How do I do this? I get people to ramble. I ask them direct questions about the thing they’re really passionate about and just let them talk. And talk. And talk.

And all the while, I’ve got a pen in my hand, jotting key phrases, additional questions, and ideas into my gridded Moleskine journal.

This is pretty easy to recreate for yourself if you have a mildly perceptive friend. It probably helps a bit if your friend blogs… but it’s not necessary.

• Get your friend on Skype, the phone, into a coffee shop.
• Have them start talking to you about your passion.
• As you ramble on about what you love, why you love it, why other people should love it too, why you think things need to change, etc…
• Have your friend jot down anything that seems remotely interesting. If you turn an interesting phrase, have them note the wording.
• When you’ve rambled past the point of no return, stop and have your friend read back what caught her ear. If there’s something more to ramble about there, grab another iced latte and keep rambling.
• Turn the notes into a list of titles. They don’t have to be perfect, catchy titles but they should inspire some key points in your mind as soon as you read them.

At that point, rest.

You’ve probably got at least a few week’s worth of blog post ideas ready to go. As soon as you have time, draft an introductory paragraph to each idea to keep it fresh in your mind. I do this right in my blog’s back end and save the posts as drafts. While I’m writing that intro, I often jot down 3 main subheadlines or a list to keep my piece flowing. When inspiration strikes, I pull up the relevant draft and have at it.

Blogger’s block banished.

If you don’t have a friend with an ear & 45 minutes to spare, I’m offering my Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan for $50 to 10 lucky bloggers. Here’s the catch: in exchange for getting $25 off the price of this service, you allow me to use a portion of your session as a post or promotional content. If that sounds good to you, use code GOBLOGGO at check out. Click here to beat your own blogger’s block.

Just a quick note to tell you that Bridgett Edwards, from Perideau Designs, just created a swell little blog planner document for you to download, print, and use to plan your blogging. I gave her hand with a few ideas to add to the printable to help you work on your basic SEO writing & a super simple set of instructions that you can find on her blog post about the planner.

Planning out your blogging is a great way to avoid the 3 big blogging mistakes I wrote about last week.

Click through to Perideau Designs to snag your copy of the My Blog Topics printable.

Blogs are brilliant little things. They allow us to stroke our own egos, diligently record our lives, and provide the reasoning behind countless hours of “shiny thing” browsing. Is that how you’re using your blog?

Oh… maybe not. Maybe you think your blog is about marketing your business. And for certain, it is. It’s a place to put information about your business, why people should buy from your business, how your business was created, what your business is doing next Tuesday. Is that how you’re using your blog?

Eh… that sounds a little boring. Concerned your blog might not be creating a magnet for customers the way it’s supposed to? Keep reading. I bet you’re making at least one of these common creative business blog mistakes.

1.) You don’t ask why.

You post stories, inspiration, pretty pictures, funny links. You love it all and your small business blog is supposed to reflect you, right? Sure it is. But blogging isn’t about posting pretty pictures, it’s about asking bigger questions: WHY? If you fail to ask yourself WHY a picture, story, or link is important to you – and subsequently explain it to your readers – you’re not doing anyone any good. You’re simply adding to the noise of the blogosphere.

Consider why an image moves you… consider what it says about your character, your business goals, or your family. Consider how what little Johnny last Monday resonated with you & taught you a lesson. Always consider the usefulness, the experience, and the “takeaway” of what you’re posting.

The blogs that do that are the ones I remember, the ones I comment on. And they’re definitely the ones I go back to when I’m looking to buy.

2.) You think your SEO is broken.

In my job as a web designer/make-blog-go analyst, I am asked all the time if a website’s SEO is alright. Presumably, they want me to make sure that the right pieces of code are in the right places because the client is concerned it’s not. This is, of course, a valid concern! But more often than having “broken” SEO, a blog just isn’t writing about good stuff, using good words, and attracting the kind of attention that gets good links.

Good SEO happens when you are writing good headlines for interesting stories about relevant-to-you topics and those stories engage, challenge, and entertain your readers enough to want to link back to your posts.

Your SEO isn’t broken – but your blogging strategy might be.

Now, if you think you’re doing pretty good with that part but want to get better at the slightly more technical side, I would highly recommend my friend Dave’s ebook on SEO called Blog Post Engineering. You’ll be smarter & blog better after the first few pages. Promise. You can read my full review here.

3.) You don’t consider the bigger picture of your blog.

Finally, the mistake I see creative business bloggers making is that they haven’t considered the bigger picture of their blogs. You post when you’re inspired, when you have news, when you’ve created a new product. But there isn’t any cohesiveness. There isn’t a sense of anticipation.

