Just had a chat with my pal and colleague Jaime Almond (pictured below) about the behind the scenes of how I write a blog post and thought you might find it interesting.
Jaime
I just had an idea for a blog post for you
me
oooh
Jaime
you know how we were talking about how you turn everything into a blog? well look at this break-in you could do a inside look on how this turned into blog posts it started with posting on Facebook…
me
hmm
Jaime
then you turned the experience into a blog about what you learned then you posted questions about backups on Facebook this might not be the best example, but it’s interesting
me
which i will then turn into another blog post about ‘online back ups’
Jaime
right
me
i think what it hilights for me is the dynamic between my blog and facebook.
Jaime
yeah, and how you blog about everything… also I love how I can say “you should turn that into a blog” and you do you really listen to others. seriously Tad, I bought 2 new hard drives on Saturday because of you I’m backed up! What a relief
me
i am constantly struck but the overwhelming amount of content there is. i think part of the challenge is most people don’t have a place to capture their ideas. every good comedian i know has a little back pocket book where they can jot down their funny ideas. and i think every serious blogger (and entrepreneur in general) should have a place where they capture good ideas. I’ve got 616 potential blog posts jotted down right now. plus fifty or so half written on my blog that i’ve not yet published. like when we were chatting in Toronto, I’d get an idea, jot it down and then forget about it.
me
it also highlights the power of word of mouth marketing. so i get my stuff stolen, put up some facebook posts, realize it might be a good facebook post and then someone writes a comment about how they use online back ups. that inspires me to do it. so i go to sign up for the service they recommended and thought, ‘wait. maybe there’s a better one out there. let me pause’ and so i posted a question on facebook asking, ‘what’s the best online back up service you know?’ and that will almost certainly turn into a really useful blog post for my crowd itself. so it becomes this neverending conversation. and i get to hear word of mouth recommendations from people i trust. this feels so different from trying to sell people. or ‘trying’ to engage them. i’m asking questions i’m genuinely curious about and then i harvest and share the learnings.
i think people think that they have to come up with all sorts of original content – and you don’t always. sometimes you can just gather up all the flowers and arrange them in a beautiful bouquet. you don’t need to grow them all yourself. or create some new flower no one has ever seen.
Jaime
absolutely! it’s such a great way to learn too because you aren’t the expert in everything. you crowdsource. plus it cuts your research time down by a lot
me
so it feels like three main parts (in no particular order):
1) using social media to engage conversation and get different perspectives, ideas and suggestions or just express where you’re at.
2) my blog where i gather it all together and offer the synthesized versions back to the community (and often get even more corwdsourced wisdom) and
3) a place to capture ideas that come up through these conversations.
Jaime
yeah, and then it helps you develop your content etc
me
can i turn this convo into a blog post?
Jaime
of course
(for more of my thoughts on blogging click here)
If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.