I didn’t want to start this blog post crying about my personal problems, and I won’t but I think that, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t hurt that the readers of our blog or blogs really understand that there is a human being behind the blog.
I just lost one of my two beloved cats of 11 years to cancer this past Thursday. He fell sick exactly 3 weeks ago today and was diagnosed with lymphoma. This terrible disease didn’t take any time to take my kitty away.
11 years of love is a long time; a good chunk of someone’s life and it doesn’t get erased just like that. So, this week, in honor of Tony, my beloved cat, I thought I would write an article inspired by my own experience and useful for my readers at the same time.
Why Should You Write Articles That Are Inspired By Your Own Experiences?
Have you ever read an article or blog post speaking in a robotic manner with no juice in it? I know I have. When you read this kind of articles you can be sure that it is due to 3 things.
1- It might be an article written by a brand new writer who has not yet mastered the writing skill to convey an interesting and grabbing story even if all they are writing about is a bar of soap.
2- It might simply be an article that is just meant to fill out some space on a blog to bring it up to date.
3- It’s an article that was solely written to bring more clicks, more back-links or more sales.
Regardless of which one of these three reasons, such articles are not attractive to readers and are now not even attractive to robots such as search engines either. I am sure you would agree that such lifeless articles have become pretty much useless.
The truth is that such articles don’t work for the readers because they are empty of any emotion which is the strongest factor that makes people want to read and even buy. The only way you can bring some life to your articles is by putting a little bit of your experience in your writing.
Why Do People Like To Read About Your Own Experience?
People like to read about true experiences from true people. In other words, people like to read about feelings that they are going through themselves or that they can relate too. This goes for whatever you may be writing about. It could be an article about a health product, an article about pet training or an article about blogging. The more you bring about your own experience into it the better it will be.
This is why it’s always better if you can write about something you really know; but, what about if you have to write about something you don’t know? What do you do then?
How To Bring Your Experience Writing About Something You Don’t Know
Let’s say I want to write an article about cats. Well, that’s right I have cats and I know quite a bit about them, so I could write about cat behaviors, cat care and cat do and don’ts quite easily, right? But, what about if I still had to write about cats but, never owned one, what would be the next best thing I could do?
Well, if I knew nothing about cats and had to write an article about them, I would go to the library and grab a couple of books about cats. I would read those books thoroughly to get familiar with cats. Then, I would go online and look for blogs or sites written by cat lovers. For example, Squidoo and Hubpages are two good places to go to for that because true people with real experiences tend to write pages there.
Then, I would look for forums on the subject of cats and look at what kind of questions people have and what kind of answers they are getting. This might also be a good practice for you to try to give some answers based on the knowledge you’ve accumulated so far by reading materials about cats.
Remember, practice makes perfect. The more you put your new knowledge into practice by participating in forums the more you will make this new topic your own.
Yes, indeed! In time this topic you didn’t know anything about will become your own. You will develop some knowledge about cats by reading and exposing yourself to the knowledge and experience of others. Even if you have never lived with cats, you will be able to know quite a bit about them.
Do you get the idea?
Of course, the cat example, is just that, an example. You can do the same thing with any subject or topic you may have to write about. This is what freelance writers do all the time.
As a freelance writer I do not know everything I write about – far from it – however, I need to be able to write as if I was an expert in the matter.
Do you know that if you read enough about any subject, you will actually become an expert at it? As a matter of fact it takes only 21 days of learning to become an expert in any subject. Not so bad, is it? Now this said, I know what the next question coming to your mind might be.
How Do I Input My Own Experience About A topic I Have Learned In Books?
Well, how does an actor who makes 10 million dollars a movie is able to play a homeless guy? By trying to put himself in the shoes of the character he is playing. Even in some cases by spending some time with the people which character they will be portraying.
By listening to the experiences of homeless people and trying to understand what they are going through on a daily basis, the millionaire actor will be able to “feel” what it might be like to be homeless and, therefore, able to play the part as if he had done that all his life.
