Peggy, Don, heck even Roger; they just sit around and wait for the perfect idea to hit them, but it is Donald Draper that convinces them to spend the big bucks on ad campaigns in the Emmy Award winning series. Millions fawn over his carefully constructed campaigns and consumer culture and his character spawns industries and helps them become a household name like no other. And all he needs is the power of words. Nothing less, nothing more. Now that is very cool. You think it, you write it, you get it out there, and it changes the world. There is no way that cannot be construed as cool.It seems so far away, just like the generation portrayed in Mad Men seems so far away, but it really isn’t. Let me pick out a few select quotes from the hit show and I’ll explain how they apply to blogging and even life just as much as they do to advertising.

“I’ll never get used to the fact that most of the time it looks like you’re doing nothing.” ~ Roger Sterling

A writer’s blessing and curse is that he can be just looking out the window and still working, or sitting at a pool side and still having the gears churning. It’s relaxing. It’s enjoyable. It’s all part of the workday. Sometimes, just doing nothing is the best thing you can do, for if you don’t it’ll make your creativity dry up. So just stop and think on occasion. If anyone asks what’s on your mind, just say you’re working. It’s true.

“Fear stimulates my imagination.” ~ Donald Draper

Fear is a terrific thing, whether you believe it or not. If you’re afraid or anxious, it means you will be on edge and churning out some of your best ideas if you just let it flow unfettered. If you’re afraid, you have a cause to work towards, a reason to act. How many entrepreneurial stories have you heard of where the individual in question was broke and had to make things work lest he starve? It’s not just good luck that saw them prevail. Put a gun to your head and see the upturn in results, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve when you will it to be so. I personally pledge to donate $100 each day to a political party I despise if I don’t hit my target of 1500 words a day. It’s a painful thought, but it works and it’s a powerful motivation. Find yours.

“A slogan’s nothing when you have a good idea.” ~ Peggy Olsen

The best of writers are a cornucopia of ideas. They will assiduously assimilate information at all time, listening, watching and reading away until they get that “Eureka!” moment. Finding the right idea is tricky, putting it across not so much for the skilled writer. Amateurs work the opposite way, writing the article and trying to stumble upon the idea while doing so. Take one idea, but make it a great one, and build your entire article around that one premise. Ideas are everything, and it takes care of everything else.

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Instead, make the move and put your full effort behind it”

The Spanish sum it up beautifully with the concept of Carpe Diem. If you feel you have an opportunity, go for it by giving all of your best. If you come up with a fantastic idea for a post, don’t think about how you want to make it sound or look, just get it done. Sportspeople talk of this mental plane called ‘The Zone’ where they don’t think about their next move or shot, they just do it (that is not subliminal advertising for Nike). Just let fly, as if you’re Bruce Lee unfurling a karate chop. Do it now.

“You just wait. I’m going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world.”

For Lee, it was more about the will to win than getting the win itself. If you wanted to win something, that will remains constant and drives you on to bigger thing. No hurdle is too high, no pre-condition too tough and no exertion of effort too great. What matters is the goal itself, but it is the individual’s will that powers people on to that target and Bruce Lee realized this. Becoming a noted blogger is incredibly difficult and only a small number actually make their living from it. That’s how hard it can be. But the question is how badly you want to make a success of yourself. It has to be a fire within that drives you forwards, a sustained passion.

“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”

Blogging can be some very draining work, so use your energy wisely. Channel it towards the essential while knocking off the unessential. There will be detractors and those that fire nasty vitriol your way. Ignore them; don’t let their hate weaken your own drive. Instead, focus on the positive. I receive lots of appreciative mails but none of them linger in my mind, only those two or three mails that were stinging in their criticism remained in my mind. I don’t do this anymore, and that is an example of paring away the unessential. Similarly, if you’ve hit a writers block, don’t feel frustrated. Replenish your creative energies, brainstorm, do whatever you need to come back rejuvenated and attack the essentials. Your energy is your biggest weapon; harness it wisely.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once; I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

It’s true when they say practice makes perfect. Are you practicing your craft daily and with the sort of fervent passion martial arts experts do? No matter what anyone says, a blogger is a writer and words are to you what a shuriken is to a ninja; it is a potent weapon. The best bloggers always practice their writing skills, and some even across a variety of styles and voices. If you can’t do that, perfect that one voice that is you distilled into its very finest. This will not only smoothen your blogging, but also reduce the time you take to come up with posts and write them down.

