KEY POINTS:
If you're stuck writing articles, there's a reason why. You're sitting at your desk trying to write an article. And that's easily the worst way in the world to write an article.
Because you're starting up from zero. And starting up from zero is like pushing a 10-tonne truck. Kinda takes too much energy. Better to jump into a 10-tonne truck on the move.
So how do you get this momentum?
Here's what you need to do:
* Keep a pen and piece of paper handy (at all times).
* When a customer asks you a question, answer that question. In detail.
* Then jot down the points that you covered in that answer.
* And don't head back to your computer. Sit down wherever you are. Flesh out the points.
* Then go back to your computer. And add some detail (write exactly what you told the customer).
And your article is ready.
Now you know this system intellectually, but you still aren't writing dozens of articles.
We have our paper. We've got a loaded pen. We know the answer to our customer's question. We give that answer.
Our customer walks away, having got a really satisfactory answer. The customer is smiling. You're smiling.
Hang on: did you jot down the points yet? Because in about 45 seconds you're going to forget most of what you said.
In fact, what I do is to actually write down the points when the customer is being instructed. I can't trust myself to remember stuff later, because often I say so much that I will inevitably forget.
And just for good measure I get the customer to take notes as well. And to feed back what I said to them. Either in person, or later in an email.
But this formula may not always work for you. Your client may not be the "emailing kind". Your business may not be the "tell me what I just told you" kind.
Or you may have a situation where you can't write while you're instructing customers.
But about 30 seconds after you're done, your thoughts are still with you. So write them down, because that 45-second mark is quickly approaching.
It's time to get that content fleshed out. And time to put in some detail. Now, not later. And now that you've got momentum, it's way easier to get all of those thoughts down on paper.
But hey, that 10-tonne truck is rolling ... so why not let it roll a bit more? Why not use the same information across media?
Across media? Yup, across media.
How many ways can you present the same information?
* Text.
* Video.
* Audio.
Well, that's just a start-up list.
But if you have a simple headset attached to your computer, you can record the notes in a matter of 10 minutes. If you have a video set-up (and this takes a little more effort) you can have a video, in about 30 minutes.
And you've already written the notes. But that's not enough.
Because as notes they have limited value.
So if you were to put them into a PDF with a nice little cover, you've now got a tiny infoproduct that can be given away as a bonus.
This bonus can be free or paid for. This bonus can be given away to alliances to give to their clients. This bonus can be used to attract prospects.
All of this leverage can take less than one hour. The one hour you'd have spent anyway, scratching your head.
Wondering what to put in your article?
Well, wonder no more.
Get momentum. Get that 10-tonne truck moving.
And soon you'll have a fleet of 10 tonne trucks.
You'll be writing articles by the dozen, or by the hundreds (strange, but true).
PS: I actually wrote this article while talking to a client on Skype. As I gave the client the answer to the question, I filled in the blanks in the article.
Even the objection of "I can't do that in my line of business" came from the client.
So yeah. I'm walking my talk. Or should I say: writing my talk.
Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and is an international author, speaker and trainer.
www.psychotactics.com
