Social Media for E-Commerce Marketing [Infographic]

Marketers have had a notoriously hard time converting e-commerce customers via social channels, but it doesn't have to be that way. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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2016's Great Big Social Media Fails and Lessons Learned

The past year provided fertile ground for social media goofs and gaffes. Many marketers apparently didn't do enough thinking before they clicked on the tweet, post, publish, or share button. Here are some of 2016's biggest social media fails and the lessons they can teach us. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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3 HubSpot Projects You Won’t Find In Your HubSpot Account

You might be thinking, with projects templates and the ability to create custom projects, how am I missing anything? What are the three projects you won't find in your HubSpot portal?

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Social Listening in 2017: The Next Frontier in Social Media

Social media is already an important part of the customer experience. Which is why marketers are using social listening for better targeting during the customer journey. Here are the social listening capabilities you need in your marketing strategy for 2017 and beyond. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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Video Marketing: How To Upgrade Your Office Studio & Video Equipment

In this article, we talk about upgrading your equipment, software, and studio space. Ready to start accelerating your video abilities and production level?

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Tool Reviews You Missed and a Sneak Peek Into Season Two

Here at The Sales Lion, we realize the difference between mediocre success over big wins, can sometimes simply link back to using the right tool.We also noticed a huge problem that business owners ...

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#SocialSkim: LinkedIn Data Deal to Help Marketers, Facebook Tests Messenger Ads: 12 Stories

LinkedIn promises more targeting capability; Facebook tests ads on Messenger; Google+ finally builds an insights feature; Facebook replicates Snapchat's Story; Snapchat's offline ad targeting; why B2Bs are still wary of social; and much more... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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How Marketers Can Use Snapchat in 2017 [Infographic]

Snapchat can be a great tool for marketing and advertising. This infographic explains some of its most useful and effective features. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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Hubcast 125: YouTube Marketing, Facebook Ads, & Hubscotch Returns

The Hubcast: HubSpot Tips, Tricks, Inbound & Content Marketing News & Sales Info every week. Are you ...

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Essential Videographer Gear: 5 Accessories for Successful Video Marketing

Take a look inside our videographers backpack. See what he uses daily and what he can't live without. Learn from the video expert at The Sales Lion...

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Social Media Best-Practices for Nonprofits (and Mistakes to Avoid)

For nonprofits, social media marketing can be just as advantageous as it is for businesses. It's a great way to build support, grow your ranks of volunteers, and increase donations. But you need to be vigilant. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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20 Ways to Be Just Another Mediocre Blogger Nobody Gives a Crap About

A troubling thought, isn’t it?

You’re slaving away at your blog, but you can’t help wondering if you have a shot in hell of getting anyone to read it.

What makes you any different from the millions of other bloggers hoping for attention?

You’re all doing the same stuff. Cranking out posts, messing around on Twitter and Facebook, leaving comments on popular blogs — you know, the usual.

But nobody gives a crap. Readers have seen it all before. You’re not offering anything new, so why should they hang around?

Good question. And the problem is, you don’t really have an answer.

Most of the time, you feel like you’re stumbling around in the dark. You can’t tell what’s working and what’s not. It feels like a big, never-ending guessing game.

Maybe you came here to find some answers. Maybe you’re hoping I’ll tell you what to do.

But I won’t.

Not because I don’t want to, but because sometimes you can’t understand what to do until you first understand what NOT to do. So, let’s start there.

Here’s a big, fat list of ways to be a mediocre blogger. How many are you guilty of?

1. Tell Stories

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People love stories, but that doesn’t mean you should tell any. Here’s why: telling a boring story is worse than not telling any stories at all, and unless you’re trained in storytelling, yours are pretty much guaranteed to be boring.

If you doubt me, go to a bar and tell a story to someone in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. If everybody in the bar stops talking to listen to you, you’re a good storyteller. If they don’t, you suck.

And almost everybody sucks.

2. Be “True to Yourself”

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Let me guess. Tried-and-true marketing techniques just don’t feel right to you, so you’re scrapping it all in the name of authenticity?

Well, I’ll be damned. I must be psychic!

No, the truth is everyone feels that way in the beginning, and everyone has to do it anyway. To get good at something, first you have to follow proven techniques and screw it all up, and then you learn, and then you follow proven techniques and do it correctly, and then one day, when you’ve been doing it a long time, and you’re a freaking master, you invent your own techniques. Promoting your work is the same process as learning to play the piano.