No matter what you set your mind to, you can achieve it if you only fully commit yourself to it, and that is the spirit behind these principles and quotes of Bruce Lee. Even from beyond the grave, Lee is teaching all of us to kick ass and there is a timeless wisdom in his words that you should apply to your writings and blogs right away.

Keep it short

Hemingway was minimalist before anyone deemed it fashionable. He looked down upon the complex writing style of others and cut out everything flowery and unnecessary. To Hemingway, it was all about penning short, powerful prose that caught the eye and captured the mind. Challenge yourself to write less and less about something until you can distil it its essence into nothing more than a sentence. Hemingway demonstrated this when challenged to tell a story in six words and he came up with “For sale: Baby shoes, never used.”

That in itself is a subtle, brilliant and sublime use of terse prose.

Use a crisp opening paragraph

Refer to the first paragraph of this post and note how it is short in length. Hemingway used to concentrate the power of his prose into a short burst right at the beginning. This acted as a prelude to the main course for Hemingway who would then continue to build on the simplicity of the storyline and wrap an entire plot and sub-contexts around it. But the key always was to use a crisp opening paragraph that got the reader on the same page as Hemingway.

Be passionate

Hemingway had a way of infusing vigor and passion into his prose. Sample this verse from ‘Old man and the Sea.’

“He was a very big Mako shark, built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. His back was as blue as a sword fish’s and his belly was silver and his hide was smooth and handsome. He was built as a swordfish except for his huge jaws, which were tight shut now as he swam fast, just under the surface with his high dorsal fin knifing through the water without wavering.”

The focus and intention of Hemingway’s mind is unwavering and unambiguous and what shines through is his vision and passion for prose.

Stay positive

This is all a bit ironic as Hemingway himself had a blackness in him, but we are not talking about negativity versus positivity in a human sense. We merely refer to saying something positively versus saying something negatively. If your dentist were to tell you “this will be painless” what remains with you is the word pain, not painless. So use positive words, such as economical for inexpensive or stable instead of error-free.

Give Your Opinion

Instead of writing very specific, informative article, give your opinion about it. People like to read blogs because they aren’t written by companies selling their products, but by an average individual with many things in common to them. Tell people what you think about the topic, and ask for suggestions.

Provide Resources

If your aim is to educate your readers as much as you can, provide useful resources in your post. Provide links to web pages that has more information on the topic. This will bring the visitor time and again on your blog to search for information and additional resources.

Write Less

If you can explain something in 400 words, don’t unnecessarily make it a 1,000 word article. People forget long post easily because they hardly read it. However, shorter points with proper sub-headings are more effective and attractive. Provide knowledge quickly at the speed of sound to your readers.

Write Attractive Headlines

If headlines are attractive, people will certainly look into the content of the post. However, this wouldn’t work if you don’t have relevant content inside. So, write a brilliant post, and use whatever you have to develop an attractive headline.

Have Convenient Format

Instead of letting people search for information from bunch of words and sentences, arrange them in proper manner. Don’t write essay-type posts, but posts with many headings, sub-headings, and bullet points, where finding relevant information would be easy.

Be Consistent

People subscribe to your blog because they like your writing style. If you are inconsistent in your style by providing information in random way, they will unsubscribe in seconds. Create your own style and be consistent.

Use Keywords

Jot down most-searched keywords in your niche and use them in all your posts. Put them in sub-headings, headings, headlines, and in the body. However, make sure it looks natural and don’t over use them.

