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Do you realize how big “nostalgia” is these days? Think about it. What are you nostalgic about?
It depends on your age group. I’m nostalgic about Halloween. I love to remember what it was like to trick or treat as a child. What fun we had racing from house to house with our bags of candy and little flashlights, and how upset we were when the bags broke. We were little kids dressed like ghosts, witches, and fairies–all having a wonderful time. (These were the “good old days” before the demented people put razor blades in candy and when Halloween was still a holiday just for kids and the young at heart.)
As a search engine optimizer, I’m nostalic about InfoSeek and Inktomi, Excite and Snap. Do you remember those days?
Think about your industry. What is there to be nostalgic about in your industry?
Write content centered around those different aspects of nostalgia and draw in traffic to your site. Remember that any valuable content you create will open potential windows of traffic into your site.
Those who are thinking too logically will question this way of thinking. Why should they create a page of content on the history of the Wizard of Oz if they sell the movie or collectibles about the movie? People (like me) who are fascinated by the background of the movie would be drawn in to the site to read the valuable information. We are one of your target audiences! Show us what you have for sale (not in a hard sell way, of course), and we’ll definitely consider buying from you.
Let’s look at it in a slightly different way. If you create this wealth of information on your site, you’ll become an authority on the subject. Other sites will link to your site because of the valuable information you provide.
Nostalgia is just ONE of the different types of information you can provide.
Your assignment today is a slightly different one, but the topic is nostalgia. One of the biggest problems is that many people don’t know how to get started with their content writing. They don’t know where to begin. You can call it writer’s block if you want, but it’s more a case of not knowing where to start or being afraid of not writing anything “good.”
Let me tell you two little secrets. Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Please forgive the language, but it does make a very vivid, colorful point.
Second secret: Out of all the writing I’ve read from my students, every single piece of it has been good. EVERY SINGLE PIECE HAS BEEN GOOD. The same thing is true from you. (Don’t argue with me.)
How do you get past “writer’s block?” Just write. Don’t worry about where you start. Start at the end, in the middle, WHEREVER. Just write.
So, here’s your assignment. Think of something nostalgic about your industry. Go to your word processing system. Set the timer on your cell phone to go off in 15 minutes. Start typing. Don’t pause to answer the phone, talk to your associate, or ANYTHING ELSE. Tell your family if you work at home that you can’t be disturbed for 15 minutes.
Then start typing about your topic. Don’t pause in your typing. Don’t hesitate.
If you pause to think, immediately write down what you’re thinking about, even if it has nothing to do with the topic.
In other words, just WRITE for 15 minutes. Don’t worry about starting at the beginning. Don’t worry about how it sounds. Just WRITE. Don’t edit. Don’t worry about misspellings or grammar.
Let the words flow from your mind. Don’t watch the clock. Just WRITE.
If this is difficult for you, practice until it becomes more natural. It will become easier with time. You want to get to where you write about your topic from the heart for your VISITORS–to where you’re giving them valuable information about whatever topic you choose.
If you can’t think of anything nostalgic about your industry, think of another topic and do the same assignment using that topic.
The idea is to get past the point of being “afraid” to put down the first words.
Tell me about your experiences.
Robin
P.S. Don’t throw away your writing. We’ll want to edit it and put it on your Web site for nostalic content!
Good morning Robin … your message even reaches us in South Africa.
Nostalgia and the ability to write about it comes to be a little bit easier with age.
Here’s an example … I’ve visited the Kruger National Park many tmes over the last 30 years or so but they were just visits. I don’t recollect much about those visits. So this year I decided to create a website that would allow me not only to revisit what I’d seen but allow others to share in my “adventures”.
Herein lies a tip for writer’s block.
Get in your car and take a drive and look around you … take note of what you see and the impact it had upon you. Then relate that to your intended web page. This was exactly the basis for what is now a 900 page website all about the wonders of South Africa’s Great Kruger National Park … it represents far more than the Big 5. Take a look http://www.thekruger.com
Comment by Tony Roocroft 11.04.06 @ 3:16 amTony,
My gosh. Your Web site is amazing! I’m booking my ticket now, and I know where to find the perfect guide! Of course, the animals don’t appear to be very huggable, but they’re truly magnificent.
