Carol Stephen, Author at

Why Avoiding Danger On Social Media Is Such A Big Deal

April 4, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Why Avoiding Danger On Social Media Is Such A Big Deal

We all know the drill: if you give away your secrets on social media, you may have people ransacking your house, stealing from you, or worse. And yet, and yet, people keep on giving away their secrets freely. Nobody has to call us and ask us our deepest darkest secrets since we give them away! So I thought it might be time to review some of the things to say or to avoid on social media.

Be Discreet about Your Vacation Plans

Sharing a bucket list might be different than telling everyone exactly where you’ll be and for how long. For instance, telling people you’ll be out of the house for the month of August? Are you crazy? That’s exactly the kind of information scammers and burglars are looking for. Speaking of Safety, have you read Maslow’s Unbelievably Strange Hierarchy of Social Media Needs? Probably not. But that Maslow knew a thing or two.

Don’t Tell People Your Habits

This is similar to telling people where you’re going on vacation. You can tell your closest friends, but do it in a direct or private message (or people on a friend list on Facebook)–not to your three million Twitter followers. Unless you’re setting up some kind of booby trap at your house, and you want people to come around. But who does that? For more about what not to do, see Experian’s excellent article: 9 Ways to Stay Safe on Social Media.

Avoid Facebook Quizzes

Many of those “harmless” Facebook quizzes ask just the kinds of questions that give people enough information to guess your passwords! Your date of birth, mother’s maiden name, favorite pet’s name, etc. It’s best to avoid them, even if they seem like a lot of fun at the moment. And if you think that people who write those quizzes are going to end up doing time in Facebook jail, you might not be right. Here’s an article in case you end up in Facebook jail: Greatest Ways to Do Time in Facebook Jail. And as my friend Bridget Willard mentioned during a recent #DigiBlogChat, you might think something like sharing your pet’s name is innocuous, but to some people, pets are the most important beings in their life.

Avoid Clicking on Unknown Links

A6 It depends on who sends it, but more often than not I'll run it through VirusTotal first. #DigiBlogChat https://t.co/YpFAJlFS30

— YC Williams (@MistressPrime) April 2, 2019

You may get links through social media, or through email from people you don’t know. But like my pal Yvonne says, if there’s even the slightest doubt, use a tool like VirusTotal (dot com) to check them out.

How Do You Stay Safe?

Leave me a comment. And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: social media and danger, social media secrets, staying safe on social media

Can the Simple Pursuit of Total Boredom Make You Smarter?

March 28, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Can the Simple Pursuit of Total Boredom Make You Smarter?

When I was a kid, around six million years ago, we had lots of time to be bored. There were no play dates, our parents didn’t drive us to ballet lessons, and our play was mostly unstructured. Sitting or lying around with nothing to do was a common occurrence. We didn’t have all the distractions that not just children, but adults have now. And by the way, I count myself in this group of people who now have no time to be bored.

Too Busy to Be Bored?

Think about it. When was the last time someone said: “I’m bored.” At least, someone who’s not a teenager. People saying they’re bored have been replaced by people who say they’re too busy. Everyone’s too busy! And it’s usually followed by, “that’s a good thing, right?” But is it a good thing really? After all, we have YouTube, podcasts, online gaming, social media, and a million other things to entertain us now.

Photo by Bautz Adventure

What If You Had Time to Be Bored?

How different would your life be if you had time to pursue boredom? By that, I mean having breaks in your day and in your life. Recently, I was at a friend’s house, knitting (a hobby I’ve taken up recently). There was no music and no background noise at all. And there were some long silences. Maybe it’s because we’re all introverts, but everyone seemed really comfortable with the lack of distractions and yes, the boredom. By the way, you might enjoy this article about introverts: Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media That Will Impress Your Friends. But those long silences made me realize how unusual it is to have long silences at all anymore.

The Focus on Mindfulness

Over the past few years, there’s been a real focus on mindfulness. Meditation and yoga classes have been sprouting up all over the place. So now we’ve scheduled the time to just sit, or to sit and stretch, or to meditate. Is it any coincidence that the focus on mindfulness comes when we’re so very busy all the time? Did you know that the number of people doing yoga grew by 50% between 2012 and 2016? That’s quite a staggering increase and maybe we should all be investing in yoga stock!

