Why I write… and why you should, too!

UPDATE: Today, May 29th, 2013 through May 31st, you can get A Free Download of the Ebook Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers mentioned in this post!

As long as I can remember, I wanted to write. It didn't matter who was gonna read it.  To me, it was more important to get my thoughts down.

But I can appreciate those of you who don't enjoy the idea of writing. 

Sometimes life gets so busy, I find I haven't made time to write on my own blog.

Yet, I know people are still reading and benefiting from things I've written in the past.

I know this, because I am fortunate enough to have them tell me.

And, that is the beauty of ‘evergreen' content – meaning it is still useful to new folks who come to my site…even years later.

In fact, one of my blog posts, in particular, remains the most read article on my site, even though I wrote it in 2009.

It's called:

The funny thing is when I wrote this post it wasn't because I had to, it was because I wanted to share a great experience I had at a restaurant – not about the food – though that was great, too.  What I experienced was some folks who did some ‘uniquethinking' about their own marketing. And being the marketing dork that I am, I had to share their ideas with others.

My post of Marketing Tips for Restaurants has become so popular that it was just reference on the Best Small Business “Anit-Boring Marketing Advice” Series, put together by Valpak (you know, those blue envelopes filed with coupons that come in the mailbox).  Yes, even the mailbox-centric site has its own blog!

So, it proves that what I tell you guys is true:

If you write genuine content about something that interests you, people will not only read it, they will share it!

My Challenge to You:

Find someone doing something amazing in your industry – something that inspires you and write about it.

How this helps your business:

If you write about things that inspire you and are related to your industry, you'll connect with others who feel the same way.  Sometimes they will be business associates (who want to work/partner with you), sometimes they will be industry organizations that want to have you speak at their events or write for their blogs. Then there are your clients & prospects (who get to learn from you and feel connected)!

Writing let's you expand the reach of your ideas, the ones that created your products and your services.

I've been thinking about writing, a lot.  Both how to inspire myself and how to inspire you guys! And, then this weekend, I received a Facebook invite from a friend of mine from high school, Dean Orion.

He started a blog and wrote an ebook on the subject of writing: Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers 

 And, I thought even though I am not a screenwriter, I need to read this – because creative storytelling is what marketing is all about, right?  Well, to me it is.  It's about telling a story in a creative (yet, genuine) way, one that connect to people – inspires them.

Dean's book did that for me.  It connected to me, not because I know him from years ago, but because of  what he talks about  – in an easy and comfortable way – in a way everyone can relate (not just screenwriters).

And guess what? On May 29th, 2013 through May 31st, you can get a copy of Dean's ebook for Free! 

So, with that in mind, and the fact the ebook is free, you need to pick this up in the next couple of days. There really is no reason to procrastinate.  But, speaking of procrastination, check out what Dean has to say about that subject and the writing process:

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, we should probably give procrastination a more positive name, don't you think? How about Pre-writing?  Mindframing?  Sound better?  I think so. 

– Dean Orion from  Live To Write Another Day, A Survival Guide for Screenwriters and Creative Storytellers 

Now, get Pre-writing, while you read his book! And, yes, I do get not all of you are writers, but you are business people who need to communicate with your audience.  So, even if you just find one little morsel – isn't it worth the read?  It's definitely worth the price of free (today and tomorrow only – but only $9.99 normally).

As Dean says: the chapters are short and very digestible, so you can certainly nibble away at it a little bit at time.

Here is my little morsel from his section on The Write Environment:

Have a set place and schedule (an appointment you have to show up for – in my case scheduled in my calendar – to do your writing).

Yep, I couldn't wait, so I actually purchased my copy over the past weekend (even paying for it was worth the price!).  Not only because I wanted to read it right away, but I always like to try things before I recommend them to folks.  And, look, I just wrote a blog post about it!

Definitely let me know what part of the book resonates with you! Or if you already have a writing tip that works for you, share it below!