Most of us write blog posts. But it's a drag: We have to format, save, rewrite, edit, get images, reformat, and so on. That's a huge timewaster, and it distracts from what's important. The writing! This presentation explains my method for producing great, polished content with less effort, so that I can focus on technique instead of workflow.

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LEAN CONTENT

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I’m Ian. CEO of Portent.

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@portentint

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Once, I raced bicycles
(I sucked)

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Lean = Maintaining Velocity

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Lean = Occasional Road Rash

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Lean = Looking Where You’re Going

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You have to practice

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2x effort now means .5x effort forever

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.5x effort = better technique

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HOW I CREATE A BLOG POST

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I find my ideas

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Answerthepublic.com

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My own twisted psyche
Deodorant in
space?

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Google Suggest

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I set up my project

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Do not skip this

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I use plain text

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Sublime Text 2

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Why plain text? Hmmm. Let’s see…

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It doesn’t crash

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Small

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Portable

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HTML, from Word

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Future proof
the aliens
have invaded!

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Future proof
at
least they
can read my
text files

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Add Markdown

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http://bit.ly/1RscAUc
Install guide

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https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax

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Preview in Marked
Marked2app.com

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On Windows:
http://markdownpad.com/

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Use images (that matter)

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AVOID CRAPPY STOCK PHOTOS

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AVOID CRAPPY STOCK PHOTOS

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AVOID CRAPPY STOCK PHOTOS

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AVOID CRAPPY STOCK PHOTOS

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Use images for a reason

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“Break up the page” is not a reason

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Sourcing images

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Bespoke

48. @portentint@portentintA Dwarf by BrokenMachine86 (brokenmachine86.deviantart.com). Colored pencils and ink on brown paper.
Wikimedia

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Pexels
Unsplash

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Google filter by usage rights

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Snagit for screen caps

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Quick Snagit tip: Save sharper screen caps

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Skitch
Mac: CMD + CTRL + 4
Windows: CTRL + PrtScn
Android: Sleep/wake + volume down
iOS: Sleep/wake + Home

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Questions? Tweet @portentint

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Alfred lacks purpose

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Alfred has purpose

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Prep the images

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Preview on Mac
Paint on Windows

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Compress!!!
See http://portent.co/speedy-sites

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Put ‘em where they belong

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Save. The. Original.

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Want a preview?

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No formatting yet, but see size/shape

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Edit

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HemingwayApp

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Proofread

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CREDIT:ZEKEMILLER,TIMEREPORTER

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Grammarly

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I CONVERT

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Huzzah!!!

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Automatic

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Automatic!!

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Automatic!!!

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Automatic!!!!

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Automatic!!!!!!!!!!!

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Publish

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Use “Text” not “Visual”

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Upload images

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Preview!!!!!!!!!

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HOW I SQUEEZE OUT EVERY DROP
OF VALUE FROM THAT CONTENT

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Re-use

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time to
retweet…

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The rollup
(from @seo-theory)

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WHERE TO PUBLISH

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SLIDESHARE
VINE
INSTAGRAM
SCRIBD
KINDLE
AUDIO

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MEDIUM
LINKEDIN PULSE
QUORA
REDDIT

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Why publish elsewhere?

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BONUS ROUND

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BONUS ROUND!
Smart quotes
“ “
” ”
‘ ‘
’ ’

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BONUS ROUND!
Others
—
–
…
©
™

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Remember, if you use Markdown,
you don’t need to learn these

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Plague words

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3E6699
END RESULT RESULT
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES NEVER
INDEED OMIT
REGARDLESS OMIT
SIMPLY PUT OMIT
OBVIOUSLY OMIT
BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT DEFINITELY
HTTP://PORTENT.CO/PLAGUE-WORDZ

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Formatting

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BASIC LAYOUT

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BASIC LAYOUT
3-6 lines/paragraph

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BASIC LAYOUT
1-3 paragraphs per heading

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Just guidelines

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TOOLS TO GET FAST

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TextExpander: Type less

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Shortcat: Mouseless menus
SHIFT + CMD + SPACE

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Hit ENTER

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THE ADVANCED CLASS

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Github

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Github: Collaboration & versioning

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Plus Markdown previewing

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Pandoc
Convert to Word, Kindle, PDF, HTML…

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THE WRAPUP

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POOT

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This is a process

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2x effort now means .5x effort forever

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.5x effort = better technique

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Get in touch! I want to help!!!

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SMALL, UNMARKED BILLS ONLY
portent.com/blog
@portentint
facebook.com/ian.lurie
THE LINKS: http://portent.co/lean-content