The Question of the Day

The really important question is whether the pursuit of boredom can make you smarter. Many studies have shown that taking time out to meditate can make you smarter. Perhaps there is a correlation. According to Robert Puff, Ph.D, in this article in Psychology Today, Meditation Can Make You Smarter (and Happier). His article is a summary of articles about the subject.

Work-Life Balance

What things do you do to achieve work-life balance? Is work-life balance really the unicorn of the working world? And do you ever add in some unstructured time to your schedule? Or just not stuff it to the gills all the time? It might be worth the peace of mind.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: boredom, mindfulness, silence, work life balance, yoga

This Is What Happens When You Hire a Professional Blogger

March 21, 2019 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

This Is What Happens When You Hire a Professional Blogger

You might think that something magical happens when you hire a professional blogger. That’s not entirely true, although you’ll probably have better results, and have fewer complaints. Here are some things to look for when you’re hiring a professional blogger.

They Have Better Spelling

Have you ever seen a blog post filled with spelling errors and been so distracted that you couldn’t continue to read? That happens sometimes with bloggers who are less than professional. If you’re going to hire someone, you may want to ask them what experience they have, and whether they have a degree in a related field, such as English. It’s easy to run a blog post through grammar or spell checkers (thank you, Grammarly!) these days with a little help from our friends cut and paste, but not everyone does. An error or two shouldn’t be a showstopper, but if your writing is filled with mistakes? That’s darn distracting! And it makes your brand look bad, too.

They Stay on Track

A professional blogger will stay on the subject matter, and not be distracted by other ideas. Their writing should stay on track and lead the reader through the post easily. If you’re someone who’s easily distracted, you might like Entrepreneur’s 11 Ways to Avoid Distractions and Stay Focused.

They Research Appropriately

If you’re looking for someone to research your subject matter, a professional blogger can do that for you. They may come up with a few angles you hadn’t thought of, too. Linking to authoratative articles can be useful to your readers.

They’ll Find Good Headlines

If you haven’t heard, a good headline is critical to a good blog post. Many people won’t even read the article, but just the headline. So you need to have a good headline if you stand a chance at all to have people read your article. By the way, if you haven’t read this about headlines, you might like it: What Happens When You Write 25 Headlines Before Choosing One?

They Add Interesting Images

If you want images that look professional to go along with your professional writing, you’re going to want to hire someone who’s experienced and loves what they do. Or they may have a professional graphic designer on board. Sometimes a great image is even more important than great writing, since people love images, and those images can make your blog posts really shine.

They Have Plenty of Examples

A professional blogger should have plenty of samples for you to look at, so you can decide whether to hire him or her. And within the writing itself, people love examples. They really love real-world examples because they can see themselves in them.

They Can Probably Write Faster Than You

If you’re hiring someone who writes for a living, they may be able to write faster than you. I say “might” because you may be someone who can write quickly. But then again, is writing what you want to be doing with our time? If not, how about hiring a professional?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: professional blogger, What to ask when hiring a blogger

How to Find Motivation to Write

March 14, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

How to Find Motivation to Write

Some people think there must be a secret to finding the motivation to write. And it’s true that sometimes writing is much easier than at other times. For some people, a deadline is a good motivator. But for others, like me, a deadline helps not at all.

What’s the Secret to Finding Motivation?

The secret is there is no secret. If you want to write, you have to write whether you feel like writing or not. And then edit that writing and make it better. However, there are things to make you feel more like writing. But you wanted how to find motivation to write, and here it is.

Set up Your Environment So You Want to Write

Do you have good lighting? A desk that you really love? How about cats? Just kidding about the cats! But the lighting and the good desk are important. My cats are sitting right here, watching me write, so I have to say that cats are the most important thing. Cats can either help you figure out how to find motivation to write, or they can hamper your efforts altogether, by stealing your mouse, slapping the screen, and biting on things.

Photo by BrianHenry ////|//

Write a Little Every Day

Some say to write 1500 words per day, and that will get you over the fear of that blank page or blank screen. But if you can’t write 1500 words, how about 500 words? How about 150 words? And as far as a good length for a blog post, I recently heard (from Jeff Bullas’ blog) that 750 words or more is a good length. By the way, here are 9 Reasons Why a Blog is Important for Your Career and Life, from Jeff Bullas.

