Tips for Creating and Using Swipe Files

Most creative people like to collect the works of others to cultivate inspiration. In copywriting, this is called a “swipe file.” This is not nefarious. You’re not going to plagiarize or copy someone else. But let’s be clear, most new things start as imitation or improvements on something that already exists. Borrowing ideas from others and putting your spin on it is a great way to be more creative.

What’s in Your Swipe File

Your swipe file may have many things in it, such as YouTube Ads you found exciting and compelling, headlines you thought were significant, images of sales pages that got your attention, and even CTAs that attracted your attention. The key here is to save important items and change it slightly to include your own spin or needs.

For example, if you’re a blogger, you may want to keep clips or swipes of articles or other content you have found interesting that might inspire you to create more blogs.

Don’t Plagiarize

This may be confusing, but when we talk about swipe files, it must be said. Using a swipe file is not plagiarizing. You’re not going to cut and paste what someone else wrote word-for-word into anything. Instead, you’re going to modify and merge the snippet of what attracted your attention into your original content. For this to work, you need to know what motivates your ideal customer, what phrases compel them to take the action, and what imagery strikes a chord with them.

Use Software

One way to save your swipe files is to use software like Evernote.com, Trello.com, or your favorite software to clip and save the content that you want to use for inspiration. Organize the files so that you can quickly skim them whenever you need inspiration. Store everything as you find it so you know where to go when you need to boost your creativity. Organize what you collect to help you. For example, you might use terms like headlines, value proposition, intros, and so forth so you can look up that one thing as you sit down to create.

Collect As You Go

As you are inspired, capture it. Don’t second guess yourself. Just clip and use it later. You can make notes on each clip so that you know what category it’s under so that you can look up that inspiration when you need it. You may need headlines, images, ads, videos, sales copy, quotes, design elements, facts, data, and anything that inspired you to purchase so you can try to do that with your customers.

Use the Files to Inspire

When you are ready to work, if you’re working on creating headlines for a new article, search for your swipe files for headlines before you start crafting them. When you read these headlines that you collected, they will give you a creative boost as you brainstorm and work on crafting the headline for your new article.

As you look at the ideas in your swipe files, your creativity will be activated and you will be able to think outside of the box to create excellent original work. Remember, you’re starting with the SWIPE, but you’re making it unique and original to you.

 

 

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Tips for Improving Your Content Performance

The truth is, you can publish the best article in the world that is written specifically for the target reader, but you may not get the views that you wanted or expected. Since there is so much information out there, you need to ensure that your content performs well for your needs.

  • Know Your Viewers Intent – If the content you create is meant for the person consuming it, they will be much more likely to answer your calls to action. Study the buying journey to figure out what their intent is so you can match it with the right content.

  • Develop Headlines Based on Intent – As you learn about your viewers’, create better headlines that speak to that person where they are now. Use power words in the headline that get attention.

  • Increase Relevance – The more relevant the content is to them now, the better off everyone is. Use the right words to relate to your audience and highlight solutions and options that make them feel you know them well and can relate to their need. This makes them feel comfortable and trust you more.

  • Create Chunky Content – The way your viewers look at the content you create is important too. If they are trying to navigate a wall of text or flashy images, it may be difficult for them to stay on the page. Pay attention to how the content looks to the viewer.

  • Use Relevant Images – Don’t just grab stock images that have nothing to do with your content. Use images that helps the reader visual the concepts in the content you’re promoting. You can use overlays and call outs to improve relevance.

  • Show the Value of Your Offers – Your audience wants high value, but you need to bring that value to their attention. Explain how and why your information and offers are valuable. To do this, use words, phrases and examples that resonate with your audience.

  • Write Compelling CTAs – When you write your calls to action, don’t just use the first one that comes to mind. Try writing from 10 to 50 CTAs that you can edit slightly to match each action you want them to take. This enables you to find the best CTA to use.

  • Promote Your Content – Nothing will be seen if you don’t tell people about it and why they need to check it out. Share your content in email, on social media, and cross-promote it everywhere. Link to related content under each post and article. Guide them towards more content by promoting across platforms.

If you want your content to perform well, know the purpose for creating it, who you’re creating it for, and then make sure you reach your target market. They’re not going to find it without help, so get out there and shout your message from the rooftops but remember, you want to be on the right rooftops to be effective.

 

 

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Ideas for Building Your Content Calendar

A content calendar is an essential element for any business that wants to keep their audience and customers informed. The content calendar, also known as an editorial calendar, helps you plan and schedule content so you can publish it on time. There are different types of content you can include in your content calendar such as the following types.