To achieve this, you must ask yourself what larger questions your blog is answering. And then answer those large questions by posing tiny ones. Those tiny questions are your posts. As the answers to those questions pile up, you can link them together through simple category navigation, pillar content pages, or free resources.

By the way, if you run an image-heavy blog, this is one of the most important things to consider. How do your images play together between posts? Are you telling a larger story with the images you choose? Is that story calling your readers to action without words?

How’s your creative business blog doing?

Are you making one (two? all?) of those mistakes? Truly, there are many ways to make a blog successful but if you don’t consider the ramifications of the points above, you’re trying to reinvent the wheel. Providing value, actionable information, and true inspiration with your blog is rewarding in more ways that just warm fuzzies (I’m talking $$$ here, people).

What will you do today to remedy the problem?

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Interested in learning more about what you blog can do right to support your creative business? Sign-up for a Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan session with me. We’ll talk one-on-one about your strengths, weaknesses, and how to create a more success business using your blog.

Blogging is a tool. Sure, it’s a marketing tool that we’ve all been told we just have to use. But it’s also a tool for giving your business credibility, keeping you on target & accountable, engaging customers, finding inspiration for new business ideas. Your blog should work for you & your business – you should not work for your blog.

I’ve built a sizable web presence & online business around my blog, Scoutie Girl. While it’s traffic may be smaller than other sites in its niche, I have created a highly influential readership that is as passionate about what I have to offer as I am passionate about what they have to offer! I get a real kick out of helping someone else create an influential & powerful blog of their own, whether to support an existing business or to launch a brand new one!

And with that, I have added a new service to my brainstorming sessions: the Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan. This is a laser-focused type of coaching in which I will help you solidify the goals you have for your blog, critique your current blog, punch up the sales potential, give direction to your content, and identify additional revenue streams you could explore.

The Blog Brainstorm is a 45 minute call, Skype, or chat session where we’ll hash out your strengths, weaknesses, and lofty ideas. Then you’ll receive my personal notes from the call, as well as a action plan in pdf format so that you can work through what we discussed. The cost of the service is $75.

Want the details? Click on over to the brainstorming page for more information on the Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan, as well as the other brainstorming services I offer.

We all have our boxes. We have a set of standards, formulas, guidelines. We know what’s worked in the past so we work to emulate it in our own web sites. We work hard to create a space that is familiar for readers – something that makes them feel at ease. So at ease that they fall asleep.

If you’re having trouble getting comments, traffic, and links back to your blog, have you considered that you might be blogging inside a box?

I can ask you this question with all seriousness because I have broken out of my blog box. I’ve seen people put all sorts of labels on Scoutie Girl: craft blog, handmade blog, design blog, lifestyle blog, etc… blah blah blah. Who cares? And really, do any of those fit? Heck no. Scoutie Girl is a crazy blog that works – and works well – because of one overarching principle: the indie craft movement has a lot to teach us about the way we live, work, and spend our money.

I use no other guideline to dictate what I will write about, how it content will be presented, or how the conversation will be directed. If it fits that principle, it’s in. If it doesn’t, it’s out.

All the while, my posts have become more passionate, more inspired. People comment more, link more, and talk about me behind my back – gah, I love that!

Are you trying to fit your blog into a box?

If you think you might have this problem – and even if you don’t! – go check out my guest post on Dave Doolin’s fantastic blog, Website in a Weekend: Blogging Outside the Box – Approaching Your Blog with Creative Spirit.

P.S. You should also check out my guest post on Be Awesome Online where I talk about how being awesome online means really being yourself!

It’s here!

My latest ebook is now available to download.

Storytelling for Creative Biz Success is an ebook-slash-workbook that will guide you through writing engaging content for your blog, website, or other content-driven marketing. Each chapter provides brainstorming ideas, concrete steps, must-have elements, and sales- oriented tips. You will create a killer “About Page,” generate keyword ideas based on your ideal customer, brainstorm post ideas, story-proof your website, and write product & service descriptions. All with the guidance of your personal story.

I wrote this one as a real labor of love. It’s been a long road getting to where I am in my business, my writing style, and my personal journey. This ebook is a reflection of that long road but it’s also jam-packed with activities & exercises to help you rethink your business & frame it in terms of your own personal personal story.

Interested in learning more? Click on thru…

One of the topics I receive the most questions about is blog advertising. When can you start accepting sponsors? How do you price your ads? How do you manage advertising?

The bottom line: doing advertising right is hard work.

From ads on Scoutie Girl – a 3.5 year old blog with a monthly readership of 35,000 unique readers – I only generate 15% of my income. Sure, I like that 15% – but you have to ask yourself just how much money that would mean for your blog, because doing the work is about the same. In most cases, that means the same amount of work for a lot less money.

And the truth is you can make a LOT more money from selling your own stuff or service via your blog.