You can do the same with your new topic. By trying to get deep inside it and feed your brain with the experience of others which you could talk about in your articles.
Beside, you are also going to develop your own ideas on the matter and, you could write about those as well. In time, you will totally be able to “play” the part and you will be able to write articles which bring emotions and experiences that attract readers.
If this article was helpful to you, or if you have any thoughts about it, don’t forget to leave a comment and link you own blog or post to it!
There is a big difference if your content is written by someone. Some points might not be elaborated. The good thing if you write your own, you can expand and give life to the content 🙂
Brilliant content Sylviane.. craving for more 🙂
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Thanks Herbert, I appreciate the compliment. And thanks for passing by again.
Anytime 🙂
I love the way you write, very detailed 🙂
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Anytime 🙂
I love the way you write, very detailed 🙂
Cheers 🙂
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Sylviane, I’m so sorry for your loss. My first pet was a beautiful Siamese cat. My sister in law had a couple of “rescue” cats that I fell in love with when they were smart enough NOT to hurt my child, even though she was dangerously close to annoying them (she was 3 at the time, and blissfully unaware of just how annoyed they were). I’ve had a neighborhood cat – well loved pet, mind you, not a hungry stray! – “adopt” me and hang out in my yard for affection, trying to feed me songbirds, even though I refused to feed him or let him in the house, and tried to convince him he’d be better off back home with his own family. Actually, thinking back on that, I’m pretty sure this cat – Taz – had some sibling rivalry issues and liked coming to my house to play “only cat.” Anyway, I know how they can get their adorable little claws into your heart, and I know you’re hurting. I imagine your other kitty is a little lost without its playmate, too. Good you still have each other.
Thank you so much for your comment Holly. My Tony has gone 12 days now and I still cry every day, wake up for a whole hour or more in the middle of the night missing him so much. It has slowed down my work and everything else.
People who don’t have or love pets might not understand, but my cats were with me these past 11 years and that’s a hell of long time, and I just can’t erase it in just a few days or weeks. That’ s just impossible. Thank God, my other kitty helps me tremendously in my grief.
Sorry to hear about your cat Syliane. My 8 year old lab sits here next to me all day and I can’t imagine not having her around.
Personal experience does make writing so much stronger. I think it is the same reason why reality television is so popular. People like to feel a connection.
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Thanks for visiting, Larry. Because of your dog, I am sure you understand me. My cats are just a tremendous part of my life for so many years now, it’s just tough though though. I still can’t believe it.
Hi..Thanks for sharing such a nice post. its really gives inspiration.
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That is a really thought provoking post – brilliant in fact. I must admit my best posts have been the one where I am describing deep emotions. Whether I could bring that emotion into my ordinary posts – now that would be a skill…
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Thanks for your complement, Debbie, I really appreciate. Yes, indeed our best writings are the ones we put our emotions in, I know it can be harder depending on what you are writing.
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Sylviane,
You are great!! Thanks for this wonderful information. I need to learn how to write, which I know nothing about!
God bless you!
Claudia
Sylviane,
It’s me again, by the way I AM SOOOOOOOO VERY SORRY about your baby Tony! We have a little white female toy poodle named “Preshus”. She is 10 yrs old; My family and I cannot ever imagine losing her. She was our first baby, then we had 4 “real” children after Preshus. I know what you mean about all those precious years of wonderful memories. I literally have hundreds of pictures of Preshus before our kids came along and pictures with her and each and every one of our children. Our kids (ages 2yr to 9yrs) treat her like a queen!
My heart is filled with tears for your beloved Tony. If possible can you send me a picture of him?
I know Tony was a valuable loss; I will pray for you!
God Bless,
Claudia
You are such a sweet person, Debbie. Thank you so much for your words. The fact that I lost my Tony still has not sink in totally. This is been one of the toughest months of my life.
Sylviane Nuccio invites you to read..Authentic Writing – Can You Define Yourself As An Authentic Writer?
