I Just Deleted 2500 Words Before Hitting the Publish Button

You'd be surprised.

Now, I'm not saying being a copycat is a good idea in itself but sometimes just sharing what you learned (and being honest about where you learned it from) is a great way to create useful content for your audience.

So yeah, there are actually a lot of people who might read it...

After all, curated content posts are built upon this very concept.

With that being said, I'm not knocking your style.

Verena, if your personal voice is so important to your brand, and you feel you'd do better by coming up with your own ideas or better yet, putting a personal spin on these "rehashed" ideas, so be it.

Regards,
Daniel

Daniel, you've got a point there.

I never delete anything, I just don't publish it. While it might not be a worthy post it could have good information to use in a future post.

al

Verena, I can see what you are saying. But many incredible authors, scientists, doctors etc.. have learned certain principles and " smart ideas" from others then they have writieen books. dissertations, taught classes etc.. putting their own twists and perspectives and expounding on these "smart ideas" from other people

Do not sell yourself or your work short in this regard


- Robert Andrew

I think it's a smart thing to do - not "deletion" as such but making certain what you write and publish is the best of the information you have.

When I work on a project I have a "scrub file" for that project. By the time I'm finished that one file is often full of paragraphs and sentences and pages that I wrote but decided not to include in the project. They may be used later for something else... used later for an update to that project.

For some reason (only clear in my own mind) the text that ends up in the "scrub file" doesn't quite FIT with my view of the project TODAY. If you start with "15 points" and they are wandering around - cut it to "5 points" that get to the heart of the matter and go with that.

It's easy to copy or adapt and to find filler to use - maintaining the integrity in what you write on your sites is not as easy but more fulfilling and more profitable in the end. Just my opinion....

Sometimes people get value from reading about other people's stories.
You did not steal from anyone but you were sharing lessons you felt someone
would get some value from.
Not every lesson has to come from your own experiences.

that stinks. Gone through that a couple of times. Didn't like it so much and I formed the habit of draft everthing before hand saving it along the way!

Verena,

I've seen your blog articles. Your "rehashed" content is probably far better than most of the "original" content written by most bloggers. You shouldn't have deleted it! You should have rewritten, edited, or "fixed" the problem areas.

But... at least you deleted it on purpose. Years ago, I remember writing a sales letter. It was excellent. I spent many hours on it.

And then my computer froze up.

Ugh...

I could see my masterpiece on my screen, but couldn't save it.

The moral of the story is... "Save often... but don't delete."

John

Verena, it sounds like you had the making of a good "round up" post, a collection of the best stuff you found from other people. Perhaps you could have edited the post to make it feel more authentic. Perhaps not. Either way, I applaud your reasoning and your willingness to stick to your own code.

Back when I was studying engineering, part of the standard procedure for any new project was to review the standing literature. It was a way of finding, not only what was already out there, but perspective. Saved time going down blind alleys that already had footprints in the dust.

Or, as one of my professors like to say, "ain't none of us as smart as all of us."

Even though you haven't shared your own story or experience, you will be surprised to know that people will actually appreciate your blog post

A bunch of people.

Everything is NEW and good info for a person who knows nothing about marketing online. Everyday people try to start an online business and don't know where to start, or what to do. Your 2,000 could have proved invaluable to them.

Next time don't hit that delete key.

Verena,

When you really get down to it, how much business and marketing information is really new or original?

While I tend to agree with Godin's assertion that being authentic is best, there are a myriad of ways to be authentic that include agreeing with what others have already stated.

Take a trite and overused marketing cliche like "What's in it for me?" WIIFM

Most marketers understand what it refers to. They know what it means. And there are only so many ways to say the same thing. But by saying what someone else "coined" or originated . . . it doesn't make that advice any less powerful or true.

I guess what I'm saying is you can be authentic, and speak from your own voice and point of view, and still cover subjects that didn't originate with you! You can add your own opinion, analysis, or commentary to increase the value of what is being said because you're adding additional insight.

There are very few principles and words of advice that haven't already been given somewhere. But when you give that same advice in your own "authentic" way to an audience that may not have heard it before, it's just as good, and true, and meaningful as if you coined the advice yourself.

Steve

Hi everybody! Good to see you all. Good Morning Verena! I love your posts.

Everyone has a good point. I like the "roundup" referred to by John (hi John!)

My favorite thing to do with information is to research until I see nothing but repeats, then re-write what I've found in the "language" of my readers, the words that will most resonate with their thought patterns.

For instance, an article on email marketing must be written differently for the following audiences: newbies, those for whom English is a second language so it can be easily translated with Google Translate, teenagers and younger who want to get into online marketing, professional IM'ers, and so forth.

These are all very real markets, each with it's own mindset and idea of priorities, and budget.

- Annie