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Deciding on and keeping up with any type of blogging schedule can be difficult. However, it can be even more difficult planning your blog if it isn’t your bread and butter. There are a lot of different ways that you can plan your blogging to reach success and a lot of that depends on your personal style and what your ultimate goal is.
1. Process
We all know that you don’t just sit down at the keyboard and start typing away only to finish 30 minutes later and then post within ten. It’s not quite that simple. Every blogger has a process. Depending on your content there may be more or fewer steps. Generally, there is some research, narrowing down of topics, writing, editing, and sometimes rewriting involved. It all depends on how you approach blogging and what type of blog you are cultivating. You can begin analyzing this process by starting an outline of what your current process looks like. Then, start jotting down what sort of timeline each of these steps takes. Really dissecting your process will help you understand exactly how long it takes you. It will also give you a much better idea of what kind of schedule is feasible for you.
2. Schedule
Start by thinking about what kind of schedule that you’d like your blog to be on. Then, make sure that it is practicable for your day to day life, other responsibilities, and the process timeline that you’ve outlined. You may want to post weekly, daily, or on certain days of the week such as every Monday and Friday. It’s important that you select a schedule that you can stick to. If you find that you’d like to write later on then you can always alter your schedule.
Having a starting goal in regards to scheduling is important. Once you’ve made a schedule or tried out a couple of schedules you’ll want to look into Google Analytics to find out when the best time is to post. This may be a factor in your ultimate scheduling decisions. You may want to plan in advance by considering special events, holidays, or special posts that you want to make. Or, you can always just go with the schedule that works best for you and schedule your blogs to post during the most optimal times. It may take extra planning and preparation on your part to get your schedule and the optimal schedule to sync. In the end, though, you want something that is practical while also beneficial.
3. Blogging Tools
Once you have established the steps to your process and how often you’d like to make a new post it is time to get organized and lock the schedule down. There are a number of tools that you can use to keep yourself organized and on track. Here are a few ideas to start.
Email Calendar: Simply use your email calendar to set reminders. Using a desktop or phone app will help keep you closely connected.
WordPress Editorial Calendar Plugin: If you are using WordPress this plugin not only gives you an overview of your posts and scheduled posts but it also allows you to make changes with a simple drag and drop.
Google Keep: This is a simple to use app available for web or Android that can help keep your to-do lists, voice notes, etc. in one place.
HabitRPG: If you are looking for something a little different and a lot more fun then you’ve found it. This app turns your to-do list into a game. There’s a reward system, upgrades, and you even get your own calendar. It may just have enough quirkiness to motivate even the best procrastinators.
4. Do it!
You know what kind of content you want to create and you know what steps it takes from idea to published post. You also know what kind of regularity you want to post and you’ve picked your favorite tools to get you there. Now, the only thing left to do is dig in and get the work done. Once you get going you may have to adjust some things as your style changes or you find that certain days aren’t working for you, and that’s ok. Having a plan, like we have discussed, will give you the foundation you need to adjust instead of starting from scratch.
What other ways have you found useful to successful plan your blogging? Please share them in the comments below!
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