Edit

Every time you edit the article, you improve its quality significantly. Before you click on ‘submit’, re-read your content and remove unnecessary information. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes.

He had started a blog just a month ago. He was, however, out of topics. He felt there was nothing more to write about. Everything he knew was written by him in just 17 posts. There was definitely a problem which he failed to notice. Hence, I promised him to check his blog and provide necessary solutions within a week.

After reading all his posts, I derived my conclusion instantly. He was a very skilled writer and had enough knowledge about the topic. His problem, however, was not end of topic. But he had taken his level of knowledge for granted. Explaining basic things in his niche didn’t make sense to him. He thought it was too obvious, and people would definitely know all these things.

I explained him the importance of starting from the basic and writing a separate post about every possible topic he had learned over years. He was not quite happy with my solution as he wanted his every post to be unique; something that was never written about before.

I faced a similar problem when I started this blog. I thought blogging tips are available all over the web, what difference I could possibly make. I wanted my every post to have some piece of information nowhere to be found on the web. I soon realized this strategy wouldn’t work if I want to have a long term blog.

Instead, I focused on the importance of simplicity. Breaking down things into many posts and explaining each point in-depth is the key. There may be many people smarter than you around the world. However, a major part of world’s population is still looking for simple information, with essential elements.

And it’s completely okay to be out of ideas. Instead of trying to hard to think about new topics, here is what you can do to post simple topics.

• Mention some experiences you had
• Write about the problem you faced recently and how did you overcome it
• Write about how you learned a significant lesson
• Think like an expert, write like a beginner

Remember, it is not necessary to write everything you know in a single post. Break it down into small topic and cover the depth of each of them.

Many bloggers, trust me on this, have given up blogging because they don’t trust their capabilities. Yep, it’s definitely good to quit if you don’t think you are capable of handling a task, but throwing off the towel much before the game start wouldn’t help.

I must admit, and am not bragging, I faced similar problem during initial years of my blogging career, but I have now overcome it. And it is not difficult. Here is what you can do to eliminate this hesitation.

Face it – There are no shortcuts

We start doubting our capabilities when we don’t receive desired results. You cannot attract many readers on the day you launch your blog unless you are a celebrity. Understand, it takes time; at least 8-12 months to get results. By results I mean attracting traffic, making money, receiving comments, etc. Every job demands hard work. You don’t get a promotion on the first day of your new job, do you?

Act Before You Doubt Yourself

People start doubting their abilities and hesitate to blog because they aren’t able to attract any readers. This happens probably because they do not take appropriate action. I would like to share a very short story with you. Recently, I met a guy who asked me about affiliate marketing. Out of everyone I have interacted in my blogging career, I must confess, this guy pissed my off terribly. I explained him hundred times that it’s impossible to earn money unless you work on it, but he refused to understand and opposed my views constantly. At last, I gave up explaining him, and few days later, he gave up affiliating marketing.

The logic is simple. If you want results, take action. If you think you are weak at something, learn about it. Doubting yourself wouldn’t help. It would kill your morale. Spare some time to work on your blog and give it some time to grow. Short cut, in any case, is just a myth.

There was a guy who provided free content to his readers for approximately 11 years. He worked hard and watched his readers list grow. Later, he launched a paid website and as expected, thousands of readers followed him. People say he succeeded immediately. What about the 11 years of unpaid hard work he had put? What if he too would have doubted hi abilities and quit?

The secret is to keep going and never give up.

And you probably wouldn’t believe if I say that being away from your blog is actually the best you could do to improve it.

If you are among those who are always thinking about their blog, its performance, its traffic, etc. then probably these tips a re tailor-made to suit your needs. Sometimes, I just sit against my computer and stare at the blank word document because I don’t know what to write. My mind is as blank as the word document. Perhaps, it might have happened to you as well.