  • Editorial Content – You’ll want to include all the content you’ll be publishing on every platform you use, such as blogs, podcasts, social media posts, or videos you’re going to publish on YouTube or elsewhere. This type of content is considered “editorial” content. If you can schedule at least two quarters ahead, you’ll be in good company, but a year is best.

  • Publishing Platform – On the calendar template, include the name of the platform at the top, so you can separate the content creation process internally. You may want to add sections such as the title, description, format type, the website name and URL, as well as the URL of the published work.

  • Promotional Content – Add promotional content you need to create or buy. For example, when you publish a blog post and the corresponding YouTube video, decide when, where, and how you will do the following: post a blurb, add an image with the video link. Note everything you’re going to do, as well as when, where, how, and why you will do it. Also identify what audience segment should/would will see it.

  • Content Ideas – Finally, you’ll want a section on your calendar that shows future and newsworthy content ideas. For example, as you were working on the YouTube video, you got an idea for a related blog post or a newsworthy event has happened that you need to mention. Go ahead and put that idea in your calendar, so you don’t forget.

There are numerous tools you can use to develop and build your content calendar. Try different tools to find out what works best for you. Many people successfully use Google Sheets, MS Excel, MS Word, Google Calendar, and paid platforms like CoSchedule.com, Monday.com, or Airtable.com to build their content calendar.

A content calendar helps you internally, but it can also be a big help to your affiliates and other stakeholders, if you make it available to them. People like writers and other contractors, who contribute to your content, need the information to stay on the same page as you. Plus, you can use the content calendar after the fact by adding links to the published work once it’s finished.

 

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Do You Need to Update Your Pre-Pandemic Content Strategy

One thing that is becoming clear is that the pandemic is changing everything. The way business has changed, along with home lives, during the pandemic is astounding. Some people say that we’ve boosted digital adaption by more than five years. It makes sense that you may need to update your pre-pandemic content strategy to take into consideration what is currently happening in the world.

Identify and Reset Your Goals

The new normal may mean that your sales are slower, or it might mean your sales are higher. It depends on your industry. Sometimes when people suffer greatly, others prosper greatly. It’s just the way things are. Look at your situation to identify what is different in your business and in your daily life. Assess those changes. Adjust your goals to be more realistic for your current content. You may even consider adjusting your marketing strategy.

Study Your Audience Deeper

When significant changes happen, it’s amazing how what you thought you knew about your audience may not be accurate now. Take some time to survey your customers and audience to find out what has changed. For example, if you marketed to teachers before the pandemic, there are many things you need to know about because so much has changed.

Refocus on Your Audience’s Needs

Once you’ve researched the new normal for your audience, you’ll want to refocus on your audience’s current needs. If things have changed, it’s imperative to create new content, products, and services that address their new problems and needs.

Let Go of COVID Fatigue

Everyone is tired of the pandemic. You don’t need to focus your content on the pandemic to be useful to them. Instead, you can simply focus on what’s new such as longer shipping times, fewer resources, or the new way of doing something, such as working from home or staying home. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing that more people are cooking at home. If you provide recipes in your foodie niche, it can be a boon for your business.

Tweak Your Processes for The New Reality

Depending on your business type, some of your processes may have changed or may need to be changed. For example, if you sell physical products, increase shipping times, and supply costs as needed. However, remember that the buyer’s income may have decreased. Note the changes in your process.

Review Your Metrics

Compare today’s metric results to the results before the pandemic (same time-frame last year) to find out how much your bottom line has been affected. Some small businesses may do better when people stay home, rather than when they leave home more often.

Think Ahead Strategically

As you plan your business, it might seem impossible, because you don’t know what to expect. Historically, most pandemics last about three years, so find out about the history and new developments. Look at what big business is planning to help you think ahead, strategically.

Get Personal

If you know that your community is highly affected by the pandemic, don’t ignore it. Address it in a safe way. People need someone who is level-headed to look to for honest and accurate information, as well as solutions for specific problems. If your community is more affected than others, this might be your chance to lead by example.

Your decision to modify your content strategies hinges on your specific business model, niche topic, your audience, and other factors. Your audience plays a big part in your decision because you must consider their wants, needs, and desires. If you’re frequently talking with your audience and are paying attention to your audience, you’ll know what you need to do.

 

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15 Careers for People Who Love to Write

If you want to become a writer, you’re in luck because there are many lucrative careers that anyone who loves to write can do. Let’s get right into the 15 best careers for those who love to write. You never know which one is right for you.

