lately I’ve been paying attention to all the people who share of themselves purely out of passion, generosity, or a call to service. Because they are lit from the inside, they keep doing what they do with consistency and love. Over time their work touches others who are able to feel the intensity of their passion.

Everyone wants to make a difference. It’s a basic human need – to feel needed. You want to know that what you do matters and has value. Even if your work isn’t widely recognized by others, you want to believe it has an unspoken effect.

What I know to be true… even the smallest gesture or action can make a profound difference, even if you can’t immediately see it. Is it disheartening to think that someone — even someone who is important to you — may never see the good you do? You’ll have to make the call on that, but I know this is true: Every good thing lasts.

I’ve been blogging since 2005, and I’m not one of those bloggers who claims to have perfected it yet. Blogging has its hooks in me, though, because when you’re one of those weirdos who thinks writing is fun, keeping a blog is an obvious choice. I’ve learned a few things in the last decade, mainly because I made all the mistakes successful bloggers, writers and freelancers) tell you you’ll make, and then you still go ahead and make them anyway.

I hope you’ll take this as encouragement to keep blogging. Even though you, too, will have to learn all these things the hard way, I’m rooting for you because I know inside you is some jaw-dropping awesomeness worth sharing.

The soul of your blog is found in its layers.

Have you heard of art journaling? I used to play with paint and collage in my journals. These days I am mostly writing, but there was a time when my heart wanted to incorporate color and images in my personal books. [By the way, I learned this technique from Teesha Moore, a brilliant, and very sharing artist from Portland.] I would always start with a wash of color on a page. Then I’d add more colors, lines, cutouts from magazines and books, and then more pen, ink and crayon on top of that. Finally, I’d write in the empty spaces.

These collages were so much fun to make, but they only came together after many layers… and over time. I would often find that colors painted on top of colors affected the hue or shade of the final color. I didn’t worry too much about what the final color would be; I just let the process unfold and sometimes I was even surprised by what my pages looked like in the end. A dark base covered with lighter paint always had a moody undercurrent of depth; and bright pages could always be softened with lighter, softer paints. The layers were what made them jump to life. As more and more images, colors and words were added, they became complete.

The process can take days, even months to complete. Sometimes I’m not even sure they are complete.

Yes, there were times when I added too much. You can’t take a stroke away; you can only paint over it. I was frustrated when I “ruined” a page with too much stuff or too many layers of color; but on rare occasions, the mistake was the very thing that made the final version so cool.

The same thing will happen with your blog as you continue to add to it.

When you stop focusing on the outcome, and just operate out of genuine joy — following where your heart wants to go — that’s when things start happening.

Have you ever spent time with someone who is inspiring and magnetic? I have, and they are my favorite people! Magnetism is what makes people want to subscribe to your YouTube channel or blog, or follow you on Twitter or LinkedIn. The person who is enthusiastic about their work or topic is attractive, both on and offline. We’re drawn to them partly because we want to see what they’ll do next. They reveal their big picture over time, many times unaware themselves of what they are creating.

How do you “be that person” and make stuff that’s “worth sharing?”

Keep adding to your body of work.

If you’re always worrying about what comes next, you’re not alone. Lots of bloggers and online marketers stress about their content calendar and keeping their social media channels filled up with funny, informative and emotional updates. But there’s another way to make it easy on yourself. Start providing content about stuff that comes naturally, and stop worrying if you have a unique niche or corner of the market.

Remember the layers. Only you can create the work that is your life (and blog). No one can do it the same as you, even if they try. The creation itself is what’s important. Don’t stop. Don’t give up on your work. Just keep filling in those pages (or videos, or pictures, etc.) Just keep producing whatever it is makes you happy and full.

Bloom where you’re planted.

Shareable content is natural content that stems from your real life… Yikes! It took me a long time to figure that out. I don’t know why I fought it for so long. Probably because what was dear to my heart was stuff I didn’t think anyone would be interested in, or stuff I didn’t want to share.

So I kept all that to myself and wrote ONLY about copywriting and Internet marketing because I was good at it. Never mix, never worry. Insecurity about being a good mom and wife, fear about wasting time, stress about getting everything done to a tee was wearing me thin, but who wants to write or read about that? (See Point 5.) Put my real life online? Mercy.