I think writing from experience is a powerful thing, Sylviane – many bloggers, including me, just don’t know how to bring it in. Yet connecting with your readership is extremely important!
PS Sorry it took me so long to visit; I also appreciate you stopping by my blog.
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Thanks for visiting Ana, I really appreciate. I always love passing by your blog, the posts are always so interesting to read. I just wish I had more time to apply it all 🙂
Whenever I face the situation where I don’t have any idea regarding the topic and still I want to write something then I read relative details from wikipedia or from other authentic sites. I try to make the article / post more lively and keep details topic wise so, reader can easily understand, feel good and find what they are looking for.
Just a few years go blogging was a simple way for people to keep online diaries and users started to show interest in what was happening in the lives of other people so certainly even now, writing about something original from personal experience will always grab the attention of readers and you’ve brilliantly stressed on this point.
Hi Sylviane, I got to know your site through your guest posting in youngpro. In fact i have seen so many things that i have been looking for how to do in article marketing, which has been the challenge i always have in promoting my affiliate site. Am very grateful and promise to check back.
I will apply all that you have just said.
Thanks
Nice meeting you David! I am very glad if I could help in any way. If you have any questions you need to ask, please, don’t hesitate. I’d be glad to help in any way I can:)
Thanks Sylviane,
please can you check my site and tell me if there is a way i can improve the traffic, am just very new to the system.
Sure I can refer you to some tips!
I have learned so much from you and your blogs. I find that when I mention something personal, the response to the blog is much larger. So sorry to hear about Tony, I know how that can hurt. They do take hold of your heart, don’t they.
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I agree on what you’ve pointed out. By using your own experience, aside from making the writing easier on your part, it’s also great way to establish rapport to your reader. Besides, how can you empathize with your reader if you haven’t experience it yourself? It’s like giving dog training tips when you don’t even have a dog? hehe.
Hi
Writing your own articles is very important because then it comes from you and you can adapt it and correct it as you are on the same wavelength as you are the one who wrote it.
Great info thanks lee
Hi Sylviane
I have put an edited version of your article on my blog with a link to your blog so people can read the full version.
Hope this is OK with you.
Prosperity
davethescribe
Hi Dave,
Sure, I think it’s fine. I see that your site appears to be brand new with no Alexa ranking yet. If you ever dropped it let me know, because I do not like to have broken links on my blog.
Thanks for valuing my post, and tanks for letting me know about this.
Hi again Sylviane (what a lovely name)
Thank you for your message.
Yes my blog “The Daily Write” is new.
After writing articles for other I M’s for 2 years I have decided to do my own thing
Your article really got me thinking…
I have been married for 42 years. We’ve had our ups and downs but we are still very happy in each others company, so I could write about relationships.
I have always had black Labradors (Beattie is 4 today!) My last 2 Juno and her daughter Hebe died of cancer within 10 weeks of each other so I have experienced the deep sorrow you and I both felt when our wonderful companions died.
I had a heart attack and a double heart bypass 10 years ago, and I have an artificial Aortic valve, so I know what real physical pain feels like.
… plenty to write about!
I plan for “The Daily Write” to be around for a long time. But I promise I will let you know should I decide to kill it.
If you would like to do a guest post sometime I would be very grateful.
Prosperity
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the introduction. I am always willing to get to know people better. Yes, it seems that you’ve got a lot to write about.
Just remember that a blog should be focusing on one niche alone as people get confused if your blog is about anything under the sun on the same blog, unless it’s more like a journal, but in which case traffic might be lesser.
For more info about me you can take a look at my about me page as there’s more there than I could tell you here.
I welcome guest posts from people I’ve built a relationship with, and once we know each other better, I would love for you to write a post as long as it fit the niche of my blog.
See you around 🙂
Great post dear! You really posted a great article and it will help all the person. Who are wanting help form someone. Your information is very helpful.
Thanks for writing these type of article.