  1. Grant Writer – There are many laws in place about how grant writers can make money, so make sure you educate yourself, but in general, writing grants requires basic writing skills, organizational skills, and the ability to follow directions. In addition, it’s possible to earn $48K a year and more, according to Glassdoor.com.
  2. Niche Blogger – If you are knowledgeable about a particular topic that you love, you can start a niche blog for others who are interested. A niche blogger simply needs to write and publish about their topic regularly while marketing the content to an audience that wants the information. You’ll earn money via ads or products and services you create or recommend.
  3. Social Media Manager – A social media manager needs the ability to write well on the fly to create blurbs, answer questions, and build rapport and community with the audience.
  4. Copywriter – Copywriting is a very specific skill in persuasive writing techniques explicitly used in sales or promotions. You can make more than a grand for an online sales page if you know what you’re doing.
  5. Technical Writer – Do you have a talent for explaining how to do something, build something, or work something? If you’re good at writing easy-to-understand instructions, how-to guides, and backing up your sources, technical writing can provide you a great living, starting at about 50K a year in the USA.
  6. Author – You can also use your talents to write your own books, whether fiction or nonfiction. You can be traditional and find a publisher or you can self-publish fast and make great money right on Amazon.
  7. Teacher – All teachers, no matter what subject they teach, need writing skills. Even if you’re not a trained, certified teacher, you can create courses on subjects you have expertise on and self-publish using software like Teachable.com.
  8. Historian – Do you like history? Can you write? If so, combine your two loves to become a historian. You’ll spend your days studying and writing about the past and the present and how it’s related.
  9. Newspaper Columnist – Today, you might work for yourself or a company supplying articles on news and newsworthy events based on what’s needed. Some columnists focus on one topic like economics, education, or other topics, but others focus on being a generalist and can write about any assigned topic.
  10. Content Writer – Since so much content is needed to keep customers informed and their needs met, there is a great need for high-quality content writers. Companies hire content writers to help them create and publish assigned content based on goals. You can make from $20 per hour and up working as a content writer.
  11. Editor – All content needs to be edited, whether it’s a book of fiction or an English assignment for your fourth graders. That’s where editors come in. Everyone needs one because you can’t edit your own work as well.
  12. Magazine Writer – Like a newspaper columnist, a magazine writer develops, writes, and creates content for magazines based on their interests. Some magazine writers are subject matter experts. For example, if you’re also a pediatric nurse, you can easily write for publications in that genre.
  13. Journalist – You’ll research, write, edit, and proofread your own news stories and possibly your colleagues to ensure the highest quality reporting goes out about what is happening right now.
  14. Food or Travel Writer – You can do this writing job on your own as an independent contractor. To get started on your build a blog and start traveling, eating, and writing about it. You’ll need to take great pictures, in addition to provide mouth-watering detail about the food to succeed.
  15. Speech Writer – If you’re good at writing how people talk, you will make a great speechwriter. Knowing how to write in a concise, memorable, and persuasive way is beneficial for speechwriters.

Do you think any of these writing career ideas are for you? If you love writing, you can earn a full time living doing it if you set your mind to it. Today, the thing that makes this even more exciting is that due to technology and high-speed internet, for the most part, you can also work from the comfort of your home in any of these career ideas for writers.

 

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Keep Sales Steady During Hard Times

Every long-lasting business will go through boom times as well as bust times. Sometimes it’s due to your own bad choices, but sometimes it’s due to things outside of your control. The good news is, regardless of the reasons for the downturn, you can get through hard times with preparation and realism.

Prepare for Hard Times – The moment you sit down to write your first business plan, you should set up your business to run extra lean during difficult times if needed. Save money for six to eight months of overhead, know what you can cut and keep without sacrificing quality and integrity.

Know Your Break-Even Point – Every business owner needs to know what their overhead is. What does it cost you just to keep going? For most business owners, this will include everything they need to run their business, from software to marketing to employees.

Focus on Customer Retention – It’s always smart to focus on retaining customers by delighting them and spending your time and money finding new customers. When times are rough, it’s even more important to focus on customer delight so that you can retain them.

For example, if you have a continuity program or a monthly membership website, you might consider reducing the price of your membership temporarily to spread the pain of the economic downturn if that’s the reason your business has hard times.

Don’t Stop Advertising or Marketing – Never stop your advertising and marketing. Sadly, many people do this first, which is a big mistake. You still need to tell buyers about your products or services if you want to make sales. You may need to rework your campaigns based on the new information you have but don’t stop.

Automate Strategically – If you’ve not set up automation yet, now’s the time. You can cut some of your labor costs or free up some of your time to do more marketing if you have anything automated that can be automated. Learn about platforms like Zapier.com that can help.

