Write without Fear, Edit without Mercy

Do you get hung up over finding the perfect word? Distracted by comma placement? Or just stuck looking at a blank screen?

I've told many people I'm a wannabe writer. Now, closing on 350 articles, I still feel like a wannabe. That's because I'm a much better editor than writer.

I still quibble over words and have to remind myself to move on - but now that happens in 10 seconds instead of 3 minutes.

If writing is what's holding you back from publishing a blog or newsletter, here's what you need to know:
  1. Write something instead of nothing. Maybe you'll change it later, but it's a start.
  2. Write when you're inspired. That might mean making time to get inspired.
  3. Don't set goals about the number of words. Write only as much as you need to, as opposed to a 500 word essay.
  4. Don't get stuck choosing words. Pick one and move on.
  5. Spend twice as much time editing as you do writing.
  6. Have a time gap between when you write and when you edit. You'll have fresh eyes a day later.
  7. Get someone else to proof. Next best option is to proof by reading out loud.
  8. If you're not a great writer, get a good editor.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reusable Content Ideas to get you Unstuck

Image
You’re stuck and your deadline is looming. It’s been a long day and you’re far from feeling inspired to write for your blog or newsletter. The more you try to think of something to write about, the more uninspired you feel. Sometimes I feel like that too, so I came up with a list of ‘topic triggers’ that can be used over and over again. The next time you’re feeling that what-am-I-going-to-write-about stress, come back to this list and pick an item at random. All of these triggers can give you topics to write about immediately. Use an online idea generator tool. Check this article for links to three of them. Check your blog or newsletter archive for what you wrote about at this time last year. Expand on the topic, referencing the original post. Scan your social media feeds for a post that you agree or disagree with. Embed the post and explain. ( example ) Search “what’s new in (your industry)?” Provide a commentary on someone else’s article or sum up views from several a...
Keep reading »

Quick Tip - Avoid Hidden Format Problems

Image
When you're inserting content into your newsletter, website or blog, you're often copying it from other documents.  I suggest you always compose in Word (or similar) to take advantage of its spelling and grammar-checking functionality. Your formatting in Word may not be the same as your default formatting in these various applications.  While there are a raft of applications that make it easy now to do your own newsletter, website and blog, most of them are converting your content to html code in the background.  When you copy in text that is already formatted, you're possibly creating problems behind the scenes .  As well, you'll end up with differing fonts and sizes that all have to be corrected before you publish. You can avoid the potential for problems by stripping off all formatting before you paste into the application.  An easy way to do this is to use Notepad (or similar).  You simply open a blank notepad document, paste your con...
Keep reading »

Complex to Simple: Images for Social Media Posts

Image
Rocket Science Version The sizing of images for the various social marketing platforms, post types, and headers is becoming a bit complex. In fact, it would be a very practical way to teach equivalent fractions and geometry in Grade 9. But if you're long out of school and want all the details, get them on Twirp's Cheat Sheet: The ONLY social media image sizes you need to know . Squares and Rectangles The diagram below shows a very simplified rule of thumb for matching image shapes to social media posts on common platforms. Size Matters While bigger is better, it often means a larger file size and then icky compression stuff happens and... well, you've probably seen it on other people's feeds. I suggest your squares be a minimum of 600px by 600px; and 1200px by 1200px is about the largest you'll need. For rectangles, use minimum 600px by 300px, or maximum 1200px by 600px. originally published in Work Better, Not Harder newsletter August 31, 2017 Clic...
Keep reading »

Why a lot of eMail Marketing Advice is Wrong

Image
You might be thinking I'm off my rocker using that subject line, since I regularly dish out email marketing advice . The thing to remember is that almost all the advice you'll read is situational . One expert will say that subject lines like "Wow" or "Hey" work best, while another will tell us to avoid them at all costs. Because I have experience with informational marketing for small businesses in particular, I evaluate all of the advice I read in that context. Sometimes I get great ideas that I can use with one or more clients, but rarely do I read anything new that would apply to all of them. That's because a really successful email campaign needs to be specific in its strategy . Here are some of the things that will affect your strategy: if you sell to consumers or to businesses, or both your very specific target market if you have a small or large list if you know your subscribers or don't how new subscribers get on your list how...
Keep reading »