Even as I was advising all my clients to incorporate their real life into their blog, I wasn’t doing it myself. I was, however, creating copy and content for other people who didn’t want to do it themselves, either. (Can you see how sick that is?) This work suited me fine for years, but ultimately the separation between my life and my blog made me feel empty.

You know the tale about the two wolves who live inside you and battle it out? One is all good, benevolent, peaceful and giving, The other is fierce and demanding, controlling and nasty. Only one will survive. The wolf you feed is the wolf that wins.

I was really good at selling other people’s stuff, so I fed that wolf kittens every day. I put all my effort into gaining authority as a copywriter — and it worked! It really was my “Real Life.” I had lots of satisfied clients, and I managed to keep busily distracted from a happy and genuine life of my own. Ironic, huh? Deadlines made me feel like I was doing real work, even as my heart told me “No.” While I grew like Kudzu, my blog never got around to that blooming fun part. OK, so this part is the cautionary tale… thank goodness it’s never too late. You gotta have fun with it.

Imperfection is OK.

The big lesson in all this was to stop trying so hard to provide the best, most thorough information in every single post. I always thought if I didn’t have a fully fleshed out 1500 – 2000-word blog post with strategic links, bullet points and a smart perspective on digital marketing, then I shouldn’t bother.

I stopped wanting to write my own blog posts. I actually thought about getting someone to write them for me. I’m not talking about having a guest blogger or two, but a true stand-in for me, a ghostwriter. I felt like a fraud. The writer hires a ghostwriter… Crazy.

I didn’t do it, but I took a break from my blog for a while as I tried to find my voice again. I also forgave myself for missing my own deadlines.

During this time I took my hands off the wheel and spent time studying (my usual escape) and “planning,” another sick practice when taken too far. I was also busy picking up large chunks of my personal and family life lying all over the ground. Thankfully, I became aware of my folly. It was like cleaning up after a hurricane.

All the while, I couldn’t write the things I was “supposed to write about,” because A. I was stymied by fear of imperfection and B. I had no interest in it.

Thankfully, I’m over that. Maybe you can tell.

Yes, I still try to schedule my posts in advance and I keep track of them on a content calendar (I’ve been using a plugin lately called CoSchedule, that makes it super easy to plan and share blog posts), but now I am trying to make sure I’m blogging about things that I really want to write about. Because it matters a lot, I’m coming to find out…

Plus, I missed writing.

It’s easy to get caught in the Content Trap — especially if you’re winging it and you don’t have a plan. As soon as you finish one blog post, you’re thinking about what to do next. You’re focused on keeping your audience’s attention and providing “entertaining and relevant” content. Do they need it, want it, or like it? Is it shareable? And who are these people anyway? Pretty soon you forget to connect with the people you’re supposed to be writing for… and why.

This anxiety can kill the spontaneity and fun of your blog, though. If you don’t rest, ask questions, listen to your readers, and participate in your own life with joy, then you’re trying too hard. Once you learn to enjoy the process (whether that means writing daily, taking pictures of your art, or being a fully present mom, sister, dad, wife, etc. to the people who matter most) everything starts to flow.

Don’t try to do everything.

These days, everyone’s supposed to have a video series, a podcast, infographics, an ebook or two, inspirational memes, an online paid course, and pictures of you and your team doing fun things in all parts of the world.

Can we all just please stop trying to maintain an impossible standard? I beg of you; just do what you can do. If you don’t have a team of creatives to help you with all this, then just do what you can. Make time to do what you can, and pursue it relentlessly; but don’t fall prey to the lie that you have to do everything. Yes, some people may miss out on your wonderful-ness, but your work will have that stickiness and cohesiveness that has a profound effect on the lucky few. Then, magically, it will get shared.

Weird how that works.

I was talking to my dad the other day. He’s retired, but now starting a new business and relocating to another state this year at the age of 75 (!) and I asked him how to know what you’re supposed to DO in life. How do you know you’re running the right race – the one God put you here to finish?

He told me a story about a woman he knew from high school. They were casual friends. She didn’t particularly stand out at class reunions, nor did she have a “big” career, etc. She was always “sweet,” and nice to chat with, though. This woman recently passed away, and after attending her amazing funeral, my dad was sorry he did not know her better. Like many of her former classmates, he had been unaware of the fine and glorious life she had lived, and how many people she had touched. He missed most of it, as did others, but he caught a few pinpoints of her light, as did thousands of other people.

