Image by Adam Tinworth
This is a guest post by Jill Green.
When I first started writing my personal anxiety self help blog a few years ago I looked for suggestions on how to use WordPress, do SEO, get links and all that important stuff.
One thing I read over and over and over was to Write Killer Content.
Write Killer Content and you will people will share your stuff, link back to you, sign up for your list, buy your products, and you will have it made!
But no matter where I looked, no one could explain to me how to write killer content that felt “right” to me.
I was told to buy high quality PLR and rewrite it myself. Well I tried that, but I found it hard to get inspired that way. As a result, those blog posts are buried in my archives with very little or no traffic at all.
Sometimes my blog would sit idle weeks without new content. I knew I had my own voice and style of writing and this is what I wanted to show my readers. So I would sit there at the computer and try to will the inspiration to come, but I just couldn’t force it.
So while this may seem backwards, this is what helped me the most in learning to come up with engaging content:
First, I had to get away form the computer and live my life. In the back of my mind I would note if something I experienced was “blog-worthy.” Maybe I had a great day. Maybe I had a challenging day. Maybe I noticed or read about how someone was handling something difficult in a way I admired. I would mentally take some notes and feel ready to write before I even fired up my laptop.
Once I came up with an idea or two that I felt my readers could relate to, I would do what some call a brain dump. I would open up a new post on my WordPress blog and just start writing, and writing and writing. I would write until I was finished.
From my brain dumping session, I could then flesh out good materiel from my scatterbrained notes and then organize it into several separate blog posts, which I would start and put into draft form.
For the rest of the random notes that didn’t make the cut into blog posts, I would not delete them -I used to do this with my text documents. Instead I would save the notes in unpublished draft posts, giving me ideas for the next time I had a case of writers block.
Once I had my post written and was happy with it, if I didn’t have a good keyword for it, I would go to the free Wordtracker tool and do my best to find one.
Often, after I have published the post, I walk away form it and clear my head. Later, I can go back into my archives and work keywords in that I want to rank for.
This method may be a little unconventional, but it works for me. My readership continues to grow, and I always have several draft articles in queue for new ideas.
In fact that’s how I wrote this guest post today. It started with one little thought I had, I knew I could expand upon it and voila- here it is. 
For me, this method of blogging feels effortless, and it has really helped me grow my readership as well as keep me interested and enthused about it. Much more than if I had just waited for the inspirations to come while staring at PLR.
So while I don’t know if I am writing the killer content that all the gurus talk about and want to sell you, I do know that I am helping people and helping myself in the process too. It feels good.
I wrote this guest post in under 15 minutes! Making it sound readable and correcting the grammar errors and such took a little longer but all told, it was a really small investment in time. I hope this article can help you generate ideas for fresh content on your blogs.
Jill Green writes about her personal anxiety recovery and teaches how to stop panic attacks one day at a time at http://Panicfreeme.com.
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Hi Jill,
what a wonderful post. I also love your approach because it certainly allows you to let your true personality shine and your authentic voice “talk”. If you have an idea, chances are someone else can relate to it , right ?
Thanks for sharing your insights, I will adopt it for myself. Nothing gets lost…
Take care
Oliver
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JillGreen Reply:
May 7th, 2012 at 8:31 am
Thank you Oliver, I’m glad you enjoyed the post and hope it helps you!
JillGreen invites you to read… Fainting Anxiety – What It Is & What To Do About It
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Jill, I think that is a fantastic way to write your blog material. That is how I wrote my first book too. I wrote and wrote and I organized everything later. I found that I could write as much as i wanted to and I didn’t need to worry about ‘what went where’ until I was finished.
Of course, I did add more later. But it was much easier at figuring out where it all went after going through the initial process of ‘writing and writing’. Thanks for the post. good share.
David invites you to read… Getting More Traffic To Your Site Through The Disqus Commenting System
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JillGreen Reply:
May 7th, 2012 at 8:33 am
Wow that’s cool that you wrote a book David. It’s great to hear that others work this way too!
JillGreen invites you to read… Fainting Anxiety – What It Is & What To Do About It
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Sometimes you have to “just write” and not worry about whether it is great material. You can get caught up in analysis of paralysis and end up not producing anything.