If it feels inauthentic, it’s not because there’s something wrong with the technique. It’s because you’re doing it wrong, and you need to keep practicing.

3. Build Your Twitter / Facebook / Google+ / Pinterest / LinkedIn Following First

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Here’s your thinking: the reason you’re not getting any traffic is because first you need to build your following on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or [ insert your social network here ]. Once you start getting some traction, then you can promote your blog, and the traffic will start flowing free and easy.

Heh. Wrong.

Yes, social networking is important, but you know what’s even more important? Focus.

By dividing your attention between so many different places, you’re pretty much guaranteeing you won’t do any of them well.

My advice: ignore social networks entirely in the beginning. Wait until you have 1,000 blog subscribers before you even think about building up a following somewhere else.

(And if you want to know how to get that first 1,000 without spending a nanosecond on Facebook or Twitter — here’s a clue.)

4. Write Short Posts

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In my opinion, no beginning blogger should be publishing anything under 1,000 words. And really, 2,000 words should be your goal.

Why?

Three reasons:

1. Readers perceive long content to be more valuable. They’re more likely to bookmark it, share it, and link to it.
2. Most other bloggers are too lazy to write long content. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll stand out.
3. There’s some good evidence that Google prefers long form content. And giving Google what it wants is smart.

The bottom line: stop writing short posts. Or at least intersperse them with much longer content.

5. Give Common Sense Advice

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Do you believe in preaching good old-fashioned common sense?

If so, I worry about your chances, because common sense is boring. Readers have already heard it so many times they tune out the minute they even catch a whiff of conventional wisdom.

“But… but… common sense is what they need!” you say. My response: it doesn’t matter. If nobody is paying attention to you, you can spout all the truth in the world, and it won’t do anybody any good. So, stop writing posts that make people want to stop listening.

6. Insist on Originality

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The opposite of common sense is also dangerous.

Some writers also get so obsessed with being original that they become incapable of ever publishing anything. And when they do happen to stumble across an original idea, it’s so strange and foreign to the reader that they can’t even follow it.

The better approach: find ways to approach old topics from fresh angles. It’s a lot easier, and it’s a lot less risky.

7. Be Polite

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Do you hold back from asking influencers for links because you’re worried about bugging them? Or worse, do you hold back giving your readers the truth because you don’t want to offend them?

Well, newsflash: real bloggers fight for their ideas. There’s no need to be obnoxious, but you can’t go around squeaking out requests for help and dancing around hard truths.

You have to demand attention. You have to take stands. You have to be totally and utterly shameless.

The world already has enough cowards. So please, don’t be another one.

8. Write “When You Can”

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For a lot of people, finding time to write is like packing a suitcase.

You put in all the important things first, close it to see if everything fits, stuff in more things, check it again, and so on and so on until there’s no more room. Whatever doesn’t fit gets left behind.

In life, those “important things” that get scheduled first are your job and family. If you have any room left, you stuff in friends and relaxation and whatnot. And then, at the very end of the list, you have your writing.

Because it’s the last to be scheduled, it almost always gets “left behind.” Not because you want to neglect it, but because your life is already full to bursting, and you just can’t find the space for it.

The solution: schedule it first, not last. Make it one of the “important things” you put in the suitcase first. Believing you’ll find time for it otherwise is just delusional.

9. Worry About SEO

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Speaking of delusional…

Lots of people see blogging as a way to get search engine traffic. Find a keyword you want to rank for, publish a post around it, and a few months later, you’ll have all the traffic you can handle.

Right?

Wrong.

Getting search engine traffic isn’t about keywords. It’s not even about blog posts. It’s about creating something so amazing everyone talks about it and links to it.

So do that. You can worry about SEO later.

10. Start Multiple Blogs

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In my opinion, it’s pretty much impossible to build a popular blog in less than 10 hours a week. If you want to grow quickly, tack on an additional 10.

Say you have two blogs. 2 X 20 = 40 hours a week of work to grow both of them quickly.

Are you willing to dedicate that kind of time? Do you even have that much extra time in your week?

If not, pick the blog that’s most important to you and jettison the rest.

Otherwise, you’re not blogging. You’re just dabbling.

11. Search for the Perfect Domain Name

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Blogs are like living things. They evolve. Even if you found the perfect domain name today, you would hate it a year from now, because the focus of your blog will change.

