730 Posts in 730 Days

Today marks the 730th post in my quest to blog daily for two years. As I mentioned a year ago as I hit the one-year milestone, this is not the total volume of content that I generate each month. For example, each #M365AMA post includes a video that has to be scheduled, recorded, produced, and published on my YouTube site before I embed it in the blog. And my podcasts have a similar audio post-production process. And then there are the posts that I write for TekkiGurus and the Rencore blog, as well as any writing that I do for other clients. If you’re interested, you can find my complete catalog of content and activities that I publish in my monthly summary.

As mentioned last year, this goal came out of a conversation with fellow MVP and good friend Tracy van der Schyff (@tracyvds) who accomplished the same goal a few years back….and is thinking about giving it another run.

The first inevitable question people ask is: “Where do you get all of the ideas to create that much content?” That is usually followed by “How do you find that much time to write and create?”

Both valid questions. I started jotting down some guidance on these points, but then realized that I provided some sound advice last year, and so I’ll repeat those points with a slight refresh:

1. Have a plan. While there have been days where I scrambled to find something to write about, most posts were written days in advance (usually late at night or over the weekend) and scheduled. For those who know me, you know that I live inside of OneNote, and have a spiral notebook that I carry when I travel (I write faster with pen and paper than keyboard). I maintain a running calendar of topics that I use to plot out weeks of content, and am constantly reviewing and updating this plan…which also helps me to coordinate between other writing projects.
2. Hoard your ideas. We are our own worst critics, and we tend to self-edit ourselves into writers block moments. I jot down every idea — whether it’s a sentence or quick thought, or a detailed outline on a topic — in OneNote, pasting in links and images to support my idea. I may not go back to a topic or idea for weeks or months. But when I sit down to write something, I typically begin by searching through my own catalog of ideas in OneNote, expanding on a previous thought.
3. Keep learning. I wish I had time to do more reading, but I try to block out some time daily to read through business and technical websites, blogs, and print media. I always find at least one article idea which I catalog in OneNote. I’m also a podcast listener, tuning in when I drive or on my multiple dog walks each day.
4. Expand your media. Many of my blog posts are simply landing pages for video and audio content. Some people prefer to read, some want to listen to podcasts, and others want to watch videos. So I try to create a variety and give people multiple ways to consume my content.
5. Collaborate with others. By far, one of the types of content that I enjoy the most is talking to other experts and hearing their stories, and then sharing those stories and promoting their works. Honestly, if I could make it my full-time job to interview people and compile their stories and insights, I would grab that role in a second. I’m also a HUGE fan of the tweetjams that I have been running since January 2012 which have been a veritable cornucopia for ideas from others within the community. People inspire me.

Where to go from here? Well, I’m in the habit of daily posts and have a pipeline already planned, so for the time being there will be no changes. I’m not planning on 1,095 posts in 1,095 days, but you never know. I do kind of like the idea of a nice round 1,000 posts in 1,000 days, but I’m going to have to think about it. I’ll let you know.

Until then, thanks for continuing to read and follow!