Remember: Cash Is King – Try to keep as much of your cash as you can during the downturn. While you don’t want to go into debt, you don’t want to spend all your cash first because it can be hard to get business loans if you don’t have cash on hand.

Add Value To Differentiate Yourself – The more value you can add to your customers’ experiences, the better. If the hard times affect everyone, including your customers, say so and let them know you care. Do anything you can to make them feel like you’re in it with them.

Keep Your Quality High – Keep everything in place that allows you to provide the most top-notch and high-quality products or services you can. During hard times people are more sensitive, and if you are one person they can count on, it’ll make things a lot better for you and them.

Over a long life, things happen. Sometimes you’re up, and sometimes you’re down. No business starts as a success and stays a success forever. One reason the government set up various reorganizing bankruptcy options is that sometimes even if you’re the best at what you do, things don’t turn out.

Even if it feels like the end of the world right now, it probably isn’t. Get a big picture view by focusing on history so that you can gain perspective and focus on the tactics above to sustain your business, keeping sales steady during hard times.

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The #1 Way to Sell More Books

You’ve spent countless hours and thousands of dollars to get your book written, edited, and ready for publishing. Now you’re ready to make sales from your work. As an author, you want to sell more books. You know some ways are better than others when it comes to marketing. But what is the number one way to sell more books?

The first thing is that you need more than one book to be able to sell more. It’s much easier to market if you have a series of at least three books because your advertising dollars go further. And readers of one of your books often come back to read more of your books and recommend them to their friends.

One of the best ways to sell books, then, is through word of mouth utilizing social media and your newsletter. This is because you should be forging genuinely friendly relationships with your readers and other authors in your genre. They can share your work on social media and their blogs while you do the same for them. This is a way of cross promotion that is free marketing.

When you are on social media don’t just post about your books, though. Post about what’s going on in your life (the good things), your pets and inspiring stories. You should also be posting when you have new releases coming out. Online relationships are built by being open about who you are and where you stand on the topics that are important to your readers. Build a community of excited and friendly readers.

Build your author platform so readers know where you are, how to follow you and how to contact you. You should have a Facebook author page, a Facebook group about your books or genre, an author website and blog, an Instagram and Twitter account and a LinkedIn account.

Create an Amazon author and book pages. Fill out the area with key phrases in your book descriptions and keywords in your book sales page on Amazon so it gets the attention of who is looking for that specific keyword. Hook you author page to your website so it shows you latest blog posts. Use all the features Amazon offers to help your audience discover you and your products.

Create an email list. Offer them a free chapter from one of your books. An email list is worth the effort it takes to maintain. Email your list regularly with a newsletter, as well as when you post something relevant, want to encourage them to respond to your tweet, and when you announce new releases, among many other things.

If you want to do advertising, use targeted Facebook ads to reach your ideal readers. Target readers who like specific books you’re giving away or readers who like the specific genre.

The number one way to sell more books is to have more than one book that creates a buzz within your target market. Word of mouth gets people on your sales page and tempts them to buy your books.

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The Ups & Downs of Being a Writer

Every profession has its ups and downs. Being a writer isn’t going to be an exception to that rule-of-thumb. In fact, the life of a writer has many ups and downs, failures, and successes. Like every success, it can be a bumpy ride.

Writing the book is only the beginning. There are endless promotions, rejections, sales fluctuations, and a whole host of other obligations and distractions. But there are also many highs in the profession as well. Let’s look at the negatives first.

The Negative Side of Writing

  • Writer’s block is a major issue for many. Some days you sit there paralyzed by the blank screen, watching that cursor taunt you. It’s a battle to progress through your story or article or whatever you’re writing.
  • Lack of motivation is another big problem of being a writer. Sometimes you just don’t feel like writing. This is when you must make it a habit of writing every day.
  • Self-doubt can keep you from writing. Will your readers like it? Is this character truly represented? Was my editing thorough? Will I finish my book by the deadline? Is the story believable? Is my writing good enough? All of these and more plague many writers. You may be anxious, worried, and uncertain that what you’re writing is bad.
  • Topics are hit or miss. Sometimes you hit on a good topic that goes over well. The next time readers hate it. Finding the balance of good topics can be stressful.
  • Fluctuating sales. This is a problem not only writers face. But it can feel like you’re on a roller coaster of financial disaster sometimes. You don’t know from one month to the next if your sales will level out.
  • Lack of focus keeps you on the downside of writing. Lack of focus prevents you from finishing projects. Focusing on too many different writing projects, on the other hand, can also cause you to not hit the finish line.
  • Interruptions and distractions interrupt the flow of your writing.
  • Dealing with criticism and critiques.

