For the last three months, I’ve been focused on one question: How do I publish at least one quality article every day that will simply increase my value as a freelance writer?
In learning how to answer that question, I vowed to write one sentence of positivity per day, and found that when I actually sit down to assess the day's progress, I don't want to stop until I have created some great content. It's a matter of opinion, but let me tell ya, if you haven't figured it out yet, no one amuses self more than a creative self!
I'm going to share some tricks to blogging that I've learned during my short time doing this - all of these strategies can be easily applied to your own blog, or content marketing strategy. Success leaves clues, and in the world of internet marketing, there's no exception.
I have a simple mantra: Recycle, Reiterate, and Reward.
I don’t create all the content, I simply recycle content that I store in a little black box buried deep within my own brain. You know how you'll see something, but you don't quite realize the importance, or magnitude of it in that exact moment? Well, somehow, I have the ability to recall those seemingly meaningless moments throughout my life very vividly.
When I first began blogging, I would very often fall into the trap of thinking I had to rewrite The Odyssey from scratch. That basically means I usually just stared at my screen, unable to write down a single word. How many other people suffer from this blank screen dilemma on a daily basis?
I have read thousands of books, and even more articles, columns and blog posts in my lifetime. My love affair with the written word began early on, and it's more akin to agape if truth be told.
The benefits of being an avid reader - besides the obvious - is that writing has become second nature. I write, therefore I am a writer. The drawback of it is that I have forgotten way more than I will ever remember.
However, recently I read something in a blog that I have lived by since way before I ever read it. Leo Widrich of Buffer advises to all writers, “Copy the hell out of others!” And while you should never steal, or plagiarize another's writing, you should always look at what content has been successful in your area and mimic it while making it your own. And man, do I ever wish I could come close to masters like Hunter Thompson and/or Mark Twain (sigh!)... I digress, but again, success definitely leaves clues.
I believe in shopping local even if I have to pay a little more to do it. Stupid? Call it what you will, but I figure I'm helping a guy down the street feed his family, and perhaps a friend keep their job. I call it loyalty.
We've all heard the horror stories of countless local businesses being forced to close simply because they can't compete with the Big Boys' advertising budgets. Small business owners get locked into the mindset that it's them against the world; and that they have to run their business AND generate new business simultaneously all by themselves. So I knew that I wanted to provide a service that would help them realize they weren't alone, and that if they present their own products and services within today's land of the living, they wouldn't have to suffer the same fate as thousands of others just like them.
So I took to the fields of my own productivity, and in so doing, I always try to create a catchy title that's a play on words or perhaps a little clever remix on something current and popular. See for yourself.
I was confident people would love my blogs simply because I love doing it. Allowing my own train-of-thought to guide my fingers across the keyboard is a wonderful feeling for me. In fact, I'm thoroughly enjoying it at this very moment. Through all the twists and turns, I hope you realize I'm passionate about helping small business owners, and I recycle that theme time and again.
I always say one successful blog post is a pathway to yet another successful blog post that’s yet to be written.
Writing just one blog that invokes emotion from your readers is a very big deal! Given how hard it is to write a single one that tens of thousands of people might love is paralyzing, and leaves behind a huge challenge of creating more awesome content.
It is humbling to realize every single person a writer wants to read their blog won't unless they keep writing. It is that snippet of knowledge that keeps me going, and I share it with you now, and everyone who ever asks me just how I do what I do. My story is mine, and all I can say is I'm only here right now because I've repeated the things that I thought would benefit my family, my community, and at the end of the day, make me successful.
This is how I began to realize that if I wrote just one sentence on the positive things I experienced throughout a single day, I could create - from that - a successful blog post, and moving forward, I had the seeds to write many more successful blog posts.
The best part about all of this? It usually takes less than an hour to write what I'm thinking. This is a natural process for me, and I assure you, it can become the same way for you in no time at all as well.
Rewarding yourself is an important step in the creative process. Not only does it give you a sense of accomplishment, but - believe it or not - it also creates leverage. Regardless as to whether absolutely no one reads one of your posts, or it goes viral, you will have already reaped the benefits of feeling successful. I highly stress this step! It's the last within my personal mantra, but probably the most important!
So, the deeper I get into this content game, the more I notice how other professional content marketers use the tactics I just described above. Buzzfeed and Business Insider are two publishers that have elevated content recycling into an art form.
While I was perusing Business Insider one day, I was absolutely shocked to discover that so much of their content is actually recycled from other publishers, and vice versa.
I am deep in the content creation game having just been awarded a contract with a start-up for which I've already written a few freebies. After all, you can't spell freelance without the word free! At any rate, my mantra always pays off when I stick to it. I just get sidetrack-ooh! Squirrel! Ha! I made a funny!
So, that's my secret, my mantra: Recycle, Reiterate, Reward. You are more than welcome to adopt my mantra for your own. Sure, there are other variations of this out there, but in essence, it works. You will find more content within than without, an undying love for and of community, and hopefully, at some point in the process, more profit as well.
Content helps you stand out from the fray and creates communities. Trust in your voice. Improve search optimization for the little guy you believe in, and remember, the best advertising is still word of mouth. Use yours well, and others will be touting your praises, sharing your content, and getting people through your doors, whether it be brick-and-mortar, or virtual.
Use the Recycle, Reiterate, and Reward strategy to leverage the existence of great original content. This resource will maximize your ability to pique people’s interest to click, try, and buy, as well as understand exactly who you are and what you do.
And remember, it all started with one sentence!
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