Producing Content Without Agony (Robby Slaughter session)
I always get a lot of great stuff from Robby’s sessions, and the title of this one jumped out at me instantly. I don’t struggle a lot with agony, but I do have a lot of blogs. Finding more productive ways to keep up on them can only be helpful.
Why Blogging is Agonizing
Time
Money—many blogs are now free
Out of ideas—google “blog ideas”
No traffic/apathy
Self-promotion is hard
Not Techie—You don’t have to be anymore, but if you need help, ask.
How to Get Past the Agony
Steal
“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” (Look at other blogs to find ideas for yours.)
Appearance & Layout
Structure & Patterns
Balance & Post Types
Schedule & Sequence
Examples: Advance Indiana, Coffee Sage, Happiness Project
It’s easier to write blogs if you have to make less decisions.
Coffee Sage uses the words coffee or Starbucks in every title.
Happiness Project has a set schedule—every, single Wednesday is Tip Day. She already knows she has to share a tip every Wednesday. Quote Blogs: shares a quote about happiness & a picture of the person who said it as an entire post.
Cheat
Best time to blog: far in advance. You’ll have less stress if you blog in advance because you aren’t worried about deadlines.
How to cheat at blogging.
Switching tasks kills your flow.
3 Blogging Plans:
“I have to blog now” plan: Panic->Research->Write->Edit->Publish.
“The kids sare asleep plan: Coffee->Research->Write->Edit->Schedule.
“Radical Productivity Plan: Research>Research->Research->Research->Write->Write->Write->Write->Schedule->Relax
Be Lazy
Automate as much as possible:
Use the scheduler—most blog posts will still be relevant later. Post them automatically while you are away. (Checkout Future Posts WP plugin)
Take Advantage of “Press This”
Have a Blogging Checklist—use the blogging checklist plugin to keep it right where you need it.
Use replacement hotkeys
Quickly Inserting Photos:
Skip the download, reupload process by using copy image location, insert and add the link to the file name path. It will still upload the photo to your site from the link. Testing:
Speaker: Robby Slaughter, @RobbySlaughter
This is a live blog—an unedited version of my notes. It is not meant as an exact transcript but I try to capture the highlights along the way (and, you know, add commentary). I’ll fix spelling errors & grammar later, when I get a chance to go back. Be gentle, until then.