The better solution: pick a domain name that’s good enough and go with it. Sure, changing it later is a headache, but never having a blog because you’re such a damn perfectionist is an even bigger headache.

Pick it. Register it (affiliate link). Move on.

12. Show the World How Clever You Are

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Got a clever domain name? A clever headline? A clever post?

You’re probably pretty tickled with yourself, right?

Well, I hate to break it to you, but cleverness almost always backfires. People won’t get it. Sure, they would understand if they spent a few minutes thinking about it, but they’re in a hurry, and there are a gazillion other blog posts to read that don’t require so much thought.

Instead, be clear. Don’t make people figure it out. They’ll reward you by coming back.

13. Try to Be Seth Godin

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Every once in a while, I’ll give a student some advice, and they’ll respond with, “But that’s not what Seth Godin does!”

*strangles student*

Think of it like this. Let’s say you like to play a little US football.

If I handed you a helmet right now and pushed you into the middle of a professional game, how do you think you would do?

I’ll tell you how you would do: you would get your ass handed to you. Those guys are genetic freaks who have prepared their entire lives to do battle with other genetic freaks. You’ll never be able to do what they do, no matter how hard you try. In fact, even trying could be deadly.

It’s the same thing with Seth. He’s the blogging equivalent of a 350-pound lineman who can run a mile in under 4 minutes. In other words, he’s so freakishly talented he can do things nobody else can.

So, stop trying to copy him. You don’t have his kind of talent, and if you did, you wouldn’t want to copy him anyway. The whole thing is just silly.

14. Wait Until You’re in the Right Frame of Mind

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This one is so tempting.

You’re feeling tired or frustrated or [ insert your negative emotions here ], and you think, “I’ll never be able to write like this. I’ll just stop and come back when I’m in a better frame of mind.”

The truth?

You’re procrastinating. You’re scared of how difficult it is to express your thoughts, and you’re using your emotions as an excuse to quit.

It’s understandable, but that’s not what good writers do. Good writers write.

It doesn’t matter if they are tired. It doesn’t matter if they are going through a divorce. It doesn’t matter if their kids are screaming. It doesn’t matter if they’re sick and dying in the hospital. It doesn’t matter if terrorists drop a nuclear bomb on their hometown.

They write. End of story.

15. Agonize over Your WordPress Theme

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It’s the same issue as searching for the perfect domain. You’ll never find it, and even if you do, you’ll hate it later. So, pick something good enough and get on with your business.

You have 15 minutes. Go.

16. Wait Until [ Insert Freelancer Here ] Can Help You

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Are you waiting for a graphic designer or programmer or copywriter or WordPress specialist to help you with something?

Well, stop. If you’re ever going to get anything done, you have to refuse to wait for anyone. Ever.

A lot of times that means doing without. You might have to give up your fancy theme modifications or custom logo or WordPress plugin. Sure, they would be useful, but do you really need them?

No. You need to get off your lazy butt and stop procrastinating.

17. Use Free (Or Cheap) Hosting for Your Blog

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Can you get by with it?

Sure.

Should you get by with it?

Not if you can help it. Here’s why:

At some point in the future, you’re going to have a problem with your blog. It’ll get hacked or slow down or just disappear mysteriously, and you won’t know what to do.

If you have a free or cheap host, you’ll be on your own, and you’ll waste days or even weeks trying to figure it out. At the end of it all, you’ll realize how foolish you were to skimp on hosting and move to a premium host like WP Engine (affiliate link) who fixes stuff for you when it breaks.

Or you can be smart and just do it now. The choice is yours.

18. Build Your Rss Subscriber List

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You didn’t get the memo? RSS is on life support, and it’ll die any day now.

Smart bloggers stopped depending on it a long time ago. Instead, we get our readers to subscribe via email.

So should you.

19. Publish Great Content — in the Wrong Place

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Is great content important?

Sure.

Should you create as much of it as you can?

Absolutely.

But should you publish it on your own blog right now?

Probably not.

To explain why, imagine if Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech to an empty room. It’s one of the greatest speeches in history, no doubt, but without an audience, without anyone to hear it and spread the word, it loses power.

Great content works the same way. Before you have an audience, publishing it on your own blog is a waste of time.

You’re better off publishing it as a guest post instead. Borrow a blog that already has a huge audience and use it to funnel those readers into your list.

Then, once you have a small group of dedicated followers, really ramp up the content on your blog. Just not before.

20. Give Up

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After reading through all these mistakes, you might feel like, “Well, damn. I’m just a screw-up. I might as well quit.”