His point was “It all counts, even the small stuff.” And that’s why I’m going on faith as I say this: You may not have a platform of millions yet. You may only have a few fans and followers now. But your job is to touch whom you can with what you have, and to give as generously, sincerely, and lovingly as you are able.

As far as sharable content goes, not every piece of content has to be red meat. You can serve up side dishes, too. It all counts.

Shine your best lights.

Shining your best lights means you’re writing stuff that makes you happy. You don’t have to be overjoyed with every blog post, but you have to show an ongoing enthusiasm for your content. People like reading articles that lift them up. Positivity doesn’t have to be the top layer in every piece, but your blog should motivate you enough to keep you going and attract new readers.

What moves you? What is it that breathes in you and through you, that makes you, YOU?

Maybe you don’t know yet. You may be scrambling to find the perfect content that satisfies 100% of your market all the time. I used to try to create content that hit it out of the park, too, but all I ever did was struggle.

Yes, I always had clients, but oh, there was something wonderful missing. I spun myself so far into the ground, that I buried everything that made me happy. I stopped making art, and listening to music.

I had blinders on – just me, my computer, and the next deadline. I threw everything into jobs that didn’t feed my soul, and many that sucked. I don’t want you to waste too much time doing that.

Please, waste some time learning, of course, but don’t stay there too long. Many enthusiastic people use the endless acquisition of knowledge to forestall the difficult work that matters. Feed the little sparks that inspire you with fuel and attention. Don’t just take stuff in. Give something – anything — back until you discover your purpose, even if you can’t see the end of the road. Those little daily sparks of joy and hints-of-purpose become your life, and I pray that you live one that has meaning.

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” 2 Timothy 1:6

That’s the way you contribute to that city on a hill, with thousands of points of light making you a landmark for all who travel by.

You never know who’s life you could be saving, just by living yours authentically.

Share others’ stuff.

Think about your friends in real life. Do you want to be with someone who is always angling to hit it big, or do you enjoy the company of someone who’s enjoying the journey and sharing freely the good stuff they encounter? I want to spend time with the one who shares little gems on a regular basis, and doesn’t hide the oddball side of her, too. That’s why I keep coming back.

Sure, I want to know when my friends hit it straight and long sometimes, for then I’ll watch in awe and wonder. But when she slices it into the rough, I also want to enjoy the time shushing through the long grass, helping her find her ball again.

There is time enough for all of it. The curious gifts God gives you are shareable as long as you can see and share other’s gifts, too. Take the time to see them and lift them up.

I have a 100-yr-old friend who told me out of the blue the other day, “You know, Jen, I’m into quantum physics now.” That just tickled me pink. She doesn’t blog, but if she did, I’m sure she’d have lots of readers. Her curiosity and willingness to share make her someone you just want to follow.

Use The Force.

It’s so easy to get hung up worrying and strategizing about how to get your post or video to go viral; or to find the right audience who has the ears to hear your message; or how to come up with new and different content that gets people excited.

Sometimes you’re searching so hard to hit that mark that you forget about your inner warrior. Know this:

You have everything you need; it’s already inside.
You are already perfectly endowed with the right gifts.
You must take the shot, especially when that voice tells you you’re not ready (and it will).
No successful person has ever been 100% ready.

I hope you close your eyes once in awhile and trust your gut. Just get in there and play.

The content I like to read, and the stuff I look forward to consuming, is content from people who live rich, imperfect, weird lives, and have a drive to share their best inner and outer stuff with their followers. Over time, I may not agree all the time, but I learn to trust their perspective and rely on their voice like an old friend.

Their joy in the act of creating itself entices new followers because their loyal fans have already identified their content as valuable… and that’s why they share.

Stack of Suitcases Flickr CC: Christian Haugen

Galloping Kudzu Flickr CC: by Natalie Maynor

“I’m sorry I suck at…” Flickr CC: by See-ming Lee

Wonder Woman Card Flickr CC: by M ark Anderson

Higher Calling (Angel on Phone) Flickr CC: by Matthew G.

Teacup Photo flickr CC: by Lena

Use the Force, Luke Flickr CC: by Sam Howzit

Inventing Yourself: Behind The Scenes Of A Blog That Matters

January 23, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Yes, it matters how the world sees you.

Last year I attended a retreat with my mastermind at the time and was introduced to Sally Hogshead’s work on branding yourself. Hogshead, you’ll remember, wrote the bestseller YOU last year and rocked the stages all over the personal and business development arena with her groundbreaking concept about how the world see’s you.