Your site is a labor of love, and it shows. What you need to do is introduce it to the world. What have you done in the way of obtaining links for the site? Have you submitted it to the large directories such as Joe Ant, WOW, etc.? Does About.com have an African guide? If so, I bet they’d love to link to your site. You need to get your visibility up.
Besides AdSense, what are you doing to monetize the site?
Have you contacted some of the large travel sites to see if they would link to you? They probably aren’t interested in providing this kind of information about the Kruger National Park, but they would more than likely be interested in linking to your spectacular information.
What a wonderful site!
It’s great to hear from you. Gosh, I’d love to take a trip and visit you and your animals!
Robin
Comment by robin 11.04.06 @ 1:14 pmRobin, it’s true what they say about your students. I am authoring a copywriting module for an online training course and it received rave reviews from the chief editor. Imagine, me writing about copywriting! I have been challenging myself to write whenever I get the opportunity. It doesn’t come easy but thanks in part to you and your creative ideas and way of thinking, and John’s brilliant tips, I am doing well! xxoo
Comment by CindyT. 11.04.06 @ 10:27 pmCindy,
Good for you! Congratulations!
Here are a couple of tips for you.
If you do anything for 10 straight days, it becomes a habit. Set aside a certain time each day to work on your writing module. Don’t let anything stand in your way. During that hour (or whatever), WRITE. Do it for 10 straight days, no matter what.
Or, you could take the approach that I took when I was writing fiction. I wrote 8 pages a day . . . PERIOD. I worked until I wrote those 8 pages. I wasn’t editing my work, because I don’t believe in editing as you go along. If you do, you won’t ever finish. I was just WRITING.
On some days, I would write 12 pages, and on other days, I would write 10. But I always wrote 8. Then, if I wanted to take off a day, I knew I was ahead of quota so I could take off.
I learned this from an author friend of mine who was very prolific.
Writing 8 pages of nonfiction is probably too much, but set a goal of some sort so that you can see the end in mind.
(Please understand that I’m great at giving advice and not at doing it myself these days! I’m sure that Martin is shaking his head while reading this post!).
GOOD LUCK!
Robin
Comment by robin 11.06.06 @ 10:47 amI love the nostalgia idea, plus it fits well with one of my Web sites, StockdaleAncestry.com. I’m still experiencing a little writer’s block, however, since it seems like there isn’t anything nostalgic that people haven’t already written about ad nauseam on the Web. I’ll keep tossing the idea around in my head, though. Thanks!
Comment by B. McIntire 11.06.06 @ 4:33 pmB. McIntire,
I visited your site. If I’m understanding correctly, it’s not that you really have “writer’s block,” but you’re having a difficult time figuring out what kind of content to add to your site. Is that correct?
My father has really gotten into genealogy, so a few of these ideas are things that he would enjoy on a Web site.
You have a large group of family members helping you with this site. What about getting them to write in family stories? What interesting stories does your grandmother remember about her grandmother? What does your aunt remember about her great uncle? These stories are precious and priceless.
My dad was in the tractor business for years and years. He used to do square dancing while driving a tractor. He recently told me stories about it, and it brought back such fond memories to him. He worked for one of the large tractor companies–John Deere or something. Does John Deere “remember” this? This is the kind of nostalgic or historical information that doesn’t need to be forgotten–on a John Deere site OR on a genealogy site.
Do you see what I mean?
You could provide links to researchers who do nothing but research into genealogy. I’m sure that you don’t have time to research every twig in your family tree, but if someone approaches you who wants information, you could send them to a researcher. Then, they could provide you with that information to add to your Web site.
What about pictures of grave stones across the country, taken by your family members? My dad has traveled hundreds of miles to take pictures of grave stones for family members who died in the 1800s.
Let your family members provide the content and pictures, and let your Web site grow from user content.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you. You’re off to an excellent start on your own!
Robin
Comment by robin 11.07.06 @ 11:03 amLeave a comment
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