That’s the time you need to be away from your blog. Here is how it helps:

1. Coming up with Fresh Ideas
   This is something that even the best blogger of the world might not be consistent in. It requires a calm and clear mind to generate new ideas. And do you really think sitting in front of your computer for hours would help? It wouldn’t.One possible option is to get away from your PC and relax for a while. Then, take a pen and paper and start jotting down all the topics that you have written about. Select any topic among them and try to look at it from a very different perspective, from all the possible angles.

   Ask yourself: have you covered all the sub-topics that could possibly be created from this topic? What else people would need to know about this topic? For instance, ‘Blogging Content’ is a topic or an idea. However, there can be numerous sub-topics or sub-ideas created from this topic like ‘How to write good content?’, ‘What is bad content?’, and so on.

   This is a very good exercise that promises consistent flow of ideas. You would never have to stare at the blank screen and keep thinking for hours.

2. Relate with the real world
   The real, refreshing outside world probably has much to offer. It can help you to come up with something that the internet wouldn’t. How do you think a new idea is generated? It is generated when we look at various things and think about it differently. Look at everything around you, everything in the outside world, each or any of them could be your next topic, or a new blog.Let’s look at something concrete for now. Pick up any magazine and you will find hundreds of article, which is no different from a blog. Magazine itself is a big blog.

   Next, a business. Any business. My father owns a departmental store. His business, in many ways, can help me to improve my blog. No, I cannot start writing about shopping habits or prices of groceries, if my blog is about improving the way your blog. But I definitely can learn  lot from the smart business models, new ideas applied in the store, how advertising affects the business, or just the way people act, and apply it in my blog someway or the other.

   If I can’t apply it, at least I would know how to operate a business. However, that’s not what we are focusing on right now. According to me, you will get something out of it. Remember, it all depends on how we look at something.

3. Use the technology
   If it’s really urgent to update something on your blog, or replying a comment, and your are traveling, or just far from accessing a computer, don’t fret. Just relax and enjoy the benefits of the improvement in technology. You can access your blog or edit it through your mobile, iPod, blackberry, PSP, or many other devices.An application called WordPress for iPhones can allow you to type and post your article on your blog. You can also edit blog pages, upload images, or reply to a comment. So, you aren’t actually away from your blog, are you?
4. Offline Advertising
   It is the most effective way to utilize your time improving your blog while you are away from it. Unfortunately, very less percentage of the bloggers today use offline advertising as a source of promotion. This can be very effective if your blog discusses something about the real outside world. Offline blogging can be done by distributing t-shirts, car stickers, posters etc. I will be soon writing about the various ways to advertise offline because I rally think it’s quite effective and least used.
5. Just Relax
   Here is another point on which you won’t agree with me, but relaxing does help to improve your blog.
   I have seen many bloggers face something known as ‘Blogger’s Block’ i.e. a time when they are not able to write, not even a word. Relaxing, then, is the best solution. Even if you are a bit overworked, relaxing will help you to soothe you mind and body, which is quite important to come up with new ideas regularly.Being relaxed is a way to calm your mind.
   Being relaxed is a way to be creative.
   Being relaxed is a way to be in a proper state of mind.
   Being relaxed is a way to improve your blog.

Okay. These were my suggestions on how can you make optimum utilization of the time you are away from your blog. Some people have the habit of carrying a pen and paper along with them, wherever they go. I do believe it’s a great idea because it helps you to jot down every idea you come up with.

I would really appreciate if you can discuss how you can utilize you “non-blogging” time. Would love to read your inputs.

Suggestions Please!

Now, it isn’t that I don’t love my blogs. I love them as much as you do. And you know what, I have a secret that helps me to keep going and love my blogs, always. This secret can be used by you as well, when you feel low or uninterested.

Happiness

No, I am not a psychologist or a spiritual teacher. But I have learned one thing for sure that if you are happy, you are a good blogger. Don’t believe me? Try this. Write an article when you are very happy and post it. Keep writing and keep a note of which articles you wrote while you were happy. There will come a time when you aren’t quite happy or simply sad due to some reasons. Write an article and post it. You don’t really have to keep of note of this article because you will be reminded constantly by your readers through comments about the awfulness.

