On content marketing, writing, UX, productivity, and SEO. — Really quick: If you’d like to support my writing, please consider subscribing to Medium through my referral link: Join Medium with my referral link - Catherine McNally As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…medium.com My latest and greatest content 6 Powerful Note-Taking Tools to Activate Your Mind & Connect Ideas Active note-taking transforms the knowledge you read into your own thoughts and ideas.medium.com

Repetition doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Here’s how to use it to your advantage. — I was alone in the house. My husband was deployed to Afghanistan, and it was just me and our two cats. Yet somehow, amazingly, I felt comforted as I listened to the tales of murderers and serial killers on “Criminal Minds.” How is that even possible? I have a feeling…

This might be a little too TMI, but can we talk about our lack of self care lately? — As I sat in my doctor’s office discussing why I feel like I need to hibernate for 20 years to regain any semblance of energy, my doctor started talking to me about self care. Oh no, not this old song and dance. Self care and I are so distant I…

The psychology behind the word “you” and how one small word can impact your writing so greatly. — One tip I love to share with new writers is how they can incorporate the word “you” to improve the voice and tone of their articles. The benefit of this simple word is two-fold: Not only does it improve voice and tone, but it helps engage readers too. Just think…

Unleash the potential of AI to gain a head start on optimizing your writing for SEO. — With online writing, every word counts. But instead of fussing and obsessing over every word, writers can use AI to get a head start on content creation, essentially ramping up their production without ramping up effort. I’ve been using AI to ramp up my writing for a while now, and…

Learn how to get the AI images you want — then sell the prompts that created them. — When AI started getting huge, I decided to dabble with it just like everyone else. My first attempt at creating an AI-generated image was, well…not very successful. Turns out, AI still has some issues understanding how human hands and feet work. The end result was terrifying. Weird feet aside, getting…

Maybe, as long as you proceed with caution. — With the news that CNET and other online publications have been using AI to create content (since November, in CNET’s case), more and more questions have popped up about whether AI should have a place in professional writing. As shown with CNET, AI can be used to write content about…

That aren’t Grammarly or your other usual suspects. — One of the most valuable resources to any creator is time, but it’s doubly valuable to the part-time side hustler. Eight hours of your day is already set aside for your full-time job, so you’re already running short on time to spend creating. As a part-time creator, it makes sense…

Learn how to help others focus on successfully developing skills while improving your own understanding. — Managing freelancers and junior employees can be challenging but oh-so rewarding. One of the first tips I got from my manager about how to gently guide one of my freelancers toward higher-quality articles was to use the zone of proximal development. Defined by Russian scientist Lev Vygotsky, the zone of…