The Five R's to make Creation Easy

There are so many wonderful tips out there.  This one is again from Trent's Smart Writer Newsletter.  He really does some great stuff.  Coming up with blogging ideas is what stumps me, but writing novels never has me running out of ideas.   But doing these five R's might help some of you readers out there, so here are some great ideas.

Content Creation Made Easy Are you struggling with creating consistent, quality content? If you are not a professional copywriter, coming up with new content regularly can be a difficult task. Many people get writer's block or their brains freeze up while staring at a blank screen. However, to be a successful Internet marketer, you must create fresh and interesting content regularly. Otherwise, your traffic will dry up and hard-earned subscribers will lose interest. How do you overcome this challenge? Content creation doesn't have to be hard. Just follow my 5 Rs of content creation and things will start to flow a lot more smoothly. 1. RESEARCH Even before I open my trusty word processor, I head over to Google's Keyword Tool. I use it to research key words/phrases that people are using to search for answers to their particular problem. I start with something related to a subject that I'm interested in writing about and get ideas from there. For example, "content creation." That led me to other popular search terms like blog content creation, content creation help, online content creation etc. Without first researching your topics, you'll find yourself running out of ideas to write about and/or guessing what your readers would be interested in learning. You'd be surprised how many different suggestions and variations you can get from your initial thought after doing even the smallest bit of research. Google is not the only source for content ideas. Visit popular forums and read what questions people are posting there, things that are related to your topic. You can also try Yahoo! Answers. Bottom line - better content comes from better research. 2. REARRANGE Creating an outline first is how I always start my content creation. It helps me to get my thoughts organized and to rearrange ideas until I feel good about the flow of my content. Then I expand the bullet points into complete paragraphs. An outline also creates a roadmap as I progress from chapter to chapter until I finish my report or e-Book. 3. REVEAL Adding some personal experiences helps to humanize your content. No one likes to read text that sounds like a sermon. Share stories or provide examples like I have done above to make it more interesting and help your readers connect with their own situation. Revealing a bit of your personal side or personality is very important, especially if you are writing about a technical topic. A picture is worth a thousand words and can quickly simplify a complex concept that otherwise would take you many words to explain. Studies have shown that people retain information quicker and longer when you engage their visual senses. 4. READ If you are going to edit your own content, then read your text aloud. I print my copy and then read it back to myself. This forces me to read every word rather than allowing my mind to autosuggest words that are not there. Don't just rely on the automatic spelling and grammar checker. For example, no software in the world can flag the error between their and there. Here are some more common mistakes; lose and loose, it's for its and further vs. farther. I use a professional copyediting service to proof read my final manuscript before I publish it into an e-Book. Believe me, it is well worth the expense. If you can't afford the cost, have a friend who has never seen your copy read it and allow them to critique your content freely. You don't have to accept all their suggestions but at least you'll have the benefit of another pair of eyes having reviewed your content. 5. REVISE Our brains have two parts - the left side is analytical and the right side is visual and tends to see the whole picture. Use both sides of your brain when writing content - but one side at a time. Let the right half of your brain start writing as the creative juices flow. Don't interrupt it by stopping to correct errors (other than obvious typos). Once you have your first draft completed, allow the left side of your brain to take over and start being critical and analytical as you go over your copy. Rearrange words, paragraphs and maybe entire chapters until you feel comfortable how each paragraph and chapter flows into the next respectively. This is where you need to wear your editor's hat rather than be the creative writer. Don't be afraid to tear apart your initial outline if you think it will improve the product. Just be careful that perfectionism doesn't stop you from launching your masterpiece altogether. I realize the above 5 Rs may seem a bit daunting at first, especially to the inexperienced writers out there. But with some practice, all this will become second-nature and you'll be creating content like a professional copywriter in no time at all. By Achinta "Archie" Mitra.