The Positive Side of Writing

  • You can let your creativity flow freely. You can dream and create your story lines out of pure imagination. You have endless ideas you want to explore.
  • Freedom to make the final decisions on your project, to write what you want to write or to take on the writing jobs you are excited about.
  • Successful completion of your work. Seeing it published and having adoring fans who love your work are all pluses in the field of writing.
  • You get to touch others’ lives. As a writer, you can make an impact on your reader in a very authentic way.
  • You get to bond with writers, editors, publishers, and your readers. You can build and ever-growing network of friends that often face the same challenges you do.
  • You are paid to do what you love to do: writing.
  • You can bring important stories to light. Stories that need to be told can bring you a sense of wonder and awe.
  • Writers get to work from anywhere: at the beach, in a coffee shop, on vacation, in a mountain cabin.
  • Being a writer means you’re constantly learning something new every day. You’re a lifelong student from the researching of unfamiliar topics or finding new techniques to craft your stories.
  • You get to be unique, creating your piece in your own unique way.

Like any of the billions of other professions, being a writer has its ups and downs. Only you can determine whether the ups and downs are worth the work and is a good option for you.

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Would Your Marketing Strategy Work on You

Have you ever thought about your marketing strategy in the way you buy things? Does it work for you? If your marketing strategy includes Facebook add or Retweets, is it something you, as a buyer, buy from? Understanding the way your customers buy is key to building a marketing strategy. You want to sell your products or books but if your marketing tactic turns them off, you won’t make sales.

Knowing the diverse types of marketing, helps you understand what needs to go into your own marketing strategy. Review different examples and tactics from other, similar, product-sellers to help you determine what types of marketing are a good fit for your type of business.

When you know the types of marketing that benefits your business the most, you can then spend your time and resources on those activities that give you the best return for your business.

Your marketing strategy should be as unique as your business is. Every business is different. They each have their own set of products, different services, unique audiences, and long-range goals.

Develop your marketing strategy by considering where your business is now, how it was done in the past, how you want to market in the future, and where you want your business to be in the next few years. Then you can design your marketing strategy.

Elements to Include in Your Strategy

  • Research – Do you research on your market and your competitors to better understand what already being done and the types of marketing they are using successfully.
  • Target customers – Dig into the research to get to know your target customers. Go beyond the basic demographics to include details on their buying preferences, behaviors and what motivates them to buy.
  • Marketing Tools – Decide on the tactics you are going to use in your marketing plan that make the most sense for your business.

Once you have done your research you need to decide on the type of marketing that works best. There are many different marketing types to consider such as content marketing, blog/website marketing, SEO marketing, social media marketing, social media advertising, email marketing, google advertising, etc.

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The Importance of Questioning Everything

Everyone wants to give advice. Sometimes we ask for it. Sometimes it’s just given. But how do you know what advice works and what doesn’t? It’s important to question everything instead of blindly applying everything you hear or read.

For example, if you are looking for advice on the perfect publishing platform. You ask around and get ten different answers. Each one tells you that this platform is better than that one for assorted reasons. Now you’re more confused than ever. How do you know which one to choose? You must question everything. That begins with research.

Do your own research. When you need advice on how to do something or some other problem, do your own research. It’s fine to ask others but you should take it with a grain of salt. Use Google or ask experts or however you need to find the answers.

Research the person giving the advice. If they are giving you publishing advice, for example, find out if they have published a book or if they simply work for a publishing company. What makes them an expert?

Find what works for you. When you do your research, you may come across conflicting advice. You may have to do some trial and error until you find what works best for you. This might mean you have to do things more than once in diverse ways, but you want to find the ways that work for you.

Don’t be afraid to ignore advice that doesn’t feel right. Imagine a close friend gives you advice, in good faith, but you don’t resonate with it. You might feel conflicted by the information and only want to follow the advice, so you don’t hurt their feelings. Keep in mind that just because something works for others it doesn’t mean the advice will work in your situation or with your specific audience.

Follow your intuition. Remember when you were young, and your parents told you to do what felt right? That’s what you need to do when it comes to advice. Be true to your values, to what’s important to you and doesn’t keep you awake at night worrying about whether it’s right or not. Your instincts will tell you what is the right and what is leading you in the wrong direction.

When given advice of any kind, ask yourself these questions:

  • “Do I take this advice?”
  • “What more research do I need with this advice?”
  • “Is it right for me?” “Does it feel right?”
  • “Does this person really know what they are talking about?”

Consider their advice, when someone gives it. Then sit with it. See how it feels. And if something feels off, just ignore it. Allow your feelings, instincts, and your mind help you weed out the bad and embrace the good advice.

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