Note From Steve: This post is written by a guest blogger

As an SEO, I’ve worked with various clients to optimize their websites and have mostly developed content for them. The challenges I’ve faced used to seem unique to SEO’s until I stumbled on an interesting similarity between SEO writers and music writers. Here are some tips I borrowed from music writers that helped me become more productive and creative as an SEO.

Look for inspiration

Music is all about inspiration. If you are writing music and you aren’t inspired, it’s probably going to suck at the very least. Musicians go to great lengths to find inspiration. They read books, watch movies, listen to music, travel, discover new things, etc. As an SEO, you need to do as much as you can to find inspiration in the same way too.

Define your goals

Music writers define their goals and work towards them, at least the successful ones do. They don’t just wake up one day and start writing a song and compiling an album with no idea where they are headed. Set your writing goals as an SEO then work towards them.

Seek more information

Ah, yes, you probably think you have this one down because you do a ton of research every day for your clients. Well, the information music writers seek has more to do with refining their song writing skills than researching a bunch of lyrics. For instance, find out how best to create a certain train of thoughts and write them down. Then see if you can repeat the process for different topics.

Do something different

Musicians are known for having very eccentric lifestyles and habits. Well, it comes with the territory. What many of them have found is that in order to keep the creative juices flowing, they have to keep their lives interesting. Try the same; it will work wonders for your creativity.

Follow your passions

Not everyone can be a rock musician or a jazz musician, they all have what they are passionate about and that is what they pursue. Same with you as an SEO; not everyone can service clients from the insurance industry or from the engineering fields. Find a niche you are passionate about and work in that direction; it will be easier to work and get better at what you do.

Take a walk

We SEO’s have the notorious habit of staying hunched over our computers for days on end. Writing this, optimizing that, analyzing the other; at some point, you forget you need some fresh air every so often. Down your tools and head out. The mind works better in open spaces and a fifteen minute walk will do more for clarity than another cup of coffee.

Be emotional

Yes, music is all about transmitting some emotion through your work and so is SEO. Well, you may be saying your work is not considered super creative and is mostly technical stuff. But you can still add a personal touch to it; make your readers aware that a real person is behind the piece, not some dumb robot.

Collaborate

When musicians want to stretch the limits of their artistic expression they collaborate. You will find most musicians work with either song writers or composers or rappers, etc. The main thrust for this is to on board as much diversity as possible. As an SEO you need to learn to work with other writers and SEO types. Whether in guest blogging or coauthored eBooks or white papers, the benefits of collaboration are manifold.

Carry a notebook

Inspiration and ideas come from the oddest places. Whether on your daily commute or over the weekend, getting ideas for your work is something music folk have mastered. They get lyric ideas from the darnest places and guess what, those songs end up becoming smash hits. So leave not that notebook behind and see the ideas piling up.

Have Fun

Lastly, have fun. Show me a musician who does not love and enjoy what they do and I’ll show you a musician who is washed up and headed to failure. Love what you do and have fun.

By: Sean MacEntee – CC BY 2.0