Yippee! It’s work time

In my opinion, blogging is a pretty cool work to do. Actually, I wouldn’t term it as ‘work’. It’s all about sharing, interacting, appreciating, and learning. And these things are best done when you are happy. Generally, except those sad days, I am quite excited to blog even before I switch on my desktop. It’s not work, it’s fun.

Future Envision

I left my job to take up blogging as my career. I hate the idea of working in an office or anywhere else to earn money. I didn’t want to sit a glass cabin and tally the balance sheet for the rest of my life. It was possible for me to quit because I saw the future. I asked myself how I would like to see my blog six months from now. I smiled. What about a year? I smiled again. That was my goal. And since that day, I haven’t stopped thinking about my aim and targets.

Everyday, before switching on my PC, I think about my goal, I think about my career. And guess what? I don’t need any other motivation to keep myself going. I work harder and happier.

However, I am talking about times, when you don’t feel like working because you aren’t happy. Here are some tips you can apply then. Or may be everyday.

Get ready to work

1. Pumping Music:
   For me, this is the best motivator, especially when I am a bit low. I listen to a couple of numbers that helps me get pumped up. Without this daily dose of music, I don’t feel quite ready to get started.
2. Boost your ego:
   I am not asking you to be very egoist one. However, you need to boost your ego when things aren’t going in the right direction. When I need it, I read the emails sent by readers or some very good comments that make me feel better about my work. This is necessary when you are down.
3. Celebrate every small success:
   The best way to keep going is celebrate and enjoy everything. If 4 readers subscribed for your blog overnight, rejoice and congratulate yourself. If your post receives 19 comments, jump and dance. Make a big deal about every small pleasure. If you won’t do it, slowly but surely, you become greedy. After some months, even 100 comments won’t satisfy you. Be content, be happy.
4. A Daily To-Do List:
   Make a to-do list for each day. Put down all the things that needs to be done, on paper. Include every small detail. I make a list every night for the coming day. And trust me, nothing is as motivating as check off something as done in your list. This will ensure that you are going in the right direction and working toward achieving your goal.
5. Your Role Model:
   Sometimes, when a pumping track or an ego boost doesn’t seem to work, I think about the person whom I admire. There are numerous such people in the world who are known for their success achievement. Pick any one of them and strive to be as successful as him.

What if you aren’t still happy?

How do you feel when you start working? Are you happy? Do you fell excited about your work or feel frustrated? If you don’t feel much good about your work, try these tips which I just mentioned.

Even after trying these things you can’t get interested, try a comprehensive self analysis and find out whether it’s blogging that you like or something else. It’s better to quit rather than doing something uninterestingly. In most of the cases, blogging isn’t the problem. It’s just the wrong topic.

What about you?

The whole article is my experience and my ways to get ready for work. It’s your turn now. How do you get ready for work? Do you get excited before starting your work or is it just a routine? Or do you have any better ways to get motivated and happy? We all work so differently, I am sure you have ample of ideas.

Cluttered Blogs

While writing personal finance blogs, bloggers need to understand that readers seek a precise piece of information, an unambiguous direction, or a personal viewpoint on the subject. Many articles today are cluttered with junk information or repetition. Recently I read an article about managing finance during retirement and I found that every paragraph had the same message. It’s quite exasperating. Why don’t they write a shorter one rather that repeating the same message over and over again? Bloggers should remember that the people reading their post are the ones facing financial crises or searching ways to make optimum utilization of the available funds. They are already facing problems.

No responses to comments

If someone has taken up the responsibility to start a blog, he/she should be courteous enough to reply to the comments received to the posts.

Recently I came across a very though provoking personal finance blog post that dememded appreciation and a discussion. It was I of the few I sincerely like. So, with much dedication and concentration, I posted a long response and subscribed to the comments RSS feed to make sure I don’t miss the blogger’s response. Predictably, the response never came. Why do they do this? Such an irresponsible behavior makes the reader feel ignored. I, as a reader, promised never to comment on any posts because it’s quite infuriating not to receive a response.

