Siezing the Moment

Pearsonified has an interesting article about siezing the blog moment.  Yes, I know it’s from back in last December, but forgive me, I’ve only just found that blog. heh.  In the article, Chris discusses ways to sieze the blog moment - in other words, ways to increase the chances of your grabbing a bloggable moment (whether to blog about it, immediately, or late).

A lot of times, we go through our days experiencing thing after thing that we could blog about.  Unfortunately, we’re never in front of our computer when that happens.  So…  What can we do to increase the chances that we’ll still have that bloggable moment with us when we sit down and put fingers to keyboard?  Chris has a four item list, and I’m adding a couple more items.  Here we go:

• Carry a camera with you at all times:  As Chris says, “you never know when something priceless is going to happen.”  He raises a very valid point.  An example?  Maybe you blog about cars.  You’re out at the mall one day, and see an old 1930’s Studebaker; or an old 1940’s hot rod.  Inspiration suddenly hits in the form of a post about classic hot rods, and their slow return to the forefront of collectivism, today.  You grab your trusty camera, and snap a picture.  Bingo, instant blog fodder, and a boost to your blog metrics (images within posts have been proven to increase click-through rates, and reader attention.
• Recognize life’s little annoyances when they happen: As Chris says, something small, insignificant, and completely annoying happens to you at least once or twice a week, yeah?  Since most bloggers tend to bring their subject into their lives in at least some form or fashion, how often do those annoying things have to do you with your blog topic?  Keep track of them, and blog about ‘em.  An example?  You’re a car blogger, and you’re out at the mall, and you see the afformentioned 1930’s Studebaker.  The guy backs out, nearly running over you as you’re walking past the car, and flips you off.  Bingo! You’re instantly reminded that a lot of classic car owners seem to be jerks (in your opinion).  That’s blog fodder.  An added bonus to this type of post is that “annoyance” based posts really tend to pull in the comments.
• Have you learned something so excellent it made your life better?  Trust me.  That’s a blog moment.  98% of the time, it doesn’t even have to be on the same topic as your blog (we all need to make off-topic posts, occasionally).  It’s worth that much more gold in the bank if it relates to your topic; but if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it… Blog it, anyway.  Do you blog about blogging, and you learned how to change your car’s oil, yourself, this week?  Blog about it.  Spend some time in a right-brained creative-zen mode, and see if you can’t parlay that post about changing your car’s oil into something about changing your blog’s “oil”. (In this case, that would transliterate into making small changes to your layout every so often, just to keep things from growing visually stale.  …speaking of, I need to write that post.)
• Be consistent in your strongest areas:  This should be strikingly obvious.  I’ll forego Chris’s more unusual example, and use my own.  If you’re passionate about woodworking, then for crying out loud, put down the hammer, and blog about it, occasionally.  Actually, if you’re really passionate or knowledgeable about a subject (or even just want to), blog about it consistently.  Over time, you’ll establish yourself as one of the go-to places for information on your topic. (Example?  Mind Blog has slowly become one of the go-to resources for new bloggers.)
• Keep Blogging Notebooks:  I’ve mentioned this time, and time, and time again.  Keep a notebook with you, at all times.  I have a small notebook in the door cubby of my truck; I have a notebook in my laptop bag, my briefcase, and any backpacks I take with me; and I have a voice memo feature on my mobile.  At my computer, I use Microsoft OneNote (and for those of you who can’t afford/don’t want to pay for OneNote, there’s a free note software called EverNote).  KEEP NOTEBOOKS.  Keep multiple notebook.  My suggestions for notebook locations?

• At your desk:  Keep a notebook at your desk.  If you’re only ever at your desk to use the computer, use a computerized version like OneNote, or Evernote.
• In your bag:  Keep a briefcase, laptop bag, or backpak?  Keep a single subject notebook in it.
• In the living room: Keep a legal pad, or a single subject notebook lying on your coffee table.
• In the bedroom:  Keep a small notepad, or something similar, lying on your bedside table.
• In your vehicle:  Keep a small notepad (A gregg ruled notepad, or even a single-subject spiral, is a great addition to your vehicle).
• In your back pocket:  No joke.  Moleskine notebooks are great for this.  Personally, I use my cellphone’s voice memo feature, but for those of you without this tool, carry a small notepad, or notebook in your hip pocket.

There you have it folks.  Several ideas on how to sieze the blog moment.  Do you have any more suggestions?  There’s a comment form, just below!  Please, let us know!

If you’d like to read what inspired this post, check out Seize the Blog Moment | Pearsonified.

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