Category: Writing

3 Ways to Come Up with Consistent Content

Posted on by Nadia

The blogging landscape has changed so much over the years! It’s now an essential part of attracting and retaining clients, which means that you are now tasked with keeping your blog updated more regularly. So how do you come up with all of this content? Check out my 3 top ways to come up with consistent content below.

1) Create Fresh Content

The best way to add unique content to your blog is to write it yourself or have a member of your staff create it. It’s as simple as taking the questions your clients are already asking and expanding it into 500-1200 words. Here’s how I like to do it:
  • Keep an ongoing list of topics/questions you can pull from.
  • Write them in advance, when the topic is fresh in your mind.
  • Schedule them to release on specific dates, so you can share them with your community.
This method is probably the toughest for most professionals, since most are not trained writers. But if you write how you speak, the content will flow smoothly. It can always be edited later. Believe me, you have more to say than you think!

2) Re-purpose videos, papers, & Talks

Chances are good that, unless you’re just starting out, you probably already have some type of content out in the world, locally or a social platform. This could be in the form of a presentation you gave, a paper you wrote in college, a video you filmed for YouTube, a recorded phone call, or even a private journal. It’s time to revisit your work.
  • Select a few pieces that relate to your current blog theme/topic.
  • Have any audio/video content transcribed & re-type physical papers
  • Edit them to fit your current standard, point of view, and target audience

You may find that going through your work sparks new ideas or reminds you of resources you can recommend to clients.

3) Purchase Curated Content

If you are struggling to find the time to create and edit blog content or you just hate anything and everything having to do with writing a blog, you can purchase pre-written blogs from content creators in your field. Here are a few options in the health and wellness space:
Not only do they give you blog content, but they also provide posts (including pics and text) for your Facebook groups and email copy to send out to your lists of clients and prospects. You may spend a bit of money of these pre-made posts, but in the end, you save a lot of time. As long as you don’t mind having the same posts as a few others out there, you’re good!
I’d love to know… Which option do you think is best for you and your business? Tell me in the comments.
Happy Contenting!

 

Nadia
PS – Do you need more detailed guidance on how to create your content for your blog and social channels so you can save money and avoid burning out in the process? Click here to schedule a complimentary content goals planning session with me.

National Novel Writing Month Is Here!!! (Printable Writing Calendar Inside)

Posted on by Nadia

Each year when November rolls around, writers everywhere begin to get silly and giggly and excited over the prospect of writing 50,000 words of nonsense. What am I referring to? National Novel Writing Month, of course! According to the NanoWriMo website, I’ve been participating for 13 years! Wow. Time flies! But I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve never reached the goal word count.

As a short-form writer (blogs, social media, short videos), my expertise is in churning out authoritative and informative content, quickly and efficiently. But when it comes to more prolific writing, all sorts of things happen:

  • I procrastinate.
  • The inner critic comes out and I start second guessing every word I write.
  • All of a sudden everything else on my to-do list seems to be more important than writing my novel…

And yet, I haven’t given up. It takes practice to develop discipline. This year, I’m committed to working harder than ever to hit 50,000. I even created a writing schedule template to help me find the holes in my schedule.

If you’re a nano writer like me, feel free to download it to use during the month, so you can reach the goal too! Good luck!

 

Nadia

Create a Daily Writing Practice

Posted on by Nadia

 

You’ve decided that you want to become a professional writer. Now what? It’s so simple even the smartest folks overlook this crucial first step: write every day. Whether you write fantasy or nonfiction, there’s nothing magical about making it in the writing industry. There’s only the hard work of putting pen to page (fingers to keyboard nowadays). Find out why in this piece.

Why Create a Daily Writing Practice?

There are a few crucial gifts a daily practice can give you that are essential to becoming a professional writer.

Discernment

Perhaps you love the process of writing. You may even get a rush of adrenaline when inspiration hits. On these days, you can sit down for hours letting the words pour out of you. But what you should know and have probably already realized is that writing isn’t all fairytales and flowers. If you want to get paid for your work sometime in the near future, creating a daily writing practice will help you understand the amount of time, effort, and patience that takes. The results will be one of the following.

  1. You’ll LOVE it. Despite the difficulties and challenges of sitting down and painstakingly putting word to page every single day, it’s completely worth the effort and you are ready to commit.
  2. You’ll HATE it. The thought of doing this for work KILLS your joy. You don’t want to be bound by commissioned titles or editor critiques. You just want to have fun!
  3. You’re good at it. Even though your heart doesn’t melt at the idea of a career in writing, you’ve got the skills and can see yourself making a decent living.

Ultimately, whatever you decide will be based off of your experience WRITING. You must try in order to know.

Content Ideas

An ideal writer life would include a muse that sprinkles you with inspiration on a daily basis. Unfortunately, inspiration is the exception rather than the rule. Seasoned writers have a running list of content topics that usually stems from research, random thoughts, or personal experience. Your daily writing practice is your opportunity to make note of all this, mull over topics, create outlines, and sometimes begin fleshing things out.

Honing Your Craft

The old saying that “practice makes perfect” is a timeless piece of advice. The more time you put in to hone your writing, the easier it will be for you to write great content in the long run. The bodybuilder trains daily to sculpt her physique. You must do the same when it comes to your books, your blogs, and your copy. Not only will your writing get better. It will also take less time to complete than when you first began.

HOW TO CREATE A DAILY WRITING PRACTICE

Thankfully, there’s a way to create a daily writing practice that not only lets you decide if writing is the path for you, but also helps you figure out how it will fit into your life.

Create a Mini Writing Challenge

Choose a stretch of time, such as one month or as little as seven days to see if you can sustain a daily writing practice. This time will serve as a kickstart to your writing habit. At the end of the period, you can choose to do it again for the same amount of time, extend it, drop it, or make a full commitment to becoming a writer.

Plan Ahead

Look for holes in your schedule. If you have a day job or other responsibilities that require your attention, you must find space in your schedule to write. Use your lunch hour, spend some time before bed, or get up early. It doesn’t matter if you pencil it in or simply steal away during unscheduled time. Whatever works for you is fine, as long as you get it in!

Write Freely

In the beginning, keep it simple. Don’t try to write your novel or create intelligent blogs. Just write whatever comes to mind. Think of it as a daily writing journal where you can talk about anything and everything. This is your chance to start your writing path on a positive note, without any critics, without having to be good. Later, if you do decide to move forward with a career as an author, you’ll have the foundation and the confidence to do so.

If you don’t know where to start, start with “I don’t know what to write…” Any little bit counts. As noted above, it will get easier as the days pass.

START WRITING TODAY

If you’re seriously considering a career in writing, there’s no reason to hold off any longer. Either you will succeed or you won’t, but you won’t know until you start writing. Create your daily writing practice in order to find out.