How To Apologize For A Writing Hiatus
March 6, 2009 by Jason · 8 Comments
Photo courtesy of ODHD
“I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while.” In a (hopefully) creative twist, I’m using that overused apology to my own readers as a way of showing what not to do when you’ve been away from the keyboard. In reality, I’m just looking for a way to spin my own apology to you for my absence! Either way, I hope to get across both points in this post.
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Tips On Writing For The Web
I was recently asked for some advice on writing for the web, and decided to answer the question here. Writing for the web is different for writing offline for a couple reasons. First, readers’ attention spans are shorter (still with me?). Secondly, web readers are rather fickle, and tend to bounce around from blog to blog without dedicating much time to investigating the quality of a lengthy post. This means you have to grab attention fast!
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Ways To Capture Ideas For Blog Posts
January 6, 2009 by Jason · 6 Comments
Unfortunately, inspiration usually hits at a most inconvenient time. When an idea for a new post strikes I am usually away from a computer and I never seem to have a pad and pen handy to record the idea. When I get back to a computer I usually struggle to recall the idea, or the key points I planned to discuss. I have discovered a quick way to utilize modern technology to help in this regard, without spending a few hundred dollars on a PDA or Blackberry.
Your Cell Phone is Your Friend
One of the best, and most underutilized, features of today’s cell phones is the voice recorder. A quick search of the “Tools” menu on my phone reveals a “Recorder” option where I can speak a quick message into the phone’s microphone. Other models have a shortcut button on the outside of the phone similar to a camera phone’s camera-enabling button. If I am out and about and inspiration for an article pops into my head I’ll open my camera’s voice recording feature and give a quick summary of the idea.
Low-tech Options
There are obviously some low-tech options to consider. Some bloggers carry an idea notebook which could be as simple as a pad and pen tucked away in a back pocket. Others simply keep a folded sheet of paper with them at all times to record ideas and then transfer over to an electronic medium in the evenings. I personally find the cell phone voice recorder works best for me for the following reasons:
- I am less likely to lose my cell phone than a sheet of paper
- I can talk faster than I can write (and the faster I write, the sloppier my handwriting)
- It is not always convenient to write down a note, but talking on the phone is pretty well accepted as a socially acceptable activity
Photo courtesy of for3w
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Coming Up With Article Topics
January 4, 2009 by Jason · 2 Comments
There comes a time in every writer’s career where he or she draws a total blank. Where inspiration is stopped dead in its tracks. Bloggers are not immune to this malady known as writer’s block, and in some ways we are more susceptible to it. The daily demands of cranking out new material make even the best blogger stay up late at night wondering if all the ideas spinning around in their head will one day simply dry up. Fear not! I have five proven ways to generate inspiration for articles. In fact, I used a couple of these to generate articles that appeared here on Frugal Dad just this past week.
Yahoo Has All the Answers
Well, not really. Yahoo does have a lot of questions, though. One of the best interactive features at the popular search portal is Yahoo!Answers. The idea is users sign up for a free Yahoo account and leave a question for other members. Those who submit questions review the answers and vote for the favorite. A point system was created to anoint power users, based on how many times they answered questions, and how many of those were voted as the “best answer.” How can Yahoo!Answers help you generate article ideas?
By surfing the list of questions and answers related to your particular niche it is easy to see what people are interested to learn about. I recently saw a few questions asking about “credit card arbitrage.” People were curious to learn what it was, and if anyone was successful at it. It generated an article idea immediately and I was off to learn more about arbitrage myself.
Search Engine Query Results Are Your Friends
Most bloggers enjoy looking back through their site statistics to find out how people were referred to their site. I am no exception. It is often amusing to read the search terms people use to wind up at Frugal Dad. However, these logs are not just to be used for entertainment purposes. The real power from search engine query history is in helping us as writers determine what is popular at the moment, and what people are looking for on the internet. Armed with this knowledge we can begin to put together article ideas around those topics.
This one recently worked for me as news of a possible economic stimulus package was being kicked around Washington. I started seeing some traffic on a tax related article with phrases like “is another tax rebate coming” and “will there be a 2008 economic stimulus package.” I quickly did some homework and published my own tax rebate story.
What Are Other People Writing About?
One of the greatest pages on any blog is the archives. Here you will find hundreds (sometimes thousands) of previously published articles on topics related to your niche. Look back at the previous month’s work – anything you could expand on? Anything you agree with or disagree with? Be sure to link back to their article and do your own homework, don’t just rip off their ideas. This technique also works well for your own blog. Look back at your own archives page for topics you could expand on, or plans you could update for your readers.
Listen to Talk Radio
Talk radio call-in shows can provide a ton of inspiration, particularly ones centered around your blog’s particular niche. I listen to The Dave Ramsey Show daily and frequently use a question from one his callers as the basis for an article. Even shows outside of your niche can generate ideas for peripheral topics.
For instance, I was running an errand on Saturday morning and a local gardening show was on the radio. Someone called in to ask about square foot gardening. I had never heard of this concept, but was intrigued. I made a note to do some research when I got home. Months later, my How To Build a Square Foot Garden article is still one of the most popular articles at Frugal Dad.
Think Like a Blogger
Early in my writing career I read a great article at ProBlogger.net entitled “Learn to Think Like a Blogger.” The author wrote that one of the keys to coming up with ideas to write about was thinking like a blogger as you go about your every day life. When you start to think like a blogger you will find inspiration hits more and more frequently. One day I spotted some loose change in a parking lot and stopped to pick it up. A passerby made an interesting comment about my stopping to pick up money, and it motivated me to share the story with my readers.
Putting a combination of these tactics into practice on a regular basis may be the best preventive medicine available to avoid a case of writer’s block.
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