The reason her book and her speeches made such waves was because, let’s face it, we all get in the habit of navel gazing and trying to figure out how we do things differently from the next gal (or guy).

Just think of all the personality tests or leadership skills tests you’ve taken in your life through professional venues, or business or school associations, or even because you interviewed for a job that required one.

In the last couple of years, I’ve taken

Standout

Sally Hogshead’s How the World Sees You

Meyers Briggs (MBTI again)

And Kolbe.

The main difference in Hogshead’s self assessment is that it shows you how others perceive you, not how you perceive yourself. Her book goes on to show you how to “werk it.”

Inventing yourself, then, is not changing who you intrinsically are, but deciding how much of who you are — and which parts — to reveal on your blog and in your social sites. You have to start navigating the world of vulnerability to balance an interesting blog with one that over shares or one that is too dry.

Lately, I’ve been taking on some new clients and observing how they intend to claim a space in their marketing and speak to their niche. I have also had the chance to read and discover how others view me and/or my work, writing, status, etc. Which is weird.

I read with interest as people tell me stuff about myself that is new to me, different, something I’ve never considered, inaccurate, not quite on target but cool nonetheless, funny, spot on (am I that transparent?) and/or totally untrue.

You want the truth? I’m kind of delighted about that. The day has finally come that people who don’t know me tell me what they think about me. I always thought that meant I would know “I’ve arrived.” So yeah, I’ve been waiting for this day.

What I didn’t anticipate was my reaction. I thought I’d care more.

I thought I’d read every word and wonder and worry about my so-called reputation. In fact, I haven’t, at least not yet. I think it may be because I’ve walked though fire in my personal life this past year, and my version, my words, what I think and say on the platform I built here is really what matters most to me at the end of the day. Yes, I want an audience, but not if it means I have to mince my ideas to shreds. Been there, done that.

…As long as you’re OK with who you are.

Also, It’s a compassion thing. I genuinely care enough about their opinion to “allow” them to have it, even if they’re critical of me. It just doesn’t affect me all that much. I must be growing up. Everyone is just doing the best they can and inventing themselves with each new day. Everyone is on his or her own path.

Or maybe they just have indigestion and they don’t feel good.

True! I was exposed to that possibility in an advice column about interpreting strangers’ facial expressions, and now it’s my go-to response, just like my reaction to a rude driver. I pretend the bad driver has a cat in labor in their back seat, or his toe just got amputated, or a scorpion just crawled up her pant leg, I don’t know; something extreme that warrants ridiculous, erratic driving.

Cutting people slack feels pretty good, by the way. It’s a nice habit if you can swing it.

The reason you put yourself out there in the first place is because you care. You want to make a connection, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable, so you throw caution to the wind and make bold, declarative sentences. (That’s just good writing, by the way.) At some point, maybe in your 20s. maybe in your late 40s, you stop writing, “I think” and “IMHO” at least on your own blog pages. And if you’re lucky, someone responds. They email you or post on your Facebook page and tell you what they really think about you, in addition to what you posted.

If you can’t stand that, just don’t read the stuff. Block them on Facebook, let them have the last word, enjoy the banter as if you are not involved.

Or you can put up separate pages for separate facets to your online presence. I see this often.

I’m thinking of a new client, and maybe you can relate to this, as I do. She has professional and personal sides to her content, so she keeps them somewhat separate online. Some rely on her professional opinion and point of view without a clue about the significance with which her personal life leans in. Others know the full person, in living color and with all the dings and dents and laughter and stories. They don’t respect the professional any less, they just know more.

Then there are some of my clients who are ballsy and breezy and couldn’t care one whit less if someone doesn’t like or agree with them. Their philosophy? “Get off my list.” You get everything or you get nada.

So which one are you? Do you keep things separate or do you go all in? Maybe as you wade into the online world with your new business or some new hat you’re wearing, you’ll decide to park your opinion column on a separate area of your website, or possibly start a different Facebook page. That’s cool. But maybe you’ll pull no punches and just live out loud, blogging about whatever strikes your fancy – and assuming that you’ve got stuff people want, need and/or are entertained by.

Do You Just Say Anything That Pops Into Your Head?

