This is the second part of a three-part series wherein we’re talking about the dynamic content on your website. This is all about the pieces of writing that you have to do over and over again. The material that needs to be fresh each week.
I want to systemize them so that they come easily. If they come easily to you, you’ll be able to create these pieces of content regularly. They won’t feel like a drain on your energy or creativity. You’ll be serving your audience more effectively because you’ll be putting great stuff out there, and all your materials will be infused with the best possible energy. The energy of enthusiasm, instead of obligation!
So, last week we talked about what to write in your newsletter.
Today, we’re talking about what to write about on your blog. This is going to be sort of a “blog-in-a-blog.” Back in June, I dropped a couple of ideas for finding inspiration. So in this post, we’re going to get a little more specific. We are going to talk about how a “spin-off” article can help you leverage your already-written blog content to get more mileage out of your ideas.
Using the blog post from June “If You’re a Consumer, You Can Be a Blog Genius” as fodder, I’ll illustrate this point.
In that article, I offered three bullet points on generating ideas: culling ideas from what you’re reading for pleasure or education, what you’re searching for online, and what you’re listening to.
In order to leverage these ideas to create even more content, for this article I’m going to take one of those points and expand on it to write a full article on just one of those ideas. You can do the same with any tip-based article you’ve ever written. Take one idea and expand on it to write a full article on the specific point.
So a new article, based on an idea that I already came up with and wrote about a little bit in a previous post could be: Three Ways to Find Purpose in What You’re Reading for Pleasure.
That “spin-off” article might start like this:
I don’t know about you, but I really need to unwind before bed, and not with television. I like to read, but I am also particular about that. I don’t want to read anything that’s going to make me feel like I have to get up and do work. I don’t want to read anything motivational or technical. I want to read something transportive.
I am someone who always wants to feel productive. But I also don’t want to feel guilty about taking downtime. I’m going to find ways to repurpose my relaxation reading into useful content…(sounds intense, right?)
Then it would go into a couple tips:
Here are three reasons why you should take a break, treat yourself to some downtime, decompress and not force yourself into productivity 18-hours a day. (That’s six hours for sleeping!)
Frequent breaks improve productivity and creativity. Even the New York Times has reported on it.
Reading for pleasure also makes you a better reader! And this can serve your business, your clients, and your life. You become more attuned to details and more skilled at comprehension. It’s just good practice.
Reading for pleasure also makes you a better human! It’s been shown to improve your understanding and empathy of others!
Given all these benefits, you can give yourself the downtime, guilt-free.
Then, of course, I’d close with all my “essential inclusions…” questions that encourage engagement and requests to share.
At this point, though in this article, about writing a “spin off” I’m going to ask you which blog of yours are you going to spin off? Once the spin off is written, post a link to both articles in the comments below. You already did some of the hard work of ideation; give yourself a break and blow one idea bigger so it can stand on its own.