Sometimes an Image Can Motivate

Sometimes a mysterious image can give you motivation. Sit in front of an image you really like and meditate on it. Take a look at it and see where your brain goes. If that doesn’t help you figure out how to find motivation to write, I don’t know what will!

Get Into Your Introvert Mindset

In my opinion, introverts have a lot to say, but they don’t always say it loudly enough. Writing levels the playing field. In fact, introverts may have a homecourt advantage in the field of writing. So there. And if you haven’t read my article about introverts, here it is: Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media That Will Impress Your Friends.

Get out of the House

Take a hike. Visit a lake. Go to the gym. All of these activities can sometimes make you think in a different way. Also, getting plenty of sleep is a very good idea. If you haven’t read my post about Sleep, here you go: Ten Reasons to Get More Sleep So You Can Conquer the World.

Photo by freddie boy

Let the Writing Flow

Sometimes just letting the writing flow without knowing where it’s going can be a good exercise. How do you find the motivation to write? Do you have an exercise that works for you? Leave me a comment! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: How to Find Motivation to Write, let the writing flow, motivation through an image, write a little every day

How-to Secrets to Overcome Writer’s Block

March 7, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

How-to Secrets to Overcome Writer’s Block

We’ve all suffered writer’s block at some point, right? Staring at a blank screen or blank page is never easy, and it sometimes happens to everyone. Lately, all the rainy, gray days have been sucking all the fun out of writing. But I know that others in the country have snow and ice (and no power!), so I’m not complaining too much.

Just Do it!

One of the best quotes I ever heard was about applying the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair if you want to get something done. That’s generally been my approach, too. By the way, you might like my previous post Content Creation: What Are the Best Habits for Writing?

Write Something, Even if It’s Bad

My dad used to always say “Do something, even if it’s wrong!” Sometimes thinking back on that advice, I smile, but other times it does seem to help to overcome paralysis. In my family, we didn’t often suffer from paralysis through analysis, but we did have to go back and fix some bad mistakes. Then again, as my friend Adam Fout said, “you can’t edit a blank page.” Go and read his excellent writing. Maybe you’ll be inspired to write something good.

Turn off the Critical Part of Your Brain

One problem with writing or any creative venture is that your critical sense gets more refined as you move through life. That is, you like good writing and if you don’t do any writing yourself, the gap between what you know is good writing and your own writing grows. It’s difficult to turn off that critical sense. What if what you write isn’t good? What if no one reads it? The what-ifs grow and become louder, so it’s important to turn off that absurd little critic that prevents you from writing.

If you’re paying attention while you’re reading, you’ll see some writing that you really like. And even if you read bad writing, you’ll discover what not to do. Sometimes, what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Right now, I’m rereading the Harry Potter books. The stories within the larger story really pull you along. I love stories that paint a picture as the Harry Potter books do. And the movies are good, too. Most of the time, I’d say that the book is better than the movie. This time, I’d say that the Harry Potter films are pretty good, too!

Join a Writers Group

There are lots of meetups, and if you don’t see one you like, you can start your own! It’s pretty easy to do. You don’t even have to make it an official meetup. You could just ask a few friends to join you at a cafe to do some writing.

Look over Your Old Writing

If you’re lacking inspiration, look at some of your own writing. What worked? What didn’t? Can you rework an old headline and make it into something more fun, more exciting, more interesting? Sure you can!

Start with a Good Headline

Speaking of headlines, many people might argue that the headline is the most important part of what you write. If you’ve never considered your headline before, you might like this article What Happens When You Write 25 Headlines Before Choosing One? Yes, that was a fun one to write.

What’s Your Secret?

How do you overcome writer’s block? Or do you have a secret at all?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: blogging, content creation, content marketing, how to overcome writers block, writers block, writing

How to Use Social Media and Keep Your Mental Health

February 28, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

There has been a rash of articles lately about how spending too much time on social media is bad for your health, and that it can be addictive. And I suppose it can be true, depending upon who you follow and how much you care about what others think. But there are ways to minimize social media’s effects on your mental health. I’ve written about a similar subject before, in case you missed it: How to Avoid Bad News on Social Media and Keep Your Sanity.