Probably not the best idea, although…

I’m at a bit of a crossroads on that myself. I’ve been starting to post some things bout essential oils because they are beginning to play a big part in my life and how I clean, calm, soothe, and care for myself, my environment, and my family. (By the way, the family’s not quite on board yet. I think they’re worried I’m turning into a hippie or a witch, but it’s okay; they’ll come around.) Y’all already know how I love to work out. I’m an open book on that subject. Will I confuse people if I mention my new fascination with essential oils? Maybe, but I could potentially do some sincere and significant GOOD, too.

So how does that fit in with marketing, particularly content marketing and copywriting? Well, I always think, as I’m inventing myself online, what part of this could help or interest my audience? Am I turning them off, or am I inspiring someone to try something new? And if a bunch of people say something positive, but one person is a little shocked, can I consider that a gift? I’ve been on the lookout for it, after all, so Yes!

So yeah, keep that door open. Allow your clients and customers to see you, and invite their responses.(No one says you have to publish their responses and comments on your sites and pages, however!) Yep, that’s the real YOU. The one that fascinates and/or repels your readers. Dive into your unique crevasse. The revelation or idea that rocks your world is often the one that rocks your readers’ and followers’ world. Don’t invent yourself to match what someone else is doing.

Inventing a Better Internet Experience

Recently I was writing some ghost blog posts for a client and I deviated from our interview. I thought I’d mix things up and pull ideas from else where – stuff I’d read – and I embellished her ideas and her voice just a little. Sure enough, she called me on it. She wrote, “These are good. I don’t even really disagree with them, per se. They just don’t sound like me.”

If it’s copy for email or a sales page, or anything else with a call to action, I usually push back. Conversions are my job and I like to sell stuff for customers if that’s what they pay me to do.

But a blog post, no. Her feedback was welcome and accurate so I went back to revise that first draft. Her “invention” of herself is so close to the real “her,” she spotted the difference immediately. Love that.

My takeaway from that incident was clear. My tip for you is “Just you be you.” Hire people who support your voice, who follow where you go, and don’t be afraid of your audience’s responses to your content. Tinker and tweak till your heart’s happy and you will make many other people happy right along with you.

Inventing yourself can and should be exhilarating and fulfilling. Splash in that wave when you feel it overcome you and trust that the Internet is as big and vast as an ocean. Your readers, even the ones who disagree and would have you invent yourself differently to suit them; they’ll be all right. They might even find their own voice and do their own invention work! And the Internet will be better for it.

Bird in flight pic: Flickr Creative Commons: Demi-Brooke (lots of great wedding photos here, by the way!)

Blogging in the Dark

October 9, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

There was too much to say, and not enough to say, so I said nothing.

As much as my blog was on my mind, I couldn’t go there.

In spite of telling others – clients and customers – that once or twice a week was optimal; still, I couldn’t put one word down here on my own blog.

The dearth went on for months. I’m cautiously assuming it’s over now.

Late summer and early fall were heavy, with too much going on personally and professionally to pen two words together to see if they stuck. Meanwhile I took notes every time I was on the phone, or heard someone speak, or listened to a podcast or radio show. I took notes constantly, just to get some words down and to practice my handwriting.

[Incidentally, practicing my handwriting was something a handwriting expert advised me to do around the time everything shook loose. You might say I was desperate.]

I never lost a connection with words because I haven’t stopped writing for customers. Sales pages, opt-in pages, emails, blog posts, Facebook posts and tweets leading to launches, courses, webinars, and infoproducts. I’ve never stopped learning and writing about new things…

My Google calendar stacked my days with blessed structure, although I couldn’t write for myself.

What do you do if you can’t write your own blog?

If it ever happens to you, I say go with it. Don’t write. Other writing experts will tell you to keep writing if you’re a real writer. They say, “push through.” And of course you will want to think of yourself as a real writer, so instead of writing, you will feel guilty for not writing.

If keeping content on your blog is important to you, as it should be, then hire someone to write for you. Make a video, talk to your camera, and post it somewhere. You could hire me, even.

But if it’s important to you to write your own stuff, but can’t, for whatever reason, at least publicly — then don’t.

A few months ago, I had a conversation with a WordPress expert in Cape Cod who followed a blogger who stopped blogging about WordPress things and months later emerged with a change of heart, resulting in a change of direction for his blog.

My Cape Cod friend considered that this blogger had experienced “some kind of breakdown” because he was tired of blogging about WordPress. I made a sympathetic noise, and thought about all the blogs I’ve ever read where the writer divulges a desire to switch tack, a need for a break, a come-to-Jesus moment regarding his posts. It happens frequently in my blogosphere. Maybe there is something to the idea that the bloggers I follow are having regular breakdowns.

