I am one week into publishing an article every single day on this website. It hasn’t been easy. But I knew it wouldn’t be when I set this goal.
I wanted a writing goal that would stretch me. I also wanted to see how much a website could grow with daily posting.
All of this writing has made me think about the process of writing and creating content. There are many components to writing and posting articles; brainstorming, writing, editing, formatting, marketing, to name a few. Each component is important to the process.
I want to talk through the types of content I will create on Grow Your Library, and how I can improve the writing components I struggle with.
Types of Content
There are two types of content I have been creating for this website. The first type is what I will call an “SEO article,” and the second type is “thinking articles.”
Because I don’t have a treasury of articles ideas. I’ve been coming up with articles from scratch every single day. This will only lead to me burning out.
It’s not fun to open up a blank Google Doc and try to come up with something meaningful every day.
SEO Articles
This type of post is research-driven. I use a program (SEM rush) to identify potential search engine keywords I could target for articles. The goal is to find keywords I believe I could easily rank on Google for.
These posts are built around queries. A person has a question and goes to Google to search for an answer. For example, the article I posted yesterday was about Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot books. I found that some people ask Google about what the Hercule Poirot reading order is. I structured my article to try and answer that query.
The strategy for posting these types of articles are 1. Get traffic to the site. The more organic search traffic the better. 2. Make money. I usually put affiliate links to Amazon in these articles. Every time someone purchases an item from Amazon with my link I will get a small commission.
I should address the make money strategy. I have a goal to be able to make passive income from websites. But it’s not the easiest thing to do. I would be surprised if I made more than $50 this year on this website. That’s less than I will pay to keep the site going. But I could be wrong. I’m getting better at keyword research and writing better articles, so I might be able to grow this side of the website.
I worry these types of articles are spammy. Mainly because they have affiliate links in them. I don’t want people to think I am only writing these articles to make money. I try to provide value to the customer. I don’t want to have to rely on these articles too much. I just want traffic to the website.
Thinking Articles
This is the type of writing I really want to do. Whereas the first type of article is query-based. These thinking articles go deeper. I want a reader to leave feeling like they’ve learned something or were inspired. They should want to share it with others.
I want to develop trust with the reader in these articles. They will want to subscribe to me because they know they will be enlightened by reading what I’ve written.
To be successful with this type of writing is not easy. You need well-developed thoughts. You need to write simply, clearly, and present your idea in the best way possible.
It’s hard to sit at a computer and start writing these articles from scratch. I’m realizing a great system and workflow are needed in order to write these articles.
I have to take notes and organize those notes. So I can develop ideas before even working on an article. These articles will truly be a result of me learning and not just regurgitating what others have thought.
The Need For Better Notes
I struggle with the idea formation stage. I don’t gather ideas well enough. I read every day, but I don’t have a standardized process to capture ideas while I’m reading. I highlight notes in Kindle. However, I don’t go beyond that.
This week, I’ve been reading (and posting) about the Zettelkasten or slip-box method, and I think it is the solution to my problem. As I learn more, I will share it on this website.
If I can naturally capture ideas and organize them, then I will be building a repository of possible article ideas
Conclusion
I still believe in the goals I’ve set for this website. I will produce content every single day. I want to do fewer SEO articles and more thinking articles, which means I need to have a system in place. If I don’t, then I will write more of the simple (spammy) articles I dread doing.
I will write more articles about the goals and processes behind this website. It’s a healthy outlet for me to stay focused and think through what I’m trying to accomplish. Also, it could be helpful for someone in a similar situation as me. So expect a few more articles like this.