Be Conscious

This is perhaps the best and also the most difficult way to minimize the negative effects of social media on your mental health. Paying attention to how you feel can be a chore. And many people scroll mindlessly. Sometimes using social media as a news feed is handy, and there are lots of ways to react to what is seen. And sometimes, unless you have your guard up while you’re strolling, seeing political rants can be upsetting.

Hide People’s Feeds

On Facebook, you can easily hide what you see in your newsfeed. In fact, you can unfollow a person’s feed without unfriending that person, and thus avoid hurt feelings if you feel obligated to stay connected. On Twitter, you can mute someone without unfollowing them. And on Instagram, I find that the people I engage with the most are those I see in my feed the most often. The reverse is true, too: if you don’t engage with someone you’re unlikely to see them in your feed much unless they have a sponsored post.

Just Stand Up

I don’t mean stand up to bullies. I mean literally stand up. That junky tree needs to be chopped down, the mail needs to be checked (between rainstorms these days), and the cats need to play with the red dot. Especially the cats and that red dot! We’ve all heard how bad sitting is for us, so why not get up and move around?

Limit Time Online

Again, this is a difficult one, especially if your job involves sitting behind a computer. I like to eat lunch away from my desk, at the very least. Even if you walk into a different room for a few minutes, it’s a good break. If that isn’t enough, you might like these 6 Apps and Programs That’ll Help Limit Your Time Online on Social Media. The In Moment app will actually block access if you go over your allotted time limit.

Hobbies

Lately, I’ve been immersing myself in hobbies such as knitting. It’s a quiet hobby, so I can knit at home, or I can go out and meet people who knit — much preferred. And it turns out that they’re the nicest people, too–all introverted and polite, even at that big knitting conference I attended recently (Stitches West).

How Do You Get Away?

How do you escape from social media? Do you have a favorite hobby that dovetails with your work life? Leave me a comment. Please and thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: how to hide people's feeds on social media, limit time online, social media and mental health, stand up

How to Come Up With A Years Worth Of Blog Content

February 21, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

How to Come Up With A Years Worth Of Blog Content

You’ve probably heard of those people who have their entire year planned out. They seem so on top of their game, don’t they? It’s not such a difficult thing to do (maybe a bit more difficult if you publish daily, like friend Randy Clark does–check out his Randy’s blog posts). You, too, can be prepared to write at the drop of a hat. For this exercise, I’ll be giving you some real-world examples that you can perhaps translate to your own industry.

Brainstorm

Get out a big sheet of paper or a bunch of sticky notes, and write down everything you can think of as fast as you can. Or you could have a friend help you to write while you dictate. You could also use a tape recorder and then later transcribe your ideas. The idea is to get into the creative flow and not stop yourself. You might need a few minutes to get warmed up, but when you do–look out for the onslaught of ideas! Here are some other ways to get topics for your blog: Blogging Beginner? How to Get Ahead of the Game.

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is where you take an idea and then take all the ideas that are roughly related to that idea. One idea leads you to the next and the next. It’s fun and it’s especially good if you are a visual learner. If you’re the type who likes to use software, here are some software programs you might check out: 11 of the Best Mind Mapping Software to Brainstorm Better Ideas. A few of them are even free!

Ask Friends

Ask your friends what they’d like to read about. Ask on social media. Call them up or text them. Write down everything they say. You might be surprised. Sometimes your friends may have bad ideas. You can turn those around by doing the opposite of what they say! Just say thank you and move on.

Look at Old Posts

What posts have worked for you? What has not worked for you? Are there any old posts that you could rework? Can you rewrite something taking a different approach? For instance, here’s a post of mine that I really liked: For Better Social Media Results, Focus on Engagement. So if I were to follow up on that theme, I could maybe have five different posts, as follows:

How you can engage with people different from yourself?
The many types of engagement there are
Engagement using simple emojis
Engagement for the high-tech crowd
Social media engagement for startups

You get the idea. That’s already five different posts, which if you post once a week is over one month’s worth of posts.

What is Your Audience Like? What Are Their Pain Points?