But that’s a blog, isn’t it? A log of stuff someone wants to write about and share with readers on the web. They might throw out a curveball, but it usually fits into the big picture, and winds up making perfect sense. Like a house full of eclectic furniture, your blog reflects what you like and care about. You go with the flow. If you tried to plan it out too far, your blog would suck. If you’re daring enough to start a blog, and keep it fed, it’ll shock you how wild it is.

It’s like keeping a lion. Although I’ve never kept a lion.

I’m back, I think, but I’m not sharing. This stuff is mine, all mine… for now.

I will write about it some day, just like all the other topics that died and floated to the top temporarily, then rotted at the bottom of the lake of my memory. I will wish I’d written something sooner. It will be messy and illegible at first (as my teenaged son says, “the nari-est of the nar”) It will have chunks of loose details stuck to it, pulling in the current, swaying like flotsam and jetsam. Other memories will swim by and hungrily peck at it. I will wish I had written something when it was plump and shiny and fresh.

[Newsflash! I like blog posts with the words “flotsam and jetsam” in them. Now I have two, I think. This post is not wasted.]

I wrote lots of letters during this time. Letters to my daughter, and as I said before, letters to myself, but I prefer to think of them as notes. This collection of loose pages is waiting like an unformed collage of napkin-worthy ideas, but not quite so romantic as napkin scrawls. Most of them are written on legal pads. “Maybe I’ll do something with them someday.” (That’s what writers say when they are not really writing.)

I say it too; but not tonight.

Tonight, I end this silliness, and post something here to break the spell…

The other day I found a shriveled up sweet potato in a hanging basket full of wine corks in my pantry. I had forgotten about it there, but it sprouted without my attention anyway. It sprouted in the dark. I felt a surge of undeserved relief because somehow its secret photosynthesis (yes, tiny red leaves were beginning to unfurl) was a sign of mercy for my long lapse from blogging. I took a picture and considered it a sign.

I am lucky, as writers go. Forgiveness these days looks like the discovery of a root vegetable hanging on for dear life, birds flying dangerously low over my minivan, and a schedule so full I sleep like the dead. It’s something I can at least write about.

Anyway, this blog isn’t the first one that’s seen inaction. What did you write about, that time you came back from whatever it was? What was your first post back from an absence? Did you jump right in or explain where you’ve been? I’m curious how other bloggers have handled this. Feel free to comment below.

Typewriter photo: flickr CC: zeitfaenger.at

How to Blog In a Busy, Loud, Distracting Place

May 27, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Sometimes the best thing about being your own boss is the worst thing about being your own boss — you can work anywhere and set your own schedule.

When you need to make a call you, can pick up the phone just as easily at the beach as your home office, though you run the risk of getting sand in your phone. If a client needs something tomorrow, you don’t have to “stay late” to finish it; you fit it in sitting in the back seat of your minivan while waiting for your kid to finish her dance rehearsal. And when it’s raining and three boys need to burn off some serious energy, you can take them to an indoor trampoline mega center and still get that blog post done.

This is why I started this business in the first place. I wanted to make a real difference in my customers’ businesses, and I wanted flexibility and family time. The lure of the work-from-home business drew me to start a writing business of my own.

If you’re living the same kind of lifestyle, you already know its many perks. Like taking phone calls at the beach, meeting deadlines from your car, and writing articles at JumpStreet. (I got $6 off for liking and following.)

If pressed to find downsides to this entrepreneur lifestyle, only three come to mind (although they are gifts in disguise):

1. Since I’ve been doing this for eight years now, I’ve made myself unemployable in a physical sense. I’ll never commit to a nine-to-five workday, not in my own home and not in someone’s office. The idea fills me with dread.

2. The second is my fear that my kids will have a skewed idea of productivity. They are learning that (take your pick) I’m either always working, or never working. The “work ethic” my grandfather admired is neither obvious nor definable.

3. And the third slippery slope of working from home is the problem of setting your own boundaries. Because the fact is, you can always be working on your business!

You probably won’t get very far if you can’t focus on what needs to be done. So let’s talk about focus when you know what needs to be done, and you’ve chosen to do it in a less than optimal location…like I have today.

Sitting in Jumpstreet writing my blog. Can it be done? Why yes, it can. This blog post is proof.

