My Health, Podcasts and The Blog Challenge
I realised that this blog challenge was going to take up some time this month and had decided that I would give myself two hours daily to do each blog.
Well that set the family off – bless them!
They already think I spend far too long at the computer and frequently tell me so.
- My wife is a health visitor and claims she is always climbing stairs and walking;
- My son is a surfer, climber type who is really fit and is running his first marathon in London later this month;
- My daughter has videos on You Tube lifting weights, kick boxing, and goodness knows what else in the gym (did she mention kettles?).
So you probably get the picture – here is the old man who has had some heart issues spending another two hours online writing daily blogs.
Well I know they care and mean well AND I also know they are right.
The Secret to Keep Everyone Happy – Podcasts On The Go
So my daughter ( who has the ability always to do twenty five things at once ) has made me promise that I will go for a fast half hour walk WHILE listening to my podcasts for content and ideas etc.
That is what I will do.
Challenge after Challenge.
The next thing I need to sort out is how I take notes as I am listening to podcasts while walking. I need some voice recording software which can kick in and stop the podcast playing while I make a recorded voice note. It would be even better if the recorded voice message was automatically converted into text.
There you are software developers. Your comments please.
STILL – Two and Half Hours Per Blog is Not Long
Having said all of that – two and half hours is not long to efficiently do a blog.
It is alright for a personal narrative like this post.
But for news subjects: finding your facts research, picture locating, headline creation, structuring, SEO keywords – and of course writing all takes time.
So need to get nifty and efficient. I am on a learning curve and want to get really sharp with good processes in place.
So What Now?
It is day three and I am realising the importance of this challenge and just what I am learning already.
I have blogged for many years on and off but it was done with NO real urgency.
Sometimes a post would be in preparation for some time as if it was being marinated.
I know I get quite scared about putting things out –
- Will there be grammatical errors? – YES – inevitable.
- Will every sentence make sense? NO
- Will I upset anyone? Inevitable.
- Do I want comments? – YES – BUT
With this daily challenge assignment approach I have had to begin to act and think like a journalist, and quickly source the facts and story-line.
One of the things I am now doing is reading newspaper and magazine articles carefully. Reading less – but reading with more purpose
What a great thing to do.
It is enjoyable and you can see the writers craft and use of language.
Giving myself a limited time though means that I have to be very specific with the topic size.
However – By writing daily you give yourself the chance to pick up a subject again and develop a theme.
AND I Will Do That Today,
I have a BIG question that I will make the subject of tomorrow’s blog.
The issue is all about writing to a particular person in your writing.
For example:
I am assuming for instance that the majority of the people reading this message will be other blog posters taking the challenge.
My question tomorrow will be about promoting something much more generic than any individual item.
Here is Wisdom Of Professional Blogger
Here is a a paragraph from a blog post by Julia McCoy
https://expresswriters.com/ultimate-guide-to-writing-a-blog/
The “Golden Rule”
The “Golden Rule” of writing a blog is simple; write for ONE reader.
The hope would be that you already have a good idea of who your ONE reader is.
Hopefully you also have a good idea of where they are, what problems they’re having, and how they communicate.
Entire books and long form guides have been written on defining, finding, and targeting your ONE reader (also called target audience, target market, etc.)
I get this advice entirely.
OR DO I ?
Check back tomorrow right here…
Photo by Victor Xok on Unsplash
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