If your audience never has time, you could talk about time management. My audience is extremely busy, and that’s why I often write about time management. So I could write these posts for my audience:

Time Management for the Startup Crowd
Time Management When You Have No Time
Timeless Time Management
Stop Staring at the Clock
Getting More Time for All Those Critical Things You Never Have Time to Do

Ask Yourself Before Going to Sleep

This is one I’ve been using a lot lately. I ask myself what to write about before going to sleep. By the morning, I have an answer. Make sure you have a way to record your ideas before they slip away.

Lots of people think using a notebook and pen is the best way to get your dreams recorded. But you can also use your phone and maybe record them as you speak.

How Do You Come up with Ideas?

And are you staying ahead of your blog posts? Leave me a comment! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: blogging, content creation, writing

Why Join the Navy When You Can Be a Pirate?

February 14, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Why Join the Navy When You Can Be a Pirate?

You could interpret Steve Job’s words in several different ways. In the context of the time he said it, he might have meant that he didn’t have to join Microsoft and buy into Microsoft’s ideas. He also might have meant why be a corporate drone when you can have unlimited self-expression? That’s the meaning I choose to believe he was referring to. And in case you missed last week’s post, here it is: Time Management for the Tired and Frazzled.

The Beauty of Self-Expression

No matter how creative you are, if you work for a corporation, your ideas will likely be drowned out by the incessant hum of that corporation’s ideas. Having worked for several large corporations (no names, please!), I can attest to this idea. People generally like to do things the way they’ve always done them, not change course even if a better, newer idea comes along. By the way, if you’ve been lacking creativity lately, Psychology Today has some ideas for you: Creativity.

There’s Piracy and Then There’s Piracy

Nobody is saying to make other people walk the plank. But also, if you’re a corporate drone, you may be “borrowing” other people’s ideas a lot, and then editing them for consistency. Again, there’s very little room for your own creativity. Those with creative ideas may be segregated in one particular area of the company, and not allowed to play with others.

Photo by daniel.baker

Seek out Your Own Inner Pirate

I’m not saying to wear a bracelet that says “What would Blackbeard do?” But exploring your creativity can give you the newest and best ideas. If you’re in a corporate setting, others may take credit for your ideas. This has happened to many people. People may even steal your words wholesale, without a credit. It happens to the best of us. Now that’s piracy!

Ships Passing in the Night

Occasionally downing a big flask of ale with a passing pirate could be a good idea. Or staying up past your bedtime to finish a creative endeavor. Or staying up all night to watch the sunrise at a usually-crowded location. On your way there, you may meet other pirates out finding their own favorite locations.

Avoid Facebook Quizzes That Ask How Much of a Pirate You Are

Do you think real pirates are answering quizzes? Of course not! They’re the ones making the quizzes! So if you’re answering those quizzes, get in touch with your own inner pirate and start making your own quizzes! But please don’t sell the results. If you’re wondering whatever happened to privacy, you might want to read this: What Happened to Privacy? Can it Exist in the Digital Age?

Photo by smkybear

Talk Like a Pirate Day

On the other hand, Talk Like a Pirate Day may give you just enough of a laugh that you can go on without answering a Facebook quiz for another day. In case you’re wondering how this day came about, here’s How It All Started–International Talk Like a Pirate Day. A fun read.

You’ve Wasted Ten Minutes of Your Life

Do you enjoy self-deprecating humor as much as I do? If so, please leave me a comment!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Facebook Quizzes, navy versus pirate, self-expression, Talk Like a Pirate Day

Time Management for the Tired and Frazzled

February 7, 2019 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Time Management for the Tired and Frazzled

In David Allen’s excellent book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, he outlines five stages to mastering your workflow. These stages include:

collecting the things that command our intention,
processing what they mean and what to do about them,
organizing the results,
reviewing the options, and,
doing!

He also mentions that one’s process is only as good as the weakest link. However, what if you are the weakest link?

You Might Be the Weakest Link

In my years as a professional organizer, the one thing that really caused the most disorganization in people’s lives was the inability to make a decision. People would routinely have piles all over their homes and offices, and not have the slightest clue what to do or where to start. I’d like to call this “decision fatigue.” And it’s what leads to clutter. If you need to work on making faster decisions, here’s a helpful article from Success Magazine: 9 Tips to Make Smarter Decisions Faster. I like the idea of using a timer, so decisions don’t linger forever.

