Showing posts with label daily routine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily routine. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2020

IS THIS MISSING FROM YOUR DAILY ROUTINE?

DO YOU INCLUDE A DAILY FAST WRITE AS PART OF YOUR ROUTINE? IF NOT, YOU MIGHT BE MISSING OUT ON SOME BIG WRITING AND BUSINESS BENEFITS. SEE WHAT THEY ARE...

 

Is this Missing From Your Daily Routine?

by: Kel Amstutz
Friday, March 13, 2020

WRITE EVERY DAY. 

How many times have you heard that very advice?

It's important. The more you write, the quicker you will hone in on your skills and improve what you do. And, the better writer that you are, the easier it is to earn the income you want.

When you are new to the game, to make your daily writing habit stick, it is best to put it on your calendar and treat it like a client meeting.

Once you have clients... and projects... and deadlines... writing every day is not a habit. It's a necessity.

If you want to make your clients happy and delivery good work on time, it takes a daily commitment (or, at least, that's always been my experience). So, the writing-every-day advice.. well, it gets heeded without your even thinking about it.

But, whether you are new to writing or you have been at this for a while and you're earning a solid living, there's a type of writing you can do EVERY DAY that will clarify your thinking, uncover new ideas, provide lots of fluff for your own content and marketing materials, and... and improve your writing skill and speed.

This sounds pretty freaking amazing, right?

It's also super simple. Anyone can do it. It doesn't matter what you skills or experience level is... you will get great things out of the exercise.

I know what you are thinking... enough already. What is this simple, powerful writing technique you are teasing me with?

IT'S FAST WRITING.

WHAT THE HECK IS FAST WRITING?

Well, it's not some ground-breaking thing. You probably ALREADY do it from time to time.

You just sit down at your computer - or, if you want to stay old-school, you can use pen and paper. Then you set a timer for 15-minutes. And... you write nonstop and without censoring yourself until that timer runs out.

Hey, I said it was simple. But, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Writing nonstop is hard. You have to LET GO of any notion of being perfect in what you write/type on that page. And, writing nonstop without censoring is even harder, because we want to fix everything we recognize as not being correct... and, we want to fix it RIGHT NOW. (you know it's true!)

By doing a fast write EVERY DAY, either before you begin your work or at the end of the day before you wrap up, you will train yourself to get out of your own way when you are writing.

That alone is reason enough to set aside 15 minutes a day.

When you learn to write without editing as you go, you'll see a big jump in your productivity.

You will also notice yourself starting to have better ideas. That is because the writing process uses the creative side of your brain, and the editing process uses the analytical side of your brain.

If you keep shifting OUT of writing mode into editing mode every two or three minutes, you never really let your creative juices flow freely. You are denying yourself full access to your amazing creative zone.  And that means, even if you do good work, you won't be doing your best work.

But, when you give yourself more time in your creative zone, your writing ideas start to get more interesting, fresher, and more original.

Writing this way has another benefit, too...

It's fun!

As humans, we pretty much live for two things... (okay, there are probably a few more, but there are two for certain.)  We live for connections with others and experiencing the creative flow state of mind... or that mental state where time doesn't seem to exist, you are completely unself-conscious, and everything just seems RIGHT.

The Flow State of Mind can happen in ALL sorts of activities... from hosting dinner parties to playing music or taking a walk in nature.  And of course, writing...

Allowing yourself to write without editing, as the 15-minute fast write trains you to do, will give you readier access to your creative flow state.

But, the benefits of this exercise do not stop there.

CLARIFY YOUR THOUGHTS, AND EVERYTHING GETS EASIER

You can use your fast write time to gain clarity on anything that's giving you trouble or that you're having a hard time expressing.

You know how sometimes you have an idea, but when you try to share it with other people, you have a hard time conveying the weight or importance or beauty of it.  It's a frustrating feeling.

It's so obvious to you that what you're trying to explain can be transformative. But, you just can't make the other people see it.  What's worse is you know it's a weakness in your own communication that's making it so hard to share it in the impactful way you mean to.

When you find yourself in that situation, at the beginning of your daily fast write, think about that problem, topic, or idea for a minute or two.

And then, start your fast write.

Because of the fluid nature of the fast write and because you aren't allowed to stop writing and think about what you're trying to say... you'll find that sometimes your thoughts begin to organize themselves in unexpected ways.

By the end of the session, you may just have the answer you have been looking for... the perfect expression of a big and important idea.


