When I first started blogging, I had no idea about things like a blog design, post promotion, or my new favorite-USING A BLOG PLANNER! I would write whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted…not really knowing there was an entire blogosphere out there of people that may actually want to read what I was writing!
Well today, this blogger right here wants to build her audience and have her voice be heard (yes I’m talking about myself in the 3rd person)!
Online you will find tons of different printables & blog planners, but I didn’t want to invest too much time or money into something that I was not sure was going to work for me, so I went to my local office supply store and picked up a regular agenda that had some of the key features I was looking for:
1) A month view
2) A 2-page week view
3) Note pages
With “the little agenda that could” I have taken my blog posting from random & lacking direction to focused & systematic with 5 easy tips!
1) Get an Agenda
While I am in love with my smartphone, and use the reminders on there all the time, I really needed to go with an actual agenda. When it comes to my blog planning, I need to be able to write things down and look at the month and make sure my posts make sense. Using my agenda has really helped me move my blog in the right direction, so I have my eyes set on the agenda of all agendas, the Inkwell Press LiveWell Planner! I was able to pick one up from someone that was no longer using theirs and have been using it to organize not just my blog, but my LIFE!
2) Color Coding
I use different colors for different types of tasks: red is for family, green is for bills, purple is for blogging, and pink is for something special. That way, I can look at any given day in my weekly view and see how much needs to be done in each category and I can prioritize a little easier.
UPDATE: While this was working for me initially (and it still may work for others so I am leaving it in here) I have moved to using simple black ink and am dividing my weekly view into columns so that each day has a Family/Appts/To-Do’s section and a Blog section. With this new planner I even have space for meal planning and my kids extra curricular activities!
3) Schedule Posts, as well as, POST PROMOTIONS
Post promotion? I had no idea I ever needed to promote my posts?!?! Apparently, this is a big deal in the blogging world, and how, where, & when we promote is more than just random, it’s scientific! I spent about a week researching different social media outlets and average best days & times to post, and developed a system that works for me. Comment below and I can send it to you:) Now when I schedule a post, I also write down all the different post promotions as a task on the day they are due.
4) Use Hootsuite
Yes I know it’s not really part of a planner, but this helps me schedule out most of my post promotion in advance, and as I do I check it off in my agenda using black ink. If this, then that is also a great site to help with cross promoting in one fell swoop.
5) Never Leave Home Without It!
Now I carry my agenda everywhere I go! Any spare time I find while waiting for an appointment or at one of my kids’ extracurricular activities is time I can spend BLOG PLANNING! I also started carrying around a regular lined journal to jot down ideas, blog notes, goals, etc…because while this journal is working right now, I can definitely see that I need something with more writing room in the future, ahem, Inkwell Press?
UPDATE: The Inkwell Press I have been using for the remainder of 2015 is amazing! The writing space is plentiful and the paper quality is too die for!
I cannot live without my blog planner now that I use it consistently. I could see the benefits after the first few days and I am so happy that I have a system in place for promoting my blogposts! Hey I put a lot of writing effort into those babies to just leave them high and dry in cyberspace!
What helps you keep your blog management organized? Let me know! Don’t forget to let me know if you want my Post Promotion Schedule and I’ll send that your way as well:)
Have a Beautiful & Cruelty-Free Day!
With Love, (A Very Organized) Lucy~~*
*Please note that this post contains referral links
Cruelty Free Lucy 