Jack@TheJackB invites you to read… Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog
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Jill,
I noticed that when I am trying to write around a keyword, all of my creative juices disappear. When I am in the flow, then the content comes out easily and interesting. Thank you for the suggestion to rewrite around a keyword AFTER the content is written. I am not an English native, my native tongue is Bulgarian. How in the world I can improve, if I always have this little decoder in between. I know that you can’t have a suggestion. Just expressing my thought.
Thank you
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JillGreen Reply:
May 9th, 2012 at 10:04 am
Hi Margarita,
I noticed the same thing too, which is why I just write freely and then find keywords if I have to. I don’t envy that you have to write in a language that’s not your native tongue. The only suggestion I have is not to let that get in your way or dampen your determination. Have you ever read or heard of John Chow? He is one of the most successful bloggers today and is not a native English speaker. Best of luck to you!
JillGreen invites you to read… Self Love Bedtime Reflection
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Hey Jill, keeping a mental notebook of blog-worthy content is an awesome idea, but you even take it a step further–let your brainstorm splatter the page, and what’s not useful in the now gets stored and used later. Very environmentally-friendly, unique, and useful advice. I’ll definitely try this one out.
Samuel invites you to read… How To Write A Good Article!
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JillGreen Reply:
May 7th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
I love saving my ideas right into WordPress drafts. It makes for not having to have lots of text files cluttering up my desktop- and helps me get right into blogging mode. Thanks for the comment Samuel.
JillGreen invites you to read… Fainting Anxiety – What It Is & What To Do About It
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I think killer content means worthy content which help your audience and in return they won’t shy to share it on various networks. You’ve certainly mentioned some unique ways to write an interesting and informative post, which is hardly mentioned anywhere.
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Jill @ coping with panic Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:46 am
Thank you Asama.
Jill @ coping with panic invites you to read… Faith and Coping with Panic Attacks and Anxiety
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It proves that blog owner should create a unique content that will attract many readers attention, this is a great tips and idea that you have shared. this will sure help me in the future. specially that I am new to this kind of activity.
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Jill @ coping with panic Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:47 am
Thank you Kate.
Jill @ coping with panic invites you to read… Faith and Coping with Panic Attacks and Anxiety
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Kate Brown Wilson Reply:
May 9th, 2012 at 1:49 am
You are so welcome Jill, I keep on browsing different sites for me to know how to promote our own sites.
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Thanks Stacy for this information, actually I don’t any have an idea with this but thanks to you because i learned something new with this.
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It’s always good to learn something new
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Great post Jill,
I tend to write pretty much the same way. The “brain dump” as you called it is very effective, I do it all the time.
Once other thing I do is when ever I get a thought or idea I make a note on my iphone. Sometimes it will just be a thought or two, and then there are times when I wrote my whole blog post on there.
I always have my phone with me so I can capture the inspiration whenever it strikes, which is not always at the convenient moment.
Micah invites you to read… “Study: Penguin Onslaught Slowed By Viral Outbreak. Bloggers Relieved.”
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JillGreen Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Good tip Micah,
I don’t have an iphone but I jot notes down on scrap paper when I’m away from my computer, have a great idea but know I probably won’t remember it.
JillGreen invites you to read… Self Love Bedtime Reflection
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Interesting article, I really like your point in the importance of the killer content! Some SEO tutorials and blogging advices doesn’t care or forget about the content, which must stand on the first place. Without a relevant content blogging has got no sense.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
I agree Susanne,
If you get bogged down with seo and stuff like that the content won’t be as natural or interesting to read. That’s why I often write and then organize the content into topics.
JillGreen invites you to read… Self Love Bedtime Reflection
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Great advice! Thanks so much Jill.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
You’re most welcome Alicia
JillGreen invites you to read… Self Love Bedtime Reflection
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Thanks Jill for sharing this worty article with us.
Thanks for your tips too.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 9th, 2012 at 10:01 am
You’re welcome Amit.
JillGreen invites you to read… Self Love Bedtime Reflection
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I am always writing down ideas. I have so many pages of ideas. This works well because on days when I have no idea what to write I can go to my notes and finding something good.
Julie invites you to read… What should you blog about?
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JillGreen Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 8:39 am
Good girl Julie.
