Good Reads

A quick roundup of articles on writing, content and branding.

Writing

Judy Dunn’s The Myth of Fairy Dust: One Reason I Never Get Blogger’s Block

“Let me just share one insanely simple reason I don’t get blogger’s block.
I read.”

Content

5by5 ’s podcast Content Talks with Kristina Halvorson

Weekly “talks with special guests about content strategy, intelligent and persuasive content, IA, microcopy, and more.”

Branding

Hivelogic’s Why Your Avatar Matters

“One way you can stand out, especially on sites like Twitter, is to have a great avatar. A great avatar will help people remember you instantly.”

To get your avatar set up, go to Gravatar

How to find your good reads

Mashable’s 10 Ways to Find Blogs You’ll Love

What are you reading this week?

Lessons from my first month of full-time blogging

In February I decided to challenge myself to blog every weekday in March.

No excuses. I had to post every weekday.

I did this to get myself unstuck and over my fear of blogging. Today I’ve accomplished my goal!

The first week was torture. I second guessed myself at every turn. Hated my editorial calendar. Wanted to quit.

But I didn’t quit. Here are a few reasons why:

1>  I found accountability partners.

I announced my goal to two people who would help keep me accountable, my husband, Jamie and my good friend, Jenn Morgan. We didn’t have any formal agreement for them to check up on me. But I did not want to come back to them today and say that I hadn’t finished my goal. I did not want to let them, or myself, down.

2> I gave blogging “important” status.

I started treating my blogging project with the same emphasis and attention that I give to my client work. My client work gets done. Period. No excuses. On time. I gave blogging equal weight in my list of priorities. At the end of February, I blocked out time on my schedule everyday for writing blog posts.

3> I made it fun.

I spent time crafting posts, selecting fonts, editing photos, thinking up funny titles. All the stuff that I like to do. I made it a creative endeavor instead of a chore to check off.

4> I made an editorial calendar.

I like to write whatever is on my mind each day. But on those days when the muse doesn’t show up, the editorial calendar was key to getting something posted.

5> I gave myself permission to be a writer.

I started to accept how much I love to write and to embrace that part of me. Writing this month gave me the push I needed to sign up for a writing conference.

Here’s a roundup of my posts for March. I hope you find something here to inspire you to think about design and writing as a tool to tell your business’s story

March Blog Post Roundup

Talking About Design

I Love Fonts And So Can You

Look Ma, I’m a Writer

Taking Care of Business

Life in Photos

Life in Words

Thanks for reading!

Blog Post Fairies

I’ve been sitting around waiting for a blog post fairy to shine her light down on me and give me a bunch of freaking awesome posts.

October, November, December, January and February went by and she didn’t come. She saw my lack of effort and responded accordingly.

I don’t know how it works for you, but my fairy demands ACTION. She wants to know that I want something bad enough to try to get it on my own, without her help.

Even if I really suck. Even if I’m not perfect.

In the end it was fear that motivated me.

I was afraid that if I kept waiting for the world’s best blog post to magically appear, that I’d never write anything. That my blog would stay silent.

So, I challenged myself to write 23 blog posts in March (this is #12) and I shared my goal with someone who knows a lot about pushing others to reach their goals, my friend Jenn Morgan.

On March 1st, Jenn checked in with me.

“I have a few good starts,” I said. “If I can just get out of my way enough to do it.”

That’s exactly what all the good blog fairies are hoping for. They want us to get out of our own way and do the things we really want to do.

Then they can throw in the magic when we aren’t even looking.