The Professional Writer Podcast

5 Steps for Planning a Year’s Worth of Blogging

5 easy steps for planning an entire year’s worth of blog posts — starting right now! Guest column by Katherine Scott Jones.

Why bother editing a blog post? After all, it’s ONLY a blog!

An aspiring author (who struggles to write a coherent sentence) was affronted when I suggested that it might be a good idea to seek a little editing help.

“Why do I need to edit my blog posts? It’s JUST a blog.”

3 Great Lifesaving Tips for Newbie Bloggers

Is blogging a new adventure for you? Save your sanity with these three tips for newbie bloggers from author, Doug Brown.

Doug attended “Take your blogging and social media marketing to the next level,” a course Laura Christianson taught recently.

Blog: The Most Powerful Tool in Your Marketing Toolbox

Thinking about blogging this year?

Websites that include a blog integrated into the site (NOT hosted separately on Blogspot or some other blog hosting service) typically have 434% more indexed pages.

Blog posts are doorways to your business. Publish a blog post once a week this year, and give your customers 52 doors to open.

This article and accompanying infographic explains how to use the “doorway” method to help new customers discover you.

8 Tips to Writing Great Content for Your Readers

By Matt Boyd
Guest Contributor

I’m not your typical writer. I’ve never been classically trained in language arts so needless to say, writing has not always been (and still isn’t) second nature to me. There’s a constant balance of writing well and creating content people will enjoy. Finding that balance is often difficult.

Recently, I’ve immersed myself in a whirlwind of blog articles with the sole purpose of studying successful writing styles. It’s always interesting to see which posts are successful by reading how users respond in the comments. Over my time as a studier of blog articles, I’ve learned some simple tips that have helped me create content people respond to and enjoy.

Three Powerful Storytelling Methods to Improve Your Writing or Speaking

By Dennis Brooke
Guest Contributor

I was shocked to read about an archeological expedition that made an amazing discovery in a cave near the Sea of Galilee. They claimed to have uncovered evidence that Jesus had used charts written on large sheets of papyrus with elaborately colored pie charts. On these first-century graphics his disciples illustrated such concepts such as the relative importance of God’s love versus obeying the law.

Of course, I’m kidding. Jesus knew that the way to reach the hearts of those he created in his image was through stories. Even if his apostles had hauled around papyrus flip charts with bullet points and graphics they didn’t survive—but the teachings of Christ have lived on through memorable stories.

Need a Burst of Creativity? Switch Your ‘Mouse’ Hand

Have you ever stared at your computer, waiting for inspiration to strike? Here’s a quick tip I picked up at Daniel Scocco’s DailyBlogTips: Use your non-dominant hand to operate your mouse. It’s all about stimulating those neural connections between the right and left sides of your brain, says Daniel.  Doing something out-of-the-ordinary exercises your brain […]

How to Write a Roundup Blog Post

Roundup blog posts are an effective way to build your reputation as an expert source of information.

A roundup post highlights and links to several articles in your niche – they can be articles from your own blog or from other sources.

10 Good Reasons to Blog

Yesterday we discussed the top 8 reasons why people decide not to blog. Today we’ll chew on the top 10 reasons why people blog. 1.  To make new friends Everyone longs to feel like part of a community. Blogging connects you with a worldwide community of like-minded people with whom you can engage in conversation […]

8 Reasons NOT to Blog

“Do I need a blog?” Nope. You don’t. You can live a purpose-filled life minus a blog. Don’t let anyone convince you that you have to blog, just for the sake of blogging. But you might want to blog. Whether you’re a small business owner, an author who’s looking to promote your upcoming book, or […]