What the 6 Rs Can Teach You About Blogging is. . .plenty.
But you may be asking yourself, what are the 6 Rs?
Don’t worry, COLIBRI will explain it, and pronto.
The 6 Rs are about sustainability. Sustainability refers to how to keep our planet going in the face of climate change and dwindling resources.
As bloggers we, too, have to worry about sustainability. The reason is, blogging is hard work that takes a lot of time and effort. Maybe we’re not wasting paper because we’re doing everything digitally, but do we:
- Make sure we are getting the most from our content?
- Use content in different ways to boost our online presence?
- Consistently make sure to use our time wisely?
- Say no to projects and meetings that won’t move us forward?
- Update our strategies on a regular basis? And, finally,
- Fix the things in our digital worlds that are broken?
Keep reading to find out how the 6 Rs address all of these blogging issues.
- R #1: Recycle. In the traditional world of sustainability, this refers to taking an existing product and re-processing it for a new product. Like bringing your glass bottles to Safeway and then later buying a cup made from recycled glass.
How bloggers can recycle: Bloggers actually recycle what they learn and know all the time. For example, a blogger learns to use WordPress and then sets up or maintains a WordPress blog for a client. The important thing is to consider what you are learning and how you can apply that learning to other projects.
- R #2: Reuse. Reusing refers to taking an existing product, such as a tin can, and turning it into, for example, a vase or a container for small tools.
How bloggers can reuse: Bloggers reuse all the time, but we call it repurpose. This one is COLIBRI’s favorite. You can reuse, or repurpose, content in so many ways. Here are just three:
- If you have a long article, you can chop it up into tweets
- If you have several articles, you can combine them into a download
- If you have some downloads, you can turn them into an e-book
Look at your existing body of content and see how it can be used in different ways. Brainstorm.
- R #3: Reduce. Reducing means using less material and energy during a product’s life cycle.
How bloggers can reduce: We bloggers use mainly time and effort. Take some time to look at what you are doing and what you can spend less energy and effort on. Maybe you are writing super detailed 800+ word posts when a quick-and-inspirational 400+ word post would work for your audience. Again, millions of ways to think about this. Brainstorm.
- R #4: Refuse. This R refers to not accepting products we don’t need if they aren’t environmentally or socially responsible.
How bloggers can refuse: Bloggers can refuse, of course, by not taking on projects that aren’t sustainable for them. Specifically, don’t be taken in by every shiny new thing.
If, for example, the Notes function on your iPhone works for you, maybe you don’t need to download Evernote. After all, it uses your phone’s memory and you have to learn a new app. (This example, BTW, is total BS. COLIBRI loves Evernote. But you get what she means.)
- R #5: Rethink. This sustainability R means that we should all rethink the way we live, design and produce things with the goal of using fewer resources.
How bloggers can rethink: As bloggers we have a lot of (re)thinking to do. Here are some examples to think about:
- Our editorial calendars (considering reusing/repurposing)
- How we can most effectively use our precious time both online and off
- Our audience and what they are getting out of our work
- Guest posting
- Backlinking
- How we can get the word out about our blogs and
- Monetizing
COLIBRI is sure you can add to the list.
- R #6: Repair. Instead of just throwing things out, the eco-friendly approach is to repair them. This saves landfill and money, if not time.
How bloggers can repair: Take a good, hard look at your website say, every 6 months, and find out what’s broken. Chances are certain links aren’t working or you need to update your services page. Find out what needs to be repaired and then — hop to it!
Your Turn
How do you, or will you, use the 6 Rs to improve your blogging?
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