But you shouldn’t. Here’s why:

We’re all screw-ups.

In my first three years, I made every mistake on this list. Every single one.

Not only did all my blogs fail, but I was banned by Google, my first guest post was rejected by Copyblogger, and I got so carried away bragging about my interview with Seth Godin he had to ask me to stop. Looking back, it’s horrifying how many mistakes I made.

But I’m still here.

I learned from each failure. I got advice from smart people. I mastered the craft.

Listen to other popular bloggers, and you’ll hear the same story. Over and over and over again.

It’s not a coincidence. That’s how success happens. You live and learn.

If you’re guilty of some of these mistakes, it just means you’re still in the beginning stages of the journey. Take your licks, do your best to learn from them, and never, ever lose faith in yourself.

You really can do this.

There’s nothing wrong with you.

Just.

Keep.

Going.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is the CEO of Smart Blogger. Check out his new blog Unstoppable and read the launch post that went viral: 7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face.

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A Review of Brand24 Social Monitoring with Mike Sadowski: One Last Tool 2.1

Social monitoring and free pizza? This week, George sits down with Mike Sadowski from Brand24 to discuss their social monitoring platform. It's a giant review of the platform including cost, competitors, and common problems..

The post A Review of Brand24 Social Monitoring with Mike Sadowski: One Last Tool 2.1 appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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6 HubSpot Alternatives & Competitors – what’s the next best?

They aren't the only option, and certainly aren't always the best fit for everyone's needs. There are cheaper or more expensive, simpler or more robust...

The post 6 HubSpot Alternatives & Competitors – what’s the next best? appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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Where to Put Marketing Videos on Your Website: 7 Places to Consider

Assuming you have the right content approach and the videos have been produced, you may be wondering as to the best places to put videos on your company website. If this is the case, here is a list of some potential...

The post Where to Put Marketing Videos on Your Website: 7 Places to Consider appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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#SocialSkim: The Biggest Social Channel You're Missing Out on, Twitter Abandons E-Commerce: 12 Stories This Week

This week: Amazon's Twitch social platform; Twitter's renunciation of e-commerce; big changes to Facebook Live; Snapchat's new approach to search; ingredients for highly engaging Facebook posts; a content marketer's guide to social selling; and much more... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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Hubcast 124: Lucky Orange, Video Marketing and HubSpot CRM Tutorials

The Hubcast: HubSpot Tips, Tricks, Inbound & Content Marketing News & Sales Info every week. Are you ...

The post Hubcast 124: Lucky Orange, Video Marketing and HubSpot CRM Tutorials appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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15 Awesome Website Homepage Videos You’ll Want For Yourself

There's a growing trend with using videos on the homepage of websites, and that's to replace what's commonly referred to as the "hero image" section...

The post 15 Awesome Website Homepage Videos You’ll Want For Yourself appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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From Making Headlines to Sustaining Engagement: What Donald Trump Can Learn From Marketers

As he moves from provocateur to President, what can Donald Trump learn from marketers about how to build relationships, grow influence, and sustain engagement? He might consider these four marketing-tested ideas. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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Should You Caption Your Videos? 3 Reasons Why You Need To Start + Tips

Video content is undoubtedly the most popular type of marketing content. Getting it ready to publish takes a lot of work, and you want that video to perform..

The post Should You Caption Your Videos? 3 Reasons Why You Need To Start + Tips appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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A Massive Review of HubSpot CRM: Pricing, Videos & Training Tutorials

The post A Massive Review of HubSpot CRM: Pricing, Videos & Training Tutorials appeared first on The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan.

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The Content Marketer's Approach to Successful Social Selling and Sales Enablement

Push marketing. Pull marketing. Content marketing. Social selling. Sales enablement. All are in the playbook that Marketing and Sales use to grow the business via digital channels. Here's what content marketers need to know about their role. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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4 Video Tips to Make Yourself More Likable and Effective on Camera

With so many individuals and companies making video a major part of their sales, marketing, and branding efforts in 2017, anything we can do to make ourselves look and sound better on camera is a good thing. Fact is, most employees you have were never trained how to act on camera. Most don’t understand the…

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Which Types of Facebook Posts Get the Most Likes, Comments, and Shares? [Infographic]

Consumers interact most with very short Facebook posts, according to recent research from BuzzSumo. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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#SocialSkim: Why LinkedIn Just Lost 6 Million Users, Twitter’s Plans to Shift Course: 13 Stories This Week

This week: LinkedIn's fight with the Kremlin; Twitter distances itself from... social media; Snapchat builds lead-gen ad capability; the ultimate LinkedIn cheat sheet; social's role in hot B2B trends; Zuckerberg’s potential dive into politics; and much more... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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47 Resources for People Who Love to Write but Can Never Find the Time

Tugs at your soul, doesn’t it?