Oh wait? You wanted explanations for those? Right on. Keep reading…

Advertising on a blog is the least personal way to make money. It’s the most traditional – magazines & newspapers have been supported by ads for decades – but the least fitting the medium. Choosing one of the 5 ways listed above gives your readers a personal experience and a way to support you directly. Consistent blogging – good blogging – is hard work, an entrepreneurial endeavor whether you’re making money already or not.

Be thoughtful about the way you monetize your blog and you’ll be rewarded!

Sell a service.

You probably blog [for the purposes of this post, feel free to substitute "writing" or "creating content" for the word blogging] about lots of things. But I bet you’re really good at just 1 or two. This one thing is what you’re most passionate about, what you have experience or education in, and it’s what you have proven track record of success with.

Offer your expertise to others. Offer your infectious spirit, your enthusiasm, your empowering ideas to others who aren’t gifted in this area. You can sell consulting services, skill-based services, or any kind of outsourcing you can think of! The key here is to match your network’s need with a skill you possess.

The benefit of offering a service is that there’s interaction, personalization, and a higher ticket price because of both of those things.

Sell a digital product.

Do you love giving presentations? Could you write a book on a your favorite biz topic? Have a pattern you’d like to share with the world? Turn it into a digital product.

Any PDF, video, audio, image, etc… can be sold. The days of purely free content are over (were they ever really here?) and people are willing to pay for really good, useful content that saves them time & energy and solves a problem. Use your expertise to create a product that does just that.

The benefit of selling a product is that you can price it slightly lower than a service because it can be sold over & over again ad infinitum. And earning money in your sleep rocks. Hard core.

Sell other people’s stuff.

This might be new to you. You can help other people sell their products & services and earn a commission for each sale you make. While many corporations like Amazon have million dollar (billion?!) affiliate programs, many small ma & pa companies have affiliate programs as well. Even individuals (like me!) have affiliate programs.

Companies & entrepreneurs are thrilled to get word of mouth exposure and they will pay you for results. And pay well.

Consider supporting books you love, classes you’re taking, your web hosting service, your email service… anything you pay for and LOVE, you should check for an affiliate program for. It’s a great way to earn passive income and your readers appreciate knowing about the services you recommend.

The benefit here is that you review products that you love and already use. Other people click & buy – you make money (sometimes in your sleep). This is a real no-brainer. It’s just figuring out how it will work for you.

Sell your stuff better.

Do you mention the product that you sell regularly? Do you talk about how it was created? Do you talk about the problem it solves and the people who love using/wearing/engaging it?

If you don’t, you should. Your blog is not all about you – it’s about your potential customers. Tell them how they will benefit from using your product and use it they will.

Is your online store or product page displayed prominently in the sidebar? Or even in your header? Or your footer? Or before your comments? Some place people are going to click it and click it often? Some place people can tell you’re selling something?

Your business blog will convert more readers into customers if people know you’re trying to sell something. Seem silly? Look around at blogs in your niche. Probably very few feature a prominent link to a store or product. Sad, but true.

The benefit to selling more of what you’re already creating? Easy. You get to do more of what you love for more money. Jack pot.

Sell your content.

Take the first 4 ideas and use content that you’ve already generated to create income. Take several blog posts, write transitions, fill them out, answer questions that came up in the comments – and you have an ebook. Take podcasts you’ve created, have them transcribed, and turn them into a free ecourse that promotes other products. Take your preparation from workshops you do in the area and turn them into a paid ecourse.

The benefit here is that you’ve already done most of the work. You can create income quickly and easily. Just remember to do your best to add value to what you have. People pay for value.

Sometimes, thinking big is about thinking outside the box. It’s about forgetting what you see everyone else in your community doing and embracing something new or something that works better. Challenge yourself to create new streams of income within your own business. And don’t forget to let me know how it goes!

[image credit: kevin dooley via flickr]

P.S. Want to learn more about how to generate additional income from you business? Be sure to subscribe to blog updates below!

Who: For anybody you’d like to know more about moving their blog or website to WordPress. By me! And Candy, from Candied Fabrics, and Justine, from Justine Smith Media, will be giving me a hand!

Where: Ustream. Hint: go to Ustream now and register a username so that you can chat with us & ask questions! Don’t forget to login before you enter the chat room.

What: A basic video Q&A about installing WordPress, adding a theme, transferring a blog (specifically Blogger), and adding a bit of functionality & fun.

How to prepare: While some of this conversation could be applied to the WordPress.com blog community, it is meant for those wanting to run open-source WordPress software on their existing web hosting. If you need to purchase web hosting, I highly recommend choosing a web host that offers unlimited hosting and uses the cPanel interface. Have no idea what I’m talking about? That’s cool. I highly recommend:

(Note: That’s an affiliate link – it means I earn a commission if you sign up with them. But it also defrays the cost of the time for this chat!)