JillGreen invites you to read… Panic Attacks Info Tip #6: Know that Fear Will Reappear
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That’s kind of a unique approach, Jill. I think working on what suits your style would bring out the best in you. And I think writing for your audience and not for search engines is what makes a killer content.
Gwyneth.H invites you to read… How to Take Advantage of Your Old Content and Make Money
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JillGreen Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 8:37 am
I agree Gwyneth, and I invite you to do the same
JillGreen invites you to read… Panic Attacks Info Tip #6: Know that Fear Will Reappear
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thank you for sharing this very interesting post with us i really enjoyed reading about it.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 8:37 am
You’re welcome Andrew. Glad you enjoyed it.
JillGreen invites you to read… Panic Attacks Info Tip #6: Know that Fear Will Reappear
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Hi Jill,
Thanks for sharing what inspires you to write. You are correct about there is really no one piece of content out there that teaches up how to write killer content.
I think that what that means to some it may not mean the same thing to others. I believe as long as you find your own voice and just share what you want through your own words, the right people will be attracted to it.
Appreciate you sharing this tip with us. I have no doubt your content rocks.
~Adrienne
Adrienne invites you to read… How To Create An Infographic
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JillGreen Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 8:40 am
True that. Everyone has to find what works for them.
JillGreen invites you to read… Panic Attacks Info Tip #6: Know that Fear Will Reappear
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Hi Jill,
There are times that to write “killer content”, one just have to take a break from their computer, get out and experience the world for themselves, and by the time they get back, they have a lot of ideas flowing in them that when they start to write, everything just comes into place. Writing should always come from the heart, and being passionate about what you do is what inspires other people and entices them to read your articles.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 8:38 am
I couldn’t agree more Felicia. Sometimes you gotta just unplug for awhile.
JillGreen invites you to read… Panic Attacks Info Tip #6: Know that Fear Will Reappear
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I always have trouble coming up with engaging content for our real estate site. Sometimes, I think real estate is really quite boring. I struggle to find things that are different and useful than what other companies are doing out there. I suppose I’m not very creative in that way.
Any suggestions on what kind of content to present to potential home buyers and sellers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Michael Higdon
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JillGreen Reply:
May 30th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Hi Michael,
If *you* think real estate is quite boring, I would think that sentiment may somehow come across in your blog. I hope not, but you do have to have passion for what you write about. I am not in real estate and wouldn’t know how to advise you on specifics, but see what questions people are asking on your facebook page or on ask.com or yahoo answers and turn those questions into blog posts. Good luck!
JillGreen invites you to read… All Natural Sleep Aids for Anxiety Sufferers
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I remember when I started blogging and everything I did or saw triggered a blog post idea. Those were the days!
I just noticed Michael’s comment above mine. My first and main blog was and is about real estate. I would suggest reading regularly at Active Rain to get loads of good ideas for engaging content about real estate.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 30th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Yay! Thanks Liz. There you go Michael. Cheers!
JillGreen invites you to read… All Natural Sleep Aids for Anxiety Sufferers
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WOW! so simple yet so effective! Making a note to pay attention to anything blog-worthy and then free-writing/brain dumping.
What really helps me is daily meditation. I sit down and really relax and pay attention to my breath. I let the thoughts come to me, no forcing, no pressure. Being worried, anxious, or depressed puts a big damper on my creativity. So meditation helps me be in a relaxed state where I can BANG out articles and content like crazy.
I’ve been dealing with some writer’s block lately. Trying to use willpower to FORCE the creativity out never worked. Creativity only comes out from a state of calm. When we’re so overwhelmed with pressure, it’s hard to be creative. Whether it be writing or any other kind of art.
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JillGreen Reply:
May 30th, 2012 at 11:19 am
I agree completely Mike. I like to get out in nature with my doggie do, that is my form of meditation, or take a spin class. Ideas just flow into my brain when I’m in a receptive state like that. Thank you for the great comment!
JillGreen invites you to read… All Natural Sleep Aids for Anxiety Sufferers
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Good tips. I need to start jotting notes as I go about my day. Often, something happens that I want to note, and then if I don’t write it down, within an hour it’s gone.
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Blogging is my passion. I would definitely agree with you. It creates the creativity when writing contents for a specific keyword. I usually update my blog posts related to my past experiences which would keep me on the flow.
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