You love to write. You always have.

But honestly — who has the time?

Not only do you have a job and family and friends, but there are a gazillion tiny distractions popping up on your cell phone 24 hours a day, all interesting, all seemingly important, all keeping you from what you were born to do:

Write.

The good news?

2017 is your year. This year, you’re going to make it happen.

Here’s how:

Put Your Ass in That Chair

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Having the time to write, and using that time to write, are two very different things.

In fact, many people who perceive that they have too little time actually just fail to take advantage of spare time when the opportunity arises.

It doesn’t matter how much time you find for writing if you can’t consistently get your ass in that chair.

So use the following resources to help you to win the motivation game:

1. Mentally prepare yourself for the realities of what’s ahead by reading this letter to beginning writers.
2. Visit the Writer’s Relief blog to get 100 words of encouragement from five different writers who understand what it’s like to struggle.
3. Stick around on the same blog to read more tips on staying motivated to write.
4. Feeling sneaky? Use these 10 tricks to motivate yourself to write.
5. Find your tribe and get fired up by this passionate writing community on Reddit.
6. Or go all-in and take yourself off to a writing retreat.

 

Set a Blazing Fire in Your Belly

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An inspiring goal will cut through procrastination and bullshit like a hot knife through butter.

You’ll wake excited to work. Time will magically appear in your calendar. And finding focus when you sit down to write will be easier than ever.

Conversely, writing time without a clear goal easily becomes wasted time. It’s the writer’s version of busywork — it looks and feels like writing but produces little of value.

The following resources will show you how to create goals that make finding writing time a cinch:

7. Decide whether you’re an “artist author” or a “professional author” and set your goals accordingly.
8. Apply this six-step system for setting writing goals you’ll actually stick to.
9. Or use these 7 questions to help you set meaningful goals as a writer.
10. Find out what best-selling author Seth Godin believes is one of the main goals of a being a writer.
11. Download this handy workbook for the goal-oriented writer that will help define and organize your writing goals.
12. Use these six steps to make sure your goals are grounded in reality.
13. Or use these questions from Prolifiko to validate them.
14. Watch this TED talk about why you might want to keep your goals to yourself.

 

Feed the Body to Fuel the Brain

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How often have you had the time to write but didn’t take advantage of it? Maybe you didn’t feel like writing. You weren’t in the mood for it. It happens sometimes, right?

Well, you can blame it on an absent muse or just accept that your mind doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Your physical state affects your mental state. The body is the vessel for the mind.

If your body feels tired and sluggish, your brain is unlikely to produce its best work. (Which is another great reason for getting up early to write.)

Use these resources to help your body support a focused, creative mind:

15. Discover which are the creativity superfoods in Articulate Marketing’s guide, What writers should eat.
16. Once writing, keep your brain fuelled with the right healthy snacks.
17. Find out what people on Quora believe are the best foods for serious writers.
18. For fun, you could try eating like your favorite authors.
19. If your appetite is still not quelled, check out Jane Hu’s Writer Food From A To Z.
20. See how moving your body could sharpen your mind with this research.
21. Check out this fitness routine for writers.

 

Stop Saying “Yes” to Every Damn Thing

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Let’s face it, many of the tasks and responsibilities that squeeze your writing time get put on your plate by someone else.

And that’s fine — unless you only said “yes” because you couldn’t find a nice way to say “no.”

Because here’s the thing, tasks you begrudge don’t just steal time from your writing, they sap your mojo too.

If you’re serious about finding more time to write, you’ll need to retrain your inner people-pleaser to be less of a pushover and more of an asshole.

Check out these resources to discover how to say “no” without burning too many bridges:

22. Follow these 21 tips from Psych Central for saying no.
23. Use this simple email script to say no to someone (even a good friend) who’s asking for help.
24. Borrow one of these handy phrases for saying no in a way that doesn’t make people regret they asked.
25. Learn how to say “no” in specific scenarios with this guide from Fast Company.
26. Check out 100+ answers to the question “How do I learn to say no?” on Quora.

