Picture"Toronto Mayor Rob Ford campaigns with puppet in 2010" image by Shaun Merritt
Both Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and DeHaan Fitness take a new approach to the mayor's goal of losing weight...and how I cover his new attempt in "Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Avoids SMART Goal for Fitness".

I'd covered his 2012 "Cut the Waist" contest against his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, in "Weight Loss Risks for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford" and "Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Ends One Cut the Waist Challenge".

Things are different in Nov. 2013 than they were in January of 2012. So my new online article takes a new approach as well.

I've also publicized this article in "One SMART Goal for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is Fitness"

One Writing Tip is Take a New Approach

People sometimes quote Albert Einstein as saying that "Insanity is trying the same things and expecting a different result".

Just as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is taking a new approach to his quest to improve his health and fitness by losing weight and exercising, so too did I analyze his attempt in a different way.

This writing tip presents a few practical ways to approach your "same old" topic in new ways, by comparing and contrasting two or more examples.

This was Mayor Ford's second weight loss attempt in public:

  • How did his approach differ?
    What is he doing the same as before?
    Are more people involved?
    Did it start the same way? 
    Are there more or fewer props?
    Are there new reasons or motives?
    Are the stakes higher?

Your new article might have different things to compare; explore them.

Just remember that your readers need to invest their emotional energy in these contrasts. Keep them guessing; take a poll; or simply present the differences as options that they can second-guess.
 
Picture"2009 Santa Claus Parade in Toronto" image by c'est la Viva
Perhaps the absolute favourite annual event in Toronto is the Santa Claus Parade. Naturally I've highlighted this free family event again, in my "Toronto Santa Claus Parade 2013 and Holly Jolly Fun Run".

But let's not leave the cities of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) out of the festivities. One day later, I wrote "Five 2013 Santa Claus Parades in the GTA" to satisfy those readers.

Let's Promote Running in Winter, Too

Soon I also realized that the Holly Jolly Run was only one of a handful of winter running races in Toronto. Some of those are uniquely local; others are franchise events held throughout Canada.

So I wrote "Run Races to Keep Motivated for Winter Running" in my DeHaan Fitness... blog. Hopefully people will find it helpful, even if they don't live within Toronto or the GTA.

One Tactical Writing Tip

You may recall a previous writing tip that advised publicizing two closely-related articles at once, as a time-saving measure.

In this case, I knew from the start that "Santa Claus Parade" needed two articles: one for Toronto and one for the GTA.

You could argue that each city deserves its own article. Yes, true, especially if there are enough potential readers searching for their own "long-tail keywords".

One example of a long-tail keyword is "
Santa Claus Parade in Mississauga". The long tail starts with the word "in". The more your article sticks to one topic, the better for its rank for search engines.

On the other hand, there just aren't that many people in each GTA city who need to search online for their local events. In particular, the biggest events will advertise themselves; or people will remember from year to year. So it's not efficient for me to research enough for that many complete articles.

Back to the writing tip. Once you recognize a topic that can span multiple articles, decide on how you will split that material. In this case, "city by city" is obvious. The other day, I discussed a different split for another publication: group some items by popular category; and the rest by date.

The rest of the writing tip is to do the planning and research in one stage. Outline all your drafts before writing one article in full. Then review your plans: do they cover everything once, but nothing twice?

That's one approach for efficient writing while covering a topic thoroughly. Hopefully my 2013 Santa Claus Parade articles were thorough enough for my readers!
 
Picture"Streetsville Cenotaph in Mississauga, Ontario" image by Administrator of StreetsvilleLiving.com
The annual autumn Remembrance Day ceremonies will take place in mid-November. I've written two this year for DeHaan Services, as I did twelve months ago.

"Where to Attend a 2013 Remembrance Day Ceremony in Toronto" puts the focus on Toronto, Ontario.

"Commemorate Remembrance Day 2013 in the GTA" publicizes some options in the Greater Toronto Area.

One Timely and Memorable Writing Tip

Consider how long a time your article will remain important and attractive to readers.

When I began writing articles for online magazines, they advised that we write about "evergreen" topics. These subjects either have lasting value, such as "Three Reasons to Avoid Vitamin D Deficiency", or else should offer seasonal interest.

Clearly these Remembrance Day articles have seasonal interest.
However, those online magazines preferred something along the lines of "The Origins of Remembrance Day". Such information would not change year over year; but it would attract some new readers annually.

In my case, I chose a niche in DeHaan Services
that offers "upcoming events" rather than "annual evergreen" articles. So I must write new articles each year, ensuring that the events truly take place.

Today
's writing tip is that you must understand the longevity of each article you choose to write. Here are three typical timelines:
  1. News articles limit themselves to the present moment. Comparatively few readers will ever go back to research historic events through online publications. You commit yourself to writing constantly...or at least as often as something newsworthy occurs in your chosen field. "Theatre of the Beat to Commemorate War of 1812 in Stouffville" is an example. It was the first time this play would be performed, in response to the first time this GTA city had been noted, by rather slanted history, as having supported that war with strength of arms.
  2. Annual events must be re-researched and re-written as novel essays. My Remembrance Day articles fall in this category.
  3. Evergreen articles can last a long time. "How to" topics often possess this type of staying power.

So this writing tip encourages you to understand your goals and strengths. If you hope to write once and earn forever, go "evergreen". If your blog covers sports, be prepared to write after every game.

Or, in my case, I have to mark a calendar with annual Toronto events so as to inform my


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