Heaven only knows that being writers, we can all procrastinate. Anyway, rather than postponing the actual writing of this article by meandering around with words, let me get to it for you. Here are three tips to apply starting today to begin to postpone writing procrastination:

1. Clean off your desk. You might think that this is actually a way to procrastinate, and it can be. What I am suggesting here though is the idea that when it is time to write, you have a cleaned-off surface. Depending on where you write, this may be the surface of your desk or it could be the space around your computer. A clean and clear desk eliminates many distractions, with those distractions being the last thing you need when you are trying to avoid procrastination so that you can write.

2. Notice when you are messing around and only pretending to write. I will make the assumption that you are an adult and that you have the executive control functions required to be a productive grown-up. Given that fact, you know perfectly well when you are fiddling around and not writing.I am sure you could list all kinds of “pretend” writing that you do. Tinkering with margins, changing fonts, tracing back over words on a pad, making sure all your pencils are sharpened…you know what I mean. Call yourself on these behaviors and get back to writing.

3. Sit down. Maybe you don’t need this tip, but when I was a professor, I could not believe the number of people who would stand out in the hall or wander around the office area talking about how much they needed to write and complaining that the publication expectations were too high, etc., etc., etc. It was all I could do not to go out into the hall and suggest (nicely, of course), that they might want to get their rear ends into chairs and start writing instead of standing around talking about writing. Recently, Chris Clarke-Epstein said she had heard a quote (so I guess this is hearsay), that if you are hoping the Muse is going to visit when you write, it’s best if the Muse knows where to find you. So sit down and let the Muse know you are available for inspiration.

All three of these tips work in conjunction with each other. This means that if you have one of these under control, it will help you with the other three. So, which one will you start with – right now? No procrastinating, please.

You might be in one of the #HAHD challenges right now. Whether you are trying to publish 100 articles in 100 days or are trying to generate a large number of articles or other content to be ready to post at a moment’s notice, here are five tips to help you do just that. See which you can use as a treasure trove for yourself.

1. Previous articles you have written that were never published, but still have plenty of good content there. Look in your file cabinet and look on your hard drive. It’s surprising how much “good stuff” we never submitted and or we never tried hard enough to get published.

2. Course content you have developed. It is incredible when you begin to look at everything you have created for your classes, workshops, or other trainings and then start to think about how you can work with that content to create new articles, documents, or other written material. Take a look at what you have already amassed from your teachings.

3. Books (or other materials) you have written that have been published. There are so many publishing options and so many different copyright policies – so figure out whether you own the copyright (vs. the publishing company) and if it is you, well then, for heaven’s sake, start packaging that information into other formats. If someone else owns it, there are still many ways to re-view and re-write your information and see what you can generate.

4. Books you have written that haven’t been published. Wouldn’t it be nice to think that every single item that a writer ever wrote actually got published? Well, that’s not how it works. For whatever reason, you have books and other materials that didn’t make it to publication. Look at those with a fresh eye and see what you can mine.

5. Speeches you have given. Whether you have given speeches at conferences, conventions, Lions (or other service) clubs, commencements, or any other event, you probably wrote those out or at least had extensive notes. That is content you can use now for other writing you are doing. You’ll be surprised at what lurks in your file cabinet (physical and virtual).

I’m telling you from experience that you will be stunned by the amount of written material that you already have that can be revised, edited, repurposed or in some other way used to increase your published output.

http://www.copyblogger.com/ultimate-facebook/

I’ll be going back to this MANY times!

I just answered a question this morning from a Life of E’s member (today is one of our *E*mail *E*xtravaganzas) and she had written in about my recent recommendation I’d sent her about Tom Antion’s ecourse on WordPress wanting to know more about what she would learn and why I had bought it.  Here’s my answer (sort of stream of consciousness but you get the drift): 

I have had WordPress for the Life of E’s blog and for my articles blog for awhile but I paid my webhosting company to set them up and then paid my webhosting company when I need certain things and have just felt like it was pretty limited and frustrating. I know that I have just paid another pile of money to my webhosting company to set up another website (not on a blog platform).  If I had waited a week and gotten Tom’s announcement, I wouldn’t have done that, but now that I have already paid it, I’ll keep working with that site.   However….

….I really see that from now on, I’m going to figure out whether I can go with a WordPress platform. Since I own a boatload of domain names, I want to have some one-page sites or pretty minimal sites (compared to www.meggin.com) and I can do that through WP.