 

Go Over to the Dark Side

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There’s something magical about starting your work in those dark, early hours when few others are awake.

In fact, getting up early to write feels like unlocking a secret level in your favorite video game. Once you’ve done it, you can’t believe you didn’t discover it sooner.

Not only that, but your writing benefits from a well-rested brain, which does wonders for your focus and creativity. And when the session is over you can start your normal routine smug in the knowledge that you have already met your writing quota for the day.

The following resources will help you release your inner morning person:

27. Discover why waking early is the 1-step plan for super-productivity — and learn exactly how to do it.
28. Review this infographic from Funders and Founders for some handy visual tips about getting up early.
29. Join the 5 a.m. club with the help of this video from best-selling author Robin Sharma.
30. Still need convincing of the benefits of rising early to write? Read a fellow skeptic’s account of her experiment with early morning writing.
31. If you’re a self-confessed night owl, you’ll probably need these quick tips for making early mornings work for you.

 

Embrace the Drudgery

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There is tremendous power in repetition.

Writing habits, routines, and rituals — all create working patterns that make success almost inevitable.

Make yourself a slave to the routine, and the results will follow — or so the theory goes. But many writers can attest to the power of repeated effort marshaled in the right direction.

Of course, you need to repeat the right things — and what works for you may not work for others.

But if you use the following resources to create — or inspire — your habits and routines, you’ll create a system for success:

32. Learn how to build your own writing routine that starts where you are right now.
33. Check out these 16 tools to help you develop a daily writing habit.
34. Read James Clear’s guide to the daily routines of 12 famous writers.
35. Or visualize the working patterns of 26 famous creative people — including Haruki Murakami, Kurt Vonnegut, and Maya Angelou — with this colorful chart.
36. Feeling adventurous? Try one of these strange writing rituals from famous writers like Truman Capote.
37. Read Grammarly’s list of healthy writing habits you can adopt today.

 

Tie Yourself to the Mast

---

If you’ve ever tried to stick to a regular exercise routine, you’ll know that getting yourself to the gym is the hardest part. Once there you do the work because, well frankly, hanging around a gym and not exercising is a little creepy.

It’s the same for writers. If you have a dedicated space for your writing, you’ll find it much easier to write once you’re there. (And your brain will start to associate the location with writing, making it quicker to get in the zone.)

That’s why you need to find a place where not writing is harder than writing.

The following resources will help you find your perfect writing spot:

38. Start by reading this list of 22 places to write when you’re tired of writing at home.
39. Find inspiration to fuel your writing by experimenting with these completely unexpected places to discover your muse.
40. Or get inspired by these real-world special spots where successful authors go to write. (Heck, you might even live near one of them.)
41. If leaving home isn’t an option, recreate the soundscape of your local coffee shop using Coffitivity.
42. But wherever you go, be sure not to be seduced by The Myth of the Perfect Writing Environment.

 

Get Your Other Sh*t Done Quicker

---

If you really have no space for writing in a typical day, you only have one option.

You need to get your other work done quicker.

Counterintuitive, right? To get more writing done, you need to get better at the non-writing stuff.

Because it’s a zero sum game — less time spent on everything else means more time for writing.

So if you’ve shunned personal productivity in the past, now’s the time to get your house in order.

Check out these resources to discover how to do it:

43. Give yourself a crash course in productivity systems with The Ultimate Guide to Personal Productivity Methods from popular app-maker Todoist.
44. Learn how productivity works with another handy infographic from the folks at Funders and Founders.
45. Watch Marie Forleo talk about prioritizing your tasks and learn her one tip that does it all.
46. Head over to Medium and read Product Hunt’s list of 32 of the Best Productivity Tools You’ll Ever Need.
47. Finally, find out what Quora users think are the ultimate productivity apps.

 

Let’s Make This Your Best Writing Year Yet

---

Can you feel it yet?

The gentle pull of destiny.

It’s drawing you toward the work you were born to do — writing words that change people’s lives.

And the more time you spend on your craft, the stronger that pull becomes.

It knows you have something important to say.

It yearns for you to put your ideas out into the world.

It demands that you start taking action.

Just remember, 2017 is your year.

And you now have all the resources you need to succeed.

So, are you ready to make it happen?

About the Author: Glen Long is the managing editor of Smart Blogger. He lives in London with his wife and two young boys (one human, one canine). This year he’s resolved to eat less sugar and play more board games. Catch him on Twitter?

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