Home Office Holiday Party

Image
In preparation for our office party this year, I wrote a poem. Then I gathered together the things I would need to have a party with Romeo and Danielle. (The Temptations were for Romeo, the phone for Danielle, and the coffee for me.) Romeo, my cat, is used to hearing me talk out loud as I proofread and he was unusually excited about hearing the poem. Danielle, who lives several time zones away in Saskatchewan, also works alone (and helps me out lots) so I invited her to my office party by phone. It was a good move because she's a master at rhyming words. After much anticipation, I started to read the finished poem aloud to them. As you can see in the photos above, I had their full attention. Ode to a Midnight Blog Silent night, late at night, I've still got my blog to write. My laptop propped up on my bed, I'm hoping ideas will fill my head. Yawns escaping, eyelids drooping, Neck is stiff, my thoughts are looping. My brain is sore, I th...
Keep reading »

Online Marketing Faux Pas

Image
Online marketing provides an ample playground for errors, such as typos, broken links, and incorrect dates. We've gotten used to little boo-boos - they happen to everyone and we're mostly forgiving. Then there are those biggies - the things that can cause a total disconnect with our brand, services and products. Here are some examples I see more often than you might think: The marketing strategist whose LinkedIn profile page url is a series of letters and numbers The sharing app that doesn't use their own tool in their blog posts to make them easy to share The bulk email service provider that sends icky looking newsletters The blogging trainer who doesn't post regularly The social media experts with no social connecting links on their websites The catchy call-to-action that takes you to a sign-up form that doesn't work The website designer whose own website is 5 years old (and looks it) The obvious typos on a homepage that are still there 6 months la...
Keep reading »

Favourite Free Image Sources and Graphics Tools for Small Business Marketing

Image
Wondering where to find free images for your newsletter or blog? These are the most common sources we use for free images: FREE: http://pexels.com http://pixabay.com http://gratisography.com https://www.goodfreephotos.com http://www.freeimages.com https://morguefile.com http://unsplash.com FREE with Attribution: https://creativecommons.org Here are some graphics tools we use often: Create favicons for your website or blog  http://www.favicon-generator.org Create buttons easily  http://dabuttonfactory.com Convert graphics files from one version to another  https://cloudconvert.com Colour picker for Chrome  http://eye-dropper.kepi.cz Compress images  https://tinypng.com Of course, snapping your own photos is always a great choice! photo by Live to Create Photography / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

10 Email Predictions for 2013

Image
1. Your inbox will continue to be full. 2. You’ll check your inbox at least 5 times a day. 3. The more emails you send, the more you will receive. 4. You will spend significant hours just organizing your emails. And then you’ll spend even more looking for specific emails. 5. At least 100 times, you’ll swear to yourself that you’ll get ‘caught up’ on email. 6. You’ll delete several important emails by accident. 7. A handful of times, you’ll send an email forgetting the intended attachment. 8. You’ll find emails in your ‘draft’ box days after you thought you’d sent them. 9. You’ll click ‘reply all’ one too many times. 10. You’ll unsubscribe from countless commercial emails. But you’ll sign up for a few too. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Good, Fast, Cheap

Image
On the inside of one of our garage doors, in black permanent marker, the previous owner - a mechanic and race car driver - wrote: good fast cheap pick 2! I know Mike was talking about cars but this trifecta has implications for other (small business type) things, like marketing, product development, project management, and problem solving. Let's say you can get a good website built fast; you shouldn't expect it to be cheap. If it's fast and cheap, don't expect quality, and so on. If you think you're getting all three, beware! Economics - and people - don't work like that. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Summer Marketing Sets You up for Success in the Fall

Image
You might think blog (and newsletter) readership drops over the summer when many people head on vacation. And you would be wrong. Some people have more time to read during the summer months. In fact, they will read more deeply, taking the time to click links and follow a topic or call to action. Before you start tossing rotten fruit my way... I not suggesting you skip vacation in favour of marketing. Your summer holiday may be as important to your body's health as your marketing is to your business health. In the same way you'll figure out how to take some vacation days this summer, you can also figure out a way to keep your marketing alive and kicking. Make a content plan in advance. I'm not the best person to dish out this advice as I do most of my content creation on the fly as inspiration strikes me. But summer has even me doing some necessary planning. At the least, jot down a list of possible topics to use over the summer. (Do it now; I'll wait for you....
Keep reading »