SAY GOOD-BYE TO WRITER'S BLOCK

When you fast write like this every day, another fun things starts to happen. Writing just gets easier. You are so versed in the experience of sitting down in front of a blank page and filling it, that when you sit down to work on a project the words just start coming.

Is it going to be ground-breaking work every time? Of course not.

But almost every time, it will be work that moves you forward, which means you will have an easier time staying in front of your deadlines and you might even find that you start completing some work ahead of schedule. How cool will that be!



FILL YOUR EDITORIAL CALENDAR

The fast write is also a great tool for coming up with ideas for your blog, your marketing materials, or your client's blog or email newsletter.

A blog is a big commitment.  Your readers expect to hear from you on a regular basis, right guys!

That can be daunting. What if you run out of things to say>

The 15-minute fast write can put an end to all that worry. Make one or two of your sessions each week about generating ideas based on recent experiences, conversations, or things you have read recently.

With that in mind, begin your fast write and just start listing ideas... nonstop, of course.

You will be surprised at how many ideas you are able to list off in a 15 minute period, when you put this kind of pressure and constriction on yourself. And, you will be even more surprised by how many of the ideas are useful and fresh. They won't all be, and that is ok. But, if you come away from each fast write session with even just five workable ideas, things will start to accumulate!

Within a few short weeks, you will have a running list of interesting and useful ideas for your calendar... or perhaps for your client's.

Writing every day is a great habit to get into. But, once you are writing every day for clients, make sure you are still spending time each day writing for YOU.

By doing a 15-minute fast write, you will tick that checkbox... and you will come up with more high-quality ideas... and you will improve your writing speed and skill. This is totally worth the short time commitment.

Give it a go for one short week and see what you think. Then... share your experience in the comments below.



Monday, August 1, 2016

5 Ways to Earn an Extra $2,000 a Month by Blogging

Making Money

5 Ways To Earn An Extra $2,000/Month By
Blogging

August 01, 2016
by: Kel Amstutz 

 

Hi ALL!

I wanted to share a post today that could get some of you, who read the blogs, are curious about the blogs, are showing interest in starting your own blog, a chance to:

 #taketheleap

Many of you know that I have kept this little blog, Life at Gray Gables, since Fall of 2013. I started it in order to relieve my writing frustrations. I had so much data going on in my brain that it was literally leaking from my fingertips and begging to be typed out and I needed an outlet to...well, let it all free! 

 It wasn't until May of 2014 that I started getting serious about my blogging and things started to happen!

Let's face it though, blogging can, will be, and frankly, IS overwhelming

 It took me a good five (5) months of trial and error, and ramblings to get a good thing going...and even then, I have re-created myself over...and over again!  

 

What do I mean, I am sure you are asking yourself. 

 

Well, it took me about five (5) months to really figure out

  • my WHY 

  • my HOW 

  • and my PLAN

I had to fail in order to see how I wanted to go about my blog, and I also had to figure out some sort of automated routine to keep going forward

I had to figure out my posting schedule, the subjects that are important to me and what I needed to share with my readers, and the ways that I wanted to monetize my blog, when I finally got to that point

These items all turned out to become a BIG PART of my daily routine

 

 

When I started blogging, I really wasn't thinking about making a living blogging. I honestly didn't even know you could make a steady income from a little blog, let alone make $100,000/month blogging.


Yes, I put in the hard work, countless hours of research, and all of a sudden I found myself in a wonderful place

I get to write about things that I LOVE, I get to write about my life...at Gray Gables, my family, our meals and recipes, our chickens and business and any other subject that tickles my funny bones along the way. I get to work whenever I want, from wherever I am at the moment, and I get to earn money around the clock. #thankyoureaders

When I wake in the mornings and check my stats, I get to see how much money I made overnight...while I slept...and that is the beauty of blogging

 




It can be the ULTIMATE PASSIVE INCOME SOURCE!







But, that being said, there is a lot that comes into play to creating and maintaining a good and/or successful blog.  

Today though, we are going to touch on the:

TOP 5 WAYS to MONETIZE and EARN MONEY with YOUR BLOG!  
(& yes, I researched, I live by, and I use myself to grow my blogs!)


Grab a cup of joe and let's have a look/see:


 
Nope! I can't wait to be done with school in two weeks and then off to my dream job! Haters approval not needed! I have found something I love to do! It makes me happy to see I'm such an inspiration to all my haters :):
If you found this post interesting, I bet you’ll love checking out my other most popular posts:
 
 

 
 
1. Mediavine (Advertisement)
 
One of the easiest ways to monetize your blog is to Advertise. It just requires you to join a publishing company and depending on how the company works, you can earn money RIGHT AWAY. Usually these earnings will be based on the amount of page views that your blog gets per day and will process payment every month based on those stats.
 
