I am sitting here at 38,000 feet on a cross-country trek, unable to sleep because of the screaming children in the row immediately behind me. So, I have fired up the laptop in order to write one of my twice-weekly blog entries.

Last night over dinner, I was discussing our blogging strategy and was asked how do I determine what to write? What inspires me? How do I know if it’s good? Do we publish everything I write? I thought I’d share some of our thinking so that others (especially those on my team who are now motivated to write) can understand the process we’ve adopted.

Prolifiq has an editorial review board consisting of three people. These three people review and approve or disapprove the post(s) for publication. This is something I insisted on in order to protect our brand; and at least 2 of the editors must agree ─ nobody has veto power. Sounds onerous, but it is a very good way to ensure we are on message and not making inappropriate commentary about any one person, company, product or event.

Quarterly, I meet with my editorial review board and determine an editorial theme for the quarter. This is high-level, broad brush sentiments we want my posts to reflect. This is usually a one or two word descriptor that I use to guide my thinking. From this I develop a calendar and I produce about 32 posts on a given theme. Now, keep in mind the theme may not be smack in the face obvious to the reader, as the review board gives my wide latitude in writing.

For inspiration, I use the world around me: people I meet, things I see or experience, music I listen to, something I’ve read, some sage advice I’ve received. Some of what I’m told are my best posts come from songs and conversations with my children.

How do I know it’s good? The simple answer is when the review board tells me it’s good. The best posts are the ones that are most difficult to write. When I extend myself or expose myself emotionally, the writing is hard; but, it usually yields a good post. Also, I never spend more than 45 minutes writing and editing a post. The logic here: this is not graduate school thesis work; we are simply trying to get across some pretty simple ideas. If the post takes too long to write, the sentiment usually gets lost in the mechanics and never makes it to the site.

The actual writing process is one I can hardly describe. I usually have a list of 15-20 topics I’d like to cover on a one page mental list. I allow these to roll around in my head while I’m working, sleeping, exercising, watching the boys play, etc. Then somewhat magically, I’ll wake up in the morning and the post is written, mentally—I just need to type it. Usually, I do this before anyone else is in the office. And I have a simple self-imposed rule; if a post requires two cycles through the review board, it is not good enough for publication and I withdraw the submission.

There you have it; this is our blogging strategy. I look forward to reading your posts.