If one of your New Year’s resolutions is identical to mine—writing more blog posts every week—you probably had the same sinking feeling I had when I made that resolution yesterday: How in the world will I ever find the time to do it?
Here are seven shortcuts when time is really at a premium:
1. Compile a list of FAQs.
This morning, a social media client emailed me to let me know how many inquiries and industry-related questions her company received during December from their website.
Every time someone emails a question about your product, service, industry or expertise, save the question and the answer on a Word doc. At the beginning of every month or two, open the document, cut and paste, and blog quickly about frequently asked questions. If you receive a lot of questions, you can group them by topic. Each topic can be a separate post. This is perfect, by the way, for an assistant.
2. Compile a list of must-read articles on a certain topic.
If you’ve created Google Alerts, you’re getting lots of helpful articles in your inbox regularly. If you’re on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, and you frequently click on links to articles others are sharing, you might feel like you’re drinking all that great content from a fire hose.
Create another Word document of articles you find particularly helpful. When you add one to the list, make a notation of what you found particularly helpful. When you compile a dozens or so links, write a post.
3. Record a short phone interview with an expert and have it transcribed.
One of my other resolutions is to call people I meet via social media and record a very short phone interview on their area of expertise, outsource the transcription, and create it as a blog post.
Want three blog posts from one conversation? Do a short interview on three topics during the same call. Each one gets its own blog post.
When you create the posts, let the experts know and ask them to share the link.
4. Share industry definitions.
While updating my my ebook, How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound, I added to the long list of PR definitions and social media definitions in the back of the book. Then it hit me. The list can be divided into separate blog posts by topic. Another great task for an assistant. If you don’t have your own ready-made list, you can create one simply by Googling.
5. What’s the most valuable tool, trick, tip or advice you learned each day?
It can be a free tool like FreeDigitalPhotos.net, where you can download free stock photos. Or an expert you discovered and started following on Twitter. Or a trick on how to encourage more people to comment on your status updates. At the end of the day, you can write a very short post—two or three paragraphs are fine—or compile the tips from each week into a blog post every Friday.
6. Let blog readers know about your favorite tweets from the past week.
Every Friday, my assistant—Christine Buffaloe of Serenity Virtual Assistant Services—compiles a list of my 10 most helpful tweets from that week and turns them into a blog post for my blog readers who might not be following me on Twitter. I’m amazed at the number of people who retweet the list. You can see my “Dog Tweets” from last week.
7. Let followers know about your next event.
This is the one area where I need the most improvement. Even though I blog regularly about events I’m sponsoring, like webinars, I frequently forget to let my readers know about other people’s teleseminars or webinars where I’ll be appearing as a guest. Update your readers about your book signings, tweet chats, Meetups, industry meetings, networking events, trade shows, radio or TV shows where you’re appearing, podcasts, etc.
8. Now it’s your turn.
What are favorite ways to create really fast blog posts? Comment below, and feel free to link to a post you created quickly so we can see the example.
If you like these tips, please share the link.
Joan, thanks for the great tips! As a fiction writer and news junkie, a favorite way to make a fast blog post is by connecting current events to something in my books. This also helps showcase a book excerpt and introduce new readers to the sort of books I write. Here’s an example: “Can Mexico Fight From the Inside Out? http://carmenamato.net/uncategorized/can-mexico-fight-from-the-inside-out/
Carmen, I love this idea! The trick is to make sure that the excerpt from the book hasn’t been used somewhere else online, or Google will see it as duplicate content. And this won’t help you at all. If it isn’t duplicate content, go for it.
Another great way to promote your book, too.
Joan – I just got my new blog up and running, so these tips are great for a newbie such as myself. Thanks!
Congratulations, Kathy! Glad these tips help. You might also be interested in other posts I’ve written about blogging. Here’s the link this blog’s “Blog” category. Enjoy:
https://publicityhound.com/blog/category/blogs/
Some good ideas, Joan, thanks. I really need to get on with some of these.
It’s a bit of a spin on your number 7, but blogging during and post-events is also valuable and relatively easy – it’s live, topical and enhances your reputation as an expert in your field. I did exactly that with a presentation I made towards the end of last year:
http://blog.forthmetrics.com/2012/10/31/public-relations-measurement-wheres-it-going/
You’re so right, Hugh. My problem is that by the time the event is over, I’m usually exhausted. Commenting on my presentation at my blog never enters my mind. I think I’m going to create reminders for myself in my email program so I have a blog post to share after every speaking engagement.
Your slideshow was a great addition to your post. Nicely done! Thanks for sharing, Hugh.
I have already taken one of your ideas and I have given it my own spin. Every week I post Serenity VA Tweets of the Week. It’s a great way to get your content and other’s out there in cyber world.
I always have trouble coming up with content though. Need more diligence on that.
Thanks Joan for the ideas.
Congratulations!
If you need ideas for content, here are links that will help:
http://www.copyblogger.com/brainstorm-blog-topics/
http://www.copyblogger.com/create-content-ideas/
http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/BlogPostIdeas.htm
http://tommy.ismy.name/and-these-are-my-thoughts/20-blog-topic-ideas-for-your-convenience/
http://thinktraffic.net/blog-post-ideas-for-more-traffic
Have fun with all these great ideas, Chris. And thanks for being the best VA anyone could hope for.
Joan,
Thanks for these great ideas.
I’ve used most of these, but had never thought of the tweets of the week.
I really suck at #7, so it’s my area that needs immediate attention.
Yep. One extra-easy blog post each week, thanks to tweets. Love ’em! Thanks for stopping by Flora and for being one of my loyal Publicity Hounds.
Fabulous info, especially for me, the blog procrastinator! (Suggestion–please add a print button on your fabulous articles, like this one, so that I can refer to this when I’m offline).
Great suggestion, Anne. I’m going to be adding several things to this blog as soon as my gargantuan website is moved over here. I’ll put that on the list.
Joan, I thought this was a great article and included it in my Friday Links for Feb 1st, featuring my “best reads of the week.” Here’s a link: http://elissafield.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/friday-links-for-writers-02-01-13/
Thanks for spreading the word, Elissa! If you have an ideas of your own on how to write blog posts quickly, add them to the Comments here. Happy blogging!