There are so many different advertisement companies to choose from. The most known among bloggers would be Google Adsense
 
Let's be real for a moment, the payout for Adsense is not great, but jumping on with them for a few months helped me understand the process. A few months ago I decided to switch to MediaVine. Let me just say...hands down best decision ever and my earnings have been higher than ever also!
 
 
2. Bluehost (Affiliate Sales)
 
Another great way to earn money through your blog is through Affiliate Sales.
 
I use Bluehost's Affiliate Program and earn about $1,000 per month. 
 
This works by allowing me to share articles about how awesome blogging is and show that Bluehost is a great hosting company to be with (and they are!) and for each referral processes, I receive $65 from Bluehost.  What this breaks down to is that after people read my articles regarding blogging and they feel like they'd like to start their own blog, they can click on an affiliate link that will redirect them to Bluehost- where they will have to start if they want to create their own blog- and for every sign up, Bluehost gets via my blog, I get a commission! 
 
 
 
While I don't do sponsored posts often, I know that they can bring in some good cash
 
Sometimes people and companies will reach out and present an article or idea, and sometimes I will write one for them.  The pricing is different depending on one or the other, but in general- at this point in my blogging career, I charge around $30 per sponsored post. This is due to the fact that I do not do these often. I know other bloggers charge upwards of $100 per sponsored post, so it really just depends on the situation and where you are in your blogging profession!
 
5 Ways to Shine at Sponsored PostsIt can be easy to get a handful of sponsored posts in one month and it can also be easy to make between $1,000 and $2,000 per month just by sponsored post writings. 
 
The reasons that I do not do many sponsored posts is because I am pretty picky on content and subjects and will only write about things in which I have tried and believe in. It makes no sense to me to write a posting about a topic that I am unfamiliar with, but have done some research on. I like to keep it real and focus my creativity on a library of knowledge and resources in which I use and know. 
 
So, point in hand, it might be a great avenue for you, and while I do not dismiss writing sponsored posts, it might not always be a good fit with your blogs overall message. 
 
 
4. eBook
 
Here is an area of expertise for me. 
 
I am a writer. 
 
I love writing and have several eBook publications out there on the world wide web. 
 
Writing an eBook can be time consuming, especially when trying to deliver a quality product to your audience. I have some space out there and each one took a lot of time and editing to ensure that it was ready for my readers, with more to come. 
 
eBooks can be listed for $20 and can bring, on average, $3,000 a month just on that one book, and this is on top of other income sources.  
 
To say the possibilities are endless in the eBook realm is clearly a gross understatement.
 
 Here is my most popular eBook! 

I strongly recommend my eBook, The Social Media Manager Kit by Kel (w/ bonus) in order to get you started. It will include templates for emailing potential clients or those you landed a completed job with, it will allow you to focus and challenge you to keep moving forward. 

This life, working at home, being financial free and with my family, is something that I used to dream about

Today...
  • I am living it. 
  • I am loving it. 
  • I am making it my life! 

Need More Help?  

Check out my eBook, Make your Dream a Reality in 30 Days or Less! - a jump start guide with templates to get you ready, set and ROCKING this Social Media Manager gig! 
 
 
 
5. eCourse
I will be the first to say that this one can be a bit scary, but I have heard that it is beyond rewarding!
 
I know several bloggers who have launched an eCourse and easily made $100,000 in their first month!  The opportunities are limitless when it comes to creating an eCourse, but it definitely requires WAY MORE work than just writing a sponsored post.
 
You will have to make instructional videos and work sheets. You will need to create the framework for people to follow your eCourse. 
 
Yes, a ton of work, but I can see how rewarding it would be to help someone on their journey.   I have been brainstorming on an eCourse idea, and while it is currently not high on my list, it is definitely something that I want to create and share in the near future! 
 
 
 

 
And, there you have it!  5 Ways that you can earn some SERIOUS MONEY just by blogging. Honestly, there are SO MANY OTHER WAYS, beyond these, but here are the MOST FUN and MOST REWARDING ones. Once you set these up, they literally turn into passive money making income sources that you simply have to manage from TIME to TIME. 
 
 
 
#notbad
 
#whileIsleep
 
 
  
 
 
And, understanding that your AUDIENCE makes this happen, seriously, they deserve a hand!!  
 
So a huge #thankyou to my readers for making my life possible, and here's to hoping that in the near future I can get on those eCourse ideas and help make this YOUR life too! 



 

 



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