What Tom gives you is 65 pages of info – pretty detailed and then at least 20 or so videos that he has created (you don’t see him, just his computer) where he is showing how to do things. I like his teaching style and sure enough, I’ve watched the video and then done just what he showed. The later videos which are about how to actually post, etc., I already knew. What I really lacked was the set up, the basics that, for some reason, scared me so I kept paying someone else to do it.

You can use either of these links to access Tom’s info on the product and to order.

http://tinyurl.com/2exjdu6  – these are my affiliate links to the product.  If you’re going to go check it out, you might use one of these links since I get the “thank you dollars,” but it costs you the same.  Totally up to you, of course.

http://snipurl.com/xmmd9

I think the reason he sells it for so little ($97) is because his list is so huge that he knows he’ll make a jillion dollars either way.

I bought the program last Friday, read through the 65 pages on Saturday, thought…wow. I can do this. Then started watching the videos later on Saturday (they range from about 3 minutes to about 12 minutes or so). I have continued to watch a few videos and do a few things each day so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I worked on the http://thirtyarticlesinjustthirtydays.com/ site yesterday for about an hour to 90” to start getting more content and also to try out adding the tabs and different things. This weekend, I’m going to start setting up another site that will be a much simpler one for right now…just a page or two.

I have taken this and other educational programs from Bea Fields and she provides useful information, presented in an easily digestible manner!  I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about blogging (and other internet-related topics; I learned MUCH more than just blogging from her classes).

Here is some more information about the class from her website:

Dates: 12 Consecutive Mondays from August 10-October 26, 2009 from 1-3 Eastern (all recorded – so no worries if you miss a week)

Cost: $97.00

Location: Delivered via telephone bridge and webinar.

Facilitator: Bea Fields

Coaching: 1 hour of private coaching with Bea Fields.

Recordings: Yes. The calls will be recorded and made available to you for download following the calls.

Resources: Yep! We’ve got them covered…everything you need to know and more about blogging, social networks and some of the inside scoop the public does not know about!

www.RackandWrite.com

I learned about this in the WordPress class I’m taking from Bea Fields (Become a Blogging Maniac).  And that was only on the first day.  She has a wealth of information on her site.  

Lots of practical information is shared – with humor.  Gotta love that combination

One thing I have noticed is how some web sites, blogs, and articles have a greater influence on me – the consumer of written language.  As we have such short attention spans when it comes to reading content (and there’s a lot of content to choose from!), some individuals seem to have a secret on how to hook the consumer.  I had the opportunity to listen to a teleseminar from a woman known as Michele PW.  She shared 5 great secrets to writing good web copy and has given permission for me to share my notes with you.

Before I list her secrets, she shared how there are different kinds of copywriting.  The copywriting she focused on is called ‘direct response copywriting.’  Michele says, “Direct response copyrighting is salesmanship in print.”  Here are her secrets:

1. Headlines convince your prospects to read.  Don’t try to be too cute.  Powerful headlines imply a story or problem & solution.  The writer knows the conversation that is already in your prospects heads and puts that conversation in the headline.

2. The call to action – at the bottom – is so clear that the buyer knows exactly what to do to buy.  Just like the infomercial says, “Pick up the phone and dial….” the web copy needs to say, “Click here and you will be taken to my secure shopping cart…”  Also remember that:  If you don’t ask, they won’t buy.

3. Tell your benefits because that’s what the prospect buys.  Features are not benefits.  Features are the facts (time, price).  Benefits people can use to compare the services/products whether they are comparing the choices you offer or what some one else is offering for their time and money.  Michele says that what makes the web copy powerful is to, “Tell the benefit of the benefit.”  Draw some pictures that will resonate with your target.

4. Overcome objections.  The two objections, regardless of the service/product are time and money.  These are the universal issues.  So, refer to secret three on how to work through this concern.

5. Provide a guarantee because this takes the risk off your prospect and puts it on you.  Be careful about how you phrase time constraints as this works against secret four.

I received some ‘aha’ moments while listening to Michele’s content.  You can learn more about her and her services/products at www.MichelePW.com.

Thanks for sharing, Kelly.  Kelly’s website is www.KJscottage.com

Dr. Julie-Ann McFann alerted me to this opportunity, so I signed up, since in April I’m also starting to take a series of classes on WordPress and how to use it more effectively (see previous blog post on Bea Fields’ class).  So, if you’re interested, here’s the link:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/03/25/31-days-to-build-a-better-blog-sign-up-here/

Apparently there are already over a 1000 people signed up.  Zowee.

Meggin