Web hosting is the service that holds your files for your website, keeps them available 24/7 worldwide, and runs the software you need to keep your website operational. A good web hosting company can answer questions about almost anything website management related.

And, in a chicken & the egg kind of moment, you’ll need a domain name. Which comes first doesn’t really matter – just so you have both.

I will talk very briefly about installing WordPress. But a good web host should have a “one-click install” for the software meaning you set up a username & password with your host and they’ll set up your initial WordPress blog! Score. Look around your web host, find the button and push it. It will save us a bit of time!

Completely new to WordPress? Been putzing about but still have questions? Considering making the switch? Log your question in the comments below so that I can add them to my list.

PS Yes, the video will be recorded and I’ll do my best to have a transcript of the chat available as well. That will be available shortly after the chat. Want to make sure you get it? Sign-up below to receive this blog’s updates via email. You’ll be glad you did!

Just wanted to let you know that you can find another excerpt of my new ebook, Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, up on Crafting an MBA today. This one is about the brainstorming process you can use to create a whole blog or website full of usefull, story-driven content.

This is the very first – and most important?! – step in creating content that generates inbound links, retweets, likes, comments, and thoroughly engaged customers.

Check it out – my gift to you for being awesome.

How to tell if you business story is earning its keep:

• the content you post generates discussion naturally.
• your email inbox is full of sales and not questions about your services.
• when a new customer writes, most often you feel they’re a new friend.
• you’re excited about your business.
• your customers are just as excited as you are.

Telling the story of your business – what you do, why you do it, how you created it – goes beyond marketing. It shapes your business.

Have you lost sight of the story of your business? Do your customers know your story inside and out? Do people get excited when you share a little bit more about yourself and your business? Or is it all just one big marketing message? Another thing getting lost in the noise…

The following is a short excerpt from my brand new eworkbook, Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, which is available for pre-order at a special discounted price (just $35 to build a whole website’s worth of content!) through Tuesday, May 25:

my experience with defining my own niche

Late last year, I noticed that, although I was consistently growing Scoutie Girl month after month, I wasn’t gaining the traction that I needed in my blog niche. How could I separate myself from other indie/handmade shopping blogs and create a more engaged readership?

Well, I looked hard at what my personal strengths were: writing, thinking about current events, delivering ideas & stories in a new and different way. No one in the handmade niche was blogging like that. So first, I tried creating “weekly issues” with the goal of developing stories around a central theme over the course of 5 days.

It was popular but I ignored a central characteristic of my personality… I’m pretty persnickety. I have a problem with just going whatever direction the wind is blowing. So I nixed that idea but came away from it knowing that others were willing to read long-form blog entries and were hungry for more in-depth writing.

Now I’m blogging from a place of real personal satisfaction. Sure, it’s not going to work for some people. But since I’ve changed, the majority of my content – even while producing a LOT less content – is going viral much more often. People are excited to read Scoutie Girl every day. They’re excited to participate in the conversation.

When a potential advertiser comes to the site, they can see dynamic posts with a bunch of comments. There is concrete social proof that my product (advertising space) is worth buying. And buying they are.

How can you create your own niche? Define your customer.

Take a hard look at your business and ask yourself the same question I’ve been asking myself for awhile now: are you trying to be everything to everybody? Or have you defined your business in terms that allow you to own it, inside & out?

Your business will be defined, ultimately, by the people who choose to be a part of it. Who are these people? Who is your ideal customer?

Describe your ideal customer. Consider everything! Think about what he/she looks like, her interests, her home, her family… Be as specific as possible with as many characteristics as possible. Avoid generalizations, wide age ranges, cookie-cutter people. Also avoid an ideal customer who looks & acts just like you – that’s called a competitor.

You are writing the story of the customer who will literally buy everything you produce or any service you offer. And then tell her friends.

From now on, when you write a blog post or develop a new page for your website, you will look at what you’ve produced through her eyes. Is she satisfied? Does she feel a personal connection to your work? Or is your blog post wishy washy, poorly focused, lacking useful information, and a clear point of view?

Your business story must be focused on this ideal customer for it to earn its keep – and to earn you real income. Speaking directly to your customer – her needs, her problems, her desires – with personal introspection creates a compelling story that builds traction for your business that results in more sales, more satisfied customers, and long-term growth through referrals. Further, speaking directly to your customer creates a niche where you business stands out from any other. You are one-of-a-kind, your business and your story should be too.

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To learn more & pre-order your copy of Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, hop on over to the book page. You’ll receive the introduction and chapter on writing an engaging about page immediately.