The vagueness

Again, people reading personal finance blog posts are not seeking entertainment. They need guidance, accurate information and updates, acknowledgement, and some sincerity. Sometimes (actually many times), I start reading the post because the title is quite attractive. However, there are two things that I generally and sadly find under such titles. First, a long introduction before coming to the point which is not at all needed. Second, there is no information in the article. Some bloggers just talk around the topic and conclude.

Reading Complexity

Some bloggers find it quite exciting to decorate their posts with bright background and brighter font. What is it, some weird web designing contest? Readers are attracted to posts that provide quality information or at least a pleasurable read and not by attractive colors. It isn’t an advertisement banner, it is a blog post.

I understand it’s important to use financial terminologies while writing a personal finance blog post. However, it seems that some posts are written by a highly educated finance professor especially for his few students in a financially-coded language that should not be understood by other. Please try to keep it simple. Internet is a platform that avails the ease to share the information globally. You cannot know, by any means, who will be reading your posts. Avoid jargons and use simple English. Is it that difficult to manage?

Self-centeredness

Most of the bloggers today do not understand that a blog post is not a one-way propagation tool. It’s is okay to provide personal touches and personal experience occasionally. Some blogs a found were full of me, my, myself, and I. This will frustrate the reader. An effective way of blogging is addressing the reader. They wouldn’t be interest in reading a story that mentions how you spent a boring night in a local restaurant, unless you are a celebrity.

To avoid such irksome mistakes while writing a personal finance blog post or on any other topic, please read it twice or thrice before posting it.

Truly, if only people knew. But how can they, with so many blog posts, books and tutorials promising to teach them mastering a skill in just 7 days, 2 days, and some even few hours? When I was in my teens, it used to be a ‘couple of months’. The number of days to master a skill seems to be dwindling every year.

The truth, sorry to say, is not so miraculous.

There is one approach to master a skill and virtually the only one:

• Learn:

  About it. Watch, read, listen, and ask about anything and everything that’s related to it. Learning and knowledge is the first step to achieve it.

• Do it:

  Do it again, and again, and again. Here, you start understanding it. Forget about the quality or the level of mastery, because at this stage, you are miserable. But remember, you are learning.

• Keep doing it:

  and after about a year or two you will be good at it. I said good, not a master. To achieve mastery, you need to…

• Do some more:

  By the time you reach this stage, you have made most of the common mistakes and more importantly, learned from it. You aren’t anxious about committing mistakes because of two reasons. First, you are used to it and secondly, you make very few now. This is the time ascend from ‘goodness’ to ‘greatness’.

Swallow the fact that it takes about 5 to 10 years to master a skill, purely depending on how much time you spend doing it. According to few experts, it takes about 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, but I seriously don’t believe it. It vastly varies from person to person, their skills, and many other aspects.

For instance, I have been trying to master the art of blogging. I wrote my first article about 5 years ago, but I am still

learning and I know I have much more to learn. You have to try it, commit mistakes, learn, do some more, learn some more. That’s when you understand it. Gradually, you become good and then comes a time, if you are still doing it, when you are great at it.

Ask any master, any professional about his journey of mastering his skill and he will gladly disclose the fact; the fact that it takes many years of hard work, consistency, passion and learning to become a master. It demands passion, it demands aspiration, it demands doing and more doing.

So the bottom-line is: do it and do it with fun. Don’t get disheartened, you are just a beginner. Enjoy it like we all did. Do it, learn it, like it, love it, and live it. That’s they only way to achieve mastery and I declare this openly, to the world.

Get the passion and start doing it without wasting time. And do not, I repeat, do not buy the book or subscribe the post that promises to teach you a skill in a day, or even a month. They are hoaxers with a hand in your wallet.

Keep doing it without thinking of giving up. You will succeed. Brain Tracy once said “Never consider the possibility of failure; as long as you persist, you will be successful.”