Be Ruthless

Now in organizing physical stuff as well as the chores you need to do for your business, you need to be absolutely ruthless. If there’s something that isn’t going to help your business, you need to take out your biggest rubbish bin and throw that thing away (and by the way, having a BIG rubbish bin really helps–trust me on this). Putting off decisions will lead to clutter on your desktop, on your desk, and nothing will get done. Or things will get done very slowly, and painfully. This also goes for people who aren’t sympathetic to your work life. You don’t have to cut them out of your life forever but pivot away from those things that bring down your energy level. See How Pivoting Away from Drama Will Make You Less Stressed.

It’s Counterintuitive

Making decisions will give you more energy, although you might not think so. You might think that putting off that decision will help you avoid your negative thoughts about it. Not so. It will still weigh on your mind like the proverbial albatross. And unless you really love having giant ocean-going birds hanging around, you’re probably better off without them. So if you’re feeling really tired and frazzled? Make a few decisions and see whether your energy levels improve. Want to get some other ideas? Here’s How Tired Business Owners Save Time: 10 Terrific Ways.

The Metaphor is Yours and Yours Alone

Whatever metaphor you use, making decisions about the tasks at hand is up to you. Some people say you need to eat the frog first thing in the morning. In other words, do your most unpleasant task first. Personally, I’m a tactile learner, so my metaphors are usually about physical action. I like to hit things out of the ballpark, for instance. And I like to start with small wins. So, keeping with the baseball metaphor, maybe I’d bunt the ball and get to first base to create some momentum, rather than eating a frog. I like Brian Tracy’s story about eating the frog.

Outsourcing

If your funds allow, outsourcing some or part of your work could be very helpful. See my post from last week about outsourcing your blogging. You can outsource practically anything. Have someone help with sales calls, picking up the phone for you, or what have you. You can even hire a CEO if you need to! Here’s a list of some things you might consider:

Making appointments
Graphic design
Shopping
Research

In fact, you may want to outsource everything about your business and then take a vacation. After all, you deserve one, right? Or only do the parts of your business that you really enjoy doing!

Take Enough Time to Sharpen the Axe

In organizing for your business day, just like in organizing your home, you need to spend a little time and figure out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. That means planning. Without some kind of a roadmap, who knows what you’ll end up doing all day or how long it’ll take. There will always be unplanned events and emergencies, but if you already have a plan, they’re less likely to sidetrack you. I like to spend at least 5-6 minutes (preferably 15!) writing down a to-do list for the day. And it’s best to write your list the night before, to get all those nagging things off your mind so you can sleep! The next morning, you’ll probably come up with a few more items to add to your list, too.

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

If you’re really tired and frazzled, sleep might be part of the problem. A lot of us really do not get enough sleep. Here are my Ten Reasons to Get More Sleep So You Can Conquer the World. Sorry–you can’t outsource sleep, although it’s possible to get a sleep coach if you really get stuck. But if you’re running a small company or startup, you need all your brain power to solve problems. Getting enough shuteye really helps. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s very common for people to say things like “I can sleep when I’m dead,” as though sleep were something merely optional. It’s not.

Collaborations Give You Energy

Sometimes the best ideas come from people who do the same thing you do. Do you have a group of people who support you, help mentor you, and that you help in return? Your peer support group can save you tons of time and energy. There are many support groups online. For instance, Facebook groups are a good place to look. And if you like an in-person group, Meetups are a great place to discover like-minded people.

The Doing

Arguably, the most important part of time management is the doing. That is, if you’ve actually gone through and collected your items, processed your list, organized, and reviewed everything appropriately. After all, you don’t really want to be one of those “do something–even if it’s wrong” people, do you? Probably not.

Are You Tired and Frazzled?

What has helped you move from being tired and frazzled to alert and excited about work?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: decision-making, metaphors, outsourcing, sharpen the axe, sleep, Startups, time management

Outsourcing Your Blogging Might Be the Best Thing You Do

January 31, 2019 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

Outsourcing Your Blogging Might Be the Best Thing You Do

You’ve heard it over and over: having a blog and blogging regularly helps your site on Google. There are many benefits to blogging on your website, as outlined by this Forbes article: The Top 10 Benefits of Blogging On Your Website.

