If you’re going to spend a lot of time at the computer, you need to know how to get the most out of that time. Blogger and product reviewer Justin Germino runs the website DragonBlogger, a great resource for anyone looking for tips on how to both save money and make money with their online minutes wherever possible.
7SR: Speed is everything when it comes to computers. Here at 7 Speed Reading, we focus on reading speed and how to maximize it, whether with a print book or an online article. When you read a blog or a book on your computer, what do you do to maximize your own reading speed?
I was always an avid reader, so reading quickly comes naturally to me, but when I have to speed read to absorb information then I tend to do like others do and skip over common words when reading (the, and, but)..etc. and only read the meat words from a sentence. In some cases I can just pick out a phrase from a paragraph as key phrases, usually this is when I am looking for specifics. I don’t tend to like speed readying when reading for fun, because I like to enjoy and make the reading last.
7SR: How much time do you spend writing each day, and how much time reading?
Work or home I spent hours about 2-3 reading something each day, this could be documentation, news, product reviews or simply browsing online information. I spent about the same amount of time writing, most of it is in the form of emails, but about 1 hour per day is to writing blog posts, reviews or 1000+ word single piece of content items.
7SR: You’ve also got some helpful podcasts on a range of topics; many people are choosing to listen to podcasts rather than read the same information in an article. Do you have a preference?
I have preferences here, for information or technical information I love to read. I read reviews, technical documents…etc. For personal I prefer audio books which force me to slow down at the narrator pace. I am actually not an audio learner, I am a visual learner so audio podcasts or instruction are not the most efficient way for me to learn. Yet when I am sitting quietly or laying down or on an airplane where there is nothing to distract me, listening to an audio book engages me and gives me the option of learning or enjoying material while driving or doing something that I can’t read while doing.
7SR: What’s your first piece of advice to someone who wants to do what you’ve done, and set up a blog on a topic they’re passionate about?
Think about how you want readers to consume your message, you may be more effective in Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube or one of the dozens of other networks than a blog, at the very least use them to compliment a blog. You don’t always need to pay for web hosting to share your world, use free services like Tumblr, WordPress.com or other sites, only need paid hosting if you want to truly monetize or have the flexibility to become an affiliate and use plugins. Try your hand at writing free content, figure out which topic excites you and focus on what you love to share. I approach building a blog as in what kind I offer to my readers, why would they want to come here, what will they learn or will they be entertained? Know what you want your readers to get out of reading your content, and make sure you inject personality in whatever you do so you can connect with your readers, everyone is a character, play yours up!
7SR: What’s next for your own blog, and your own personal plans for 2016 and beyond?
Continue adding massive amounts of video content, video content is where it is at and while the written blog posts are still found and searched, my video channels have 3x as much viewership as the written blog this last year and the trend continues where live video and recorded video reign supreme as more people prefer watching video or listening to content rather than reading it.
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