Just the other day, I decided to spend a few hours writing at the pier.  It was a beautiful day of fresh air, peaceful atmosphere and of course, no internet.  I’ve never been to this part of town, and I was pleasantly surprised by the surrounding and more importantly, what it did for my blog content.

When I sat down and gazed upon the body of water in front of me, I immediately felt energized and wanted to write.  Content just kept flowing out of my brain and eventually translated onto the laptop screen.  The couple of hours I spent was extremely productive, and although I usually get distracted quite easily, I was pretty happy writing at the pier where there are tons of people walking by.

What I experienced was an energy boost from the change of environment.  Being in the same desk everyday, it’s sometimes hard to bring out the creativity within me.  All the new surrounding at the pier stimulated my mind and allowed me to write longer, faster and better.

I was actually amazed what the difference changing the environment did to my writing that day.  From now on, I will periodically go around town to write my article to see what that will bring for the content.

Next time you are stuck writing content, try to go out and do it in a coffee shop, mall or the park.  Seeing something visually different will give you the needed boast to write a better article.

One of the secrets I accidentally found was that I write much better if I turn off the internet when I write blog articles.  They turn out more complete, better structured and flow much better.

I used to write all my blog articles through the wordpress editor (which is a great editor btw), but while traveling for business one day, I decided to start writing on the plane.  Even though it gets noisy at times and sometimes your neighbor likes to look at what you are typing, I find that I’m much better able to concentrate and get into a groove while I type away on my keyboard.

Why is That?

Curious about why that is, I spend some time thinking about it and here are some reasons that I came up with.

Distractions
With instant messaging, skype, emails and twitterfeed all turned on, it is very hard to concentrate with so many little things popping up on the desktop.  When I was on the plane, none of these would bother me because I didn’t have access to the internet.

Alternatives
When I’m on the plane, I open Microsoft Word and that’s the only thing on the screen.  Since I’m extremely bored and there’s nothing else to do, I end up typing on the screen and not trying to compare writing blog articles with something else that I could be doing during the same time.

There is No Rush
When I’m on a 5 hour plane ride, I’m stuck in the chair for a long time.  Unless there is a TV in front of me, there is really not much to do.  When I start writing on my article, there is absolutely no sense of rush.  I know I have a ton of time to finish the article so I take my time to gather my thoughts and just write.  I noticed that taking my time ends up making me more efficient and produces a better article in a shorter amount of time!

Try It

Since I’m not always on the plane, I started to turn off my internet connection while I write. For those that get many phone calls, I would even turn off your cell phone. This way, you can enjoy writing your article without interruption and I’m sure the quality (and quantity) of your articles will increase dramatically! All you need to do is try it and you will realize the difference!

In theory, we all know that blogging for our passion is the way to go but in reality, the choice between money and passion is very tough to make.  Before I was born, my dad chose to change his profession because of $500 HKD (about $50 USD) a month in salary.  When I first heard about this, I was extremely surprised because he made such an important decision for not that much money, but I realized later in life that my family was having a really tough time making ends meet back then that every penny counted.  My dad didn’t make the choice because he wanted more money, he felt like he had to.

Everyone who blogs will tell you that blogging is hard work.  At the end of the day, we want something to show for it.  We want something to tell us that all our hard work was worth it, and that the time we spent is not wasted.  Some people want readership, some people want fame and most people want money.

Choosing a niche that’s profitable versus choosing a niche that you are passionate about is a question that we talk about often.  Normally, I try not to give advice with definitive answers because every situation is different but let me tell you this - blog about your passion!

You Have to be Content to Write Content
The main reason why you should write about a topic you are passionate about is because of satisfaction.  Blogging is hard work and if you aren’t passionate about the subject, then forget about it.  If you are enthusiastic about what you write about, it will show in the articles and that quite frankly is attractive.

Another benefit is that you will naturally want to dig deep into everything that’s related to something you love and the knowledge you gain will reflect on the posts that you will write about.

Think about Money and You will Likely Give Up at the Beginning
Everyone can write about any topic for a few short months but only the most passionate ones can write about the same topic day in and day out for extended periods of time.  If you pick a niche only because of the potential money you can make, it’s very hard to keep up at the beginning when no one seems to be reading your posts.

You Better Believe that Everyone Sees the Same Opportunities
When a niche seems very profitable, many people will start trying to write about it.  In a crowded niche, it’s very hard to distinguish yourself from the pack so gaining readership is extremely hard unless you have very good content.  If you aren’t passionate or knowledgeable about the subject, then chances are your blog will stay unknown.

Every Niche can be Profitable
The wonderful thing about blogging and the web in general is its widespread reach.  As narrow as you think your interests are, there are tons of other people that share the same interests.  Once you build a following, a blog on any niche can be profitable.

Blog about what you love, and people who share that love will follow you!