What Counts as Blogging?

Have you done anything about blogging? No. Well, unless you count thinking about it right before falling asleep. Or scribbling it in the steam on the bathroom wall while you take a shower. Do those count as blogging, though? Probably not. Unless someone’s figured out a way to make steam-writing into a blog post, that is. Here are a few reasons you might want to outsource your blogging.

Play to Your Strengths

Unless one of your strengths is writing, why not have someone else do it for you? Maybe your strength is sales, and you love making sales calls. Why not do that? Or maybe you’re an inventor. Or maybe you run a start-up with 20 people to manage. Even if you do enjoy writing, blogging might never make it to the top of your to-do list.

Do You Know All the Nuances?

Blogging isn’t rocket science, but there are a few things to know before you get started. For instance, do you have the patience to create 25 headlines before choosing one? If not, you might want to read What Happens When You Write 25 Headlines Before Choosing One?

Photo by MattHurst

Your Sanity is Worth Something

If you’re simply fretting, and no blogging is actually getting done, why not consider outsourcing it? That way, at the end of the day, you’ll rest easier. If you want to worry about something, you can worry about something else. Not about whether the blogging is being done. Let someone else do that regularly.

Focus on Your Business

You’re probably already focused on your business. But to outsource your blogging means you won’t have the idea of blogging hanging over your head. You know those few minutes right before you fall asleep? You can think about something productive, or something relaxing instead. Maybe relaxing isn’t something you do regularly when you’re running a company, but it could be.

Save Your Time

Unless your business is so complex that absolutely no one can understand it and therefore write about it, using a professional blogger can save you time. This is related to “Focus on Your Business.”

How About Doing a Combination?

By that I mean have someone start the blog for you and then you insert your own personality and edit a bit at the end? That works for some people. If you’re looking to create a relationship with your readers, this might be the best way to go. By the way, if you still insist on blogging for yourself, you might like this article: Blogging Beginner? How to Get Ahead of the Game.

Hire a Professional

Why not hire someone with experience? I’m not talking about me, necessarily. Well, ok, I actually am. Why not consider hiring me? Please and thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: blogging, outsourcing blogging, why outsource blogging

Be Discreet about Your Vacation Plans

Don’t Tell People Your Habits

Avoid Facebook Quizzes

Avoid Clicking on Unknown Links

How Do You Stay Safe?

Too Busy to Be Bored?

What If You Had Time to Be Bored?

The Focus on Mindfulness

The Question of the Day

Work-Life Balance

They Have Better Spelling

They Stay on Track

They Research Appropriately

They’ll Find Good Headlines

They Add Interesting Images

They Have Plenty of Examples

They Can Probably Write Faster Than You

What’s the Secret to Finding Motivation?

Set up Your Environment So You Want to Write

Write a Little Every Day

Sometimes an Image Can Motivate

Get Into Your Introvert Mindset

Get out of the House

Let the Writing Flow

Just Do it!

Write Something, Even if It’s Bad

Turn off the Critical Part of Your Brain

Read More

Join a Writers Group

Look over Your Old Writing

Start with a Good Headline

What’s Your Secret?

Be Conscious

Hide People’s Feeds

Just Stand Up

Limit Time Online

Hobbies

How Do You Get Away?

Brainstorm

Mind Mapping

Ask Friends

Look at Old Posts

What is Your Audience Like? What Are Their Pain Points?

Ask Yourself Before Going to Sleep

How Do You Come up with Ideas?

The Beauty of Self-Expression

There’s Piracy and Then There’s Piracy

Seek out Your Own Inner Pirate

Ships Passing in the Night

Avoid Facebook Quizzes That Ask How Much of a Pirate You Are

Talk Like a Pirate Day

You’ve Wasted Ten Minutes of Your Life

You Might Be the Weakest Link

Be Ruthless

It’s Counterintuitive

The Metaphor is Yours and Yours Alone

Outsourcing

Take Enough Time to Sharpen the Axe

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Collaborations Give You Energy

The Doing

Are You Tired and Frazzled?

What Counts as Blogging?

Play to Your Strengths

Do You Know All the Nuances?

Your Sanity is Worth Something

Focus on Your Business

Save Your Time

How About Doing a Combination?

Hire a Professional

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