I’ve always jumped at a chance to teach others what I know: social media content creation for museums, collecting the memories of a digital era to museology students and—most recently—highly skilled tech specialists how to write blogs effectively. It’s a joy to help others succeed, but teaching is also a chance to learn. In this blog I wanted to share what I’ve learned by teaching others.

Reviewing the routine is refreshing

Pick any famous writers’ autobiography and you’ll find they agree: A good routine is crucial for writing. You’ll get started faster and can spend time mulling over words and phrasing instead of staring for hours at that pesky blinking text cursor. Forming a good routine is hard work, however.

In Spring 2020 me and a colleague held a workshop on content marketing and writing. One of the participants was an eager business owner. He wanted to write content for his newly founded company but was having trouble with getting started with writing—and then keeping going. He asked, if there were there any tips on productivity apps or tricks I could give him.

My trusty tools for combatting rampant procrastination are:

Use the Pomodoro Timer
Accept the first draft is just a draft
Write, write, write

His question made me realise I’d been set in my writing ways for a while and a look at new productivity apps could be refreshing. So, thanks to him, I found the Hemingway App, a tool to tame my tangled sentences, and Written? Kitten!, a motivational page for the days when I just need an extra bit of fluff in my day.

Struggling to streamline your content creation process? I have some tips to share.

Read them here!

How to spark a passion - or rekindle it

Blogs, social media posts, articles, guides, e-mail campaigns. I write daily, for a living and as a hobby. Consistency helps keep the fear of blank paper away, but sometimes I’ll fall into a rut. Teaching others has turned out to be a great way to get out of that rut.

In the Spring of 2020 I held a blogging workshop for tech experts. While all attendees were eager to learn, some were apprehensive about their writing abilities. A few even told me they’d attend, but didn’t wish to write anything. I know writing can be intimidating and downright frustrating, so I agreed.

If you’ve ever watched a riveting TEDTalk you likely know passion is catchy. I’m passionate about storytelling and sharing those stories. After the workshop they said to me they would maybe give blogging a chance after all.

The joy of helping others succeed

There’s so much in a profession that we learn, which doesn’t get put into words but is crucial for success: the kinds of interview questions to ask, how to adapt to a customers’ tone-of-voice or deal with feedback. I took all this knowledge for granted, until new colleagues came along.

During the past year or so I’ve had the pleasure of helping onboard junior content marketers and creators. Helping them learn the ropes of client work at a content marketing agency has been a joy, and a task I’ve taken great happiness and pride in. However, it has also been challenging to find ways to offer feedback, support and put into words the silent knowledge one accumulates over time.

Procrastinating? Read some more of my blog posts!

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