The din is your friend. Dive in and blog.

Oddly, it’s the noisiest places that are the best. Next time you step into a large cavernous spaces with high ceilings and echoes, stop and listen. You hear everything, and…nothing at all. That vacuous, constant dull roar is almost like white noise. Auditory people may actually find it easier to concentrate in these environments because there is no single noise that catches your attention. Since you are immersed in sound, it’s fairly easy to shut it out.

(Kind of like when you’re underwater, you’re not thinking you’re wet. It’s only when you get out of the pool that it registers, “Hey, I’m all wet!” Ever notice that?)

If you really aren’t comfortable inside the wall of sound, then plan ahead. Invest in some noise canceling headphones and listen to calming music. Ambient sounds won’t touch you or your productivity.

When you can’t NOT look, put on blinders.

Visually, the bright colors and constant movement rattle your focus if you concentrate best in calm environments. Stay in your groove by positioning yourself in a corner where passing traffic is low. You could also turn a chair around and face a wall. Who cares what people think? You’re multitasking. You can always find somewhere out of the way of the most commotion if you take the time to look for it. These coveted spots are where you’ll find other people with their laptops open. Guaranteed.

Need blinders? Wear a baseball cap to block the visibility of almost everything. Or you could contact Joe Malia for one of his hoodie creations. Pull it over your computer to create an intimate workspace in the midst of chaos. Ahh, total privacy + zero visual stimulation.

Sometimes you just can’t avoid the need to produce some intense and thoughtful work. Entrepreneurs are always on some kind of deadline (or they should be), if they are serious about meeting their goals.

The alternative: Get the easy stuff done when you’re in a non work-friendly environment.

Creating content doesn’t have to be one of those intensely stressful items to check off your to-do list. If you have a plan and a content calendar, your marketing plan becomes a whole lot easier to manage.

With a planned-out schedule of upcoming blog post ideas, you could easily spend an hour or two filling in the smaller content pieces on the fly. There are many small jobs perfectly suited for those times when you know you need to get stuff done, even though your mind and attention are not at peak performance, like my two hours here at the trampoline place.

The key is identifying the content you can create without a lot of effort. The pieces that fit into the big picture, even though on their own you don’t consider them to be urgent and/or important.

For example, instead of writing a blog post or article, you could spend your time doing less strenuous jobs:

Curating some content to share on social sites.
Commenting on blogs.
Finding appropriate pictures for upcoming blog post and Facebook updates.
Scheduling tweets. (I love Buffer for this.)

These don’t require your undivided attention for long periods of time, so make the most of the times you find yourself in a loud, distracting environment.

A Content Strategy is the key.

Anything you get done here and now is something you won’t need to do later. Save the weightier chunks of content for a more focus-worthy situation.

There’s only one way to know what you’re doing and where you’re going: A calendar that holds all the important pieces of content you’ll publish over the next couple of months. As a small biz guy or gal, you really don’t need to look ahead much more than that. But you do need to know what your best clients are looking for at each step of the buying cycle. Do you have something they can use as they are just taking stock of a new problem? Do you provide insight when they start comparing prices and solutions? These are questions that you tackle as you put together a strategy and content calendar that address the unique needs of your buyer.

You want to be there for them every step of the way, not just waste their time with any old content published willy nilly on any channel. That blog post you’re writing in the hurricane of busy-ness and “real life” is much easier when you know what you need to say and the precise words to say it. The keywords have already been selected, and the main ideas are in place. Now it’s merely a matter of filling in the details with stories and information you know very well.

I love people and all the wiggly warm fuzzies, but the scientific side of me knows it’s only logical to have a roadmap. I don’t have time to figure it all out on the fly — or guess!

With a strategy, your blog post practically writes itself. Without one, you stare at your laptop for hours with nothing to say.

This life you’re choosing is in constant motion. As a small business owner you get to live it your style. It’s all you, baby! Whether you prefer to get everything done in one designated spot, or if, like me, you take it on the road many days; you are the choreographer of your own beautiful life and business. With a little planning, a strategy, a content calendar to guide you, and a willingness to bust out some content right here and now — wherever that may be — you will keep all those balls in the air and successfully connect with your customers and clients.

Here’s a shot of the boys playing bouncy dodgeball. I stood and watched them for awhile…awesome! If you want the freedom to do the same, keep the helpful, valuable content flowing to your customers and clients, and run your business all at the same time, you can do it.

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