Final Thoughts
Not enough can ever be said about picking a niche that you are passionate about.  I see way too many people trying to write about something that they know nothing about, thinking that they will become rich because others do it.  A blog deserves and demands you to be passionate!  So respect its desires and feed it with your energy!

As a blogger, we often feel compelled to put up a new post .  After all, many popular blogs are updated daily (some even update a few times a day).  Those bloggers seem to be able to churn out great article after article and if we want to be like them, we better mimic that behavior.  Sorry to break the news to you but don’t do that.  Stop writing unless you’ve got something to share.

Often, we stare at the screen thinking about what we want to write.  Sometimes, the words just come out and we type and type and type, sounding natural, personal and energetic.  There are those other times though that all we end up doing is stare, feeling awkward, useless and hopeless.  Normally, we continue to stare but seldom does the situation turn around because we feel even worst as time passes and the cursor is blinking at the same spot.

Don’t worry if this happens next time.  Known widely as the writer’s block, this phenomenon is very natural and happens to just about everyone.  It just means you feel uninspired at the moment and it definitely doesn’t mean you are bad at writing.  What you really need is to take a rest and not stare at the monitor.  So whenever it happens to you again, go take a walk, see a movie or get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  Get away from your environment and your creative juices will be flowing once again.

The worst thing you can do is post on your blog just for the heck of writing.  Your blog represent your image, and unfortunately (and fortunately), content are archived for others to search.  Once you write a piece of bad content, it tends to turn readers away from your blog.

If you take away any advice from any blogger, it is this: Do not write unless you have something useful to write about. Only post quality content, and you will realize the benefits in the long run.

When my life is full of interesting events, the content of my blogs naturally become better.  Because blogging is about sharing, our content reflects our life experiences.  The richer our life experiences, the more colorful our content.

Sharing Your Life Experience
I also find that when I can relate to the topic on a personal level, I can write more passionately and often have much more ideas to share.  I can continue to write about personal finance day in and day out because I take my finances seriously.  Even without the blog, I would be thinking about my personal finances constantly so it is extremely easy to come up with topics ideas to share with my readers.

Sometimes, I really want to comment on an article that other bloggers write about but I just don’t know what to write and I often give up.  By sharing life experiences, there is a greater possibility that readers can relate to the article and thus increase interactivity of the blog.  A couple of days ago when I wrote about my experience calling my web hosting tech support, readers could commented because they had similar experiences with their hosting company.

Richer Content
Of course, just any experience is not enough.  If all I talk about is that I write blogs, it wouldn’t be too interesting would it?  In order for your articles to be engaging and interesting, your life should be interesting.  No one wants to read about what you ate if you eat the same salad everyday, but if you go to different restaurants everyday, then sharing your experience would be much more worthwhile.

What if I Don’t Have an Interesting Life?
Since many bloggers sit in front of the computer all day, it is very easy to feel like there isn’t anything interesting to share.  If this is how you feel, the first thing is to change your mindset!  Everyone actually has very unique backgrounds and perspectives.  This alone creates a great opportunity for sharing on even everyday topics.

Just stop thinking your experiences are boring and start sharing.  You will find that your blog will become livelier and more rewarding.

Other than time to write the actual article, coming up with content ideas day in and day out is one of the most difficult tasks a blogger faces.  There are times when I just sit there staring at the screen and couldn’t come up with one word, while there are others times when I can keep writing and writing.

Through the last few years of blogging, I’ve found a few ways that seems to work:

Magazines and Newspapers
Many of us already read written media every day, which creates a natural way for blog articles.  In fact, I was reading a few articles in magazines which led to the idea of this article.  If you are quoting or adding to another article’s idea, it is only appropriate if you give credit to the original article.  Also watch out for copying material (plagiarism), as it violates copyright laws.

Conversation with Others
Socializing is not only healthy but also great for your blog.  When you interact with others, you can hear different perspectives on many different issues which you can use to blog about.  Another great blogging idea is to interview someone about a particular subject that your blog covers.  People love hearing what others really think.

People Watching
There are so many different and interesting cultures in this world.  When you people watch, you can learn about how people interact with each other which is both stimulating to the mind and great for the soul.  Just remember that people enjoy their privacy so observe in a general way and don’t stare!
Once you start people watching, your blog content will be rich with personal and real life experiences!

Take a Break
Sometimes taking a break and doing something else work wonders for writing articles.  Don’t always sit in front of your desk and stare at the monitor.  Take a walk around town or go grab a bite.  It’s important to take your mind off your blog once in a while to recharge your mind full of content ideas!

Be Happy
Being optimistic and happy about life is the single most important stimulus for your mind.  If you are happy, you are more creative and our article will show.  Your content will also portray an optimistic and encouraging which is contagious!  Create a happy lifestyle for yourself and you will find that blog content will never be a problem again!