Bloggers are busy people! Most of us have full-time jobs and other countless responsibilities at home. We find time to write our posts before the family gets up in the morning or after everyone has gone to bed late at night. Today I’m here to tell you how to approach blogging efficiently and stress-free. Because let’s face it, there are but only so many hours in a day and we still have to get it all done, somehow!
While it’s a hobby for many, it doesn’t mean we don’t take blogging seriously. We want our content to be top quality. We need hours or days to finish one single article, and that’s only part of the process.
Needless to say, unless us bloggers develop an efficient system, we may feel overwhelmed and stressed without accomplishing much.
The good news is that you don’t have to get to that point!
With the right strategy and some user-friendly tools, you’ll be blogging efficiently and stress-free in no time! You can get a lot done without wasting time or losing your head.
Use the Right Tools for Blogging Efficiently and Stress-Free
A Tool for Each Step
Depending on the main topic of your blog, the steps you need to take differ a lot.
Think of creative bloggers, DIYers, food and fashion bloggers, for example. In their case, a lot of preparation is necessary before they even sit in front of the computer to start writing their content.
In spite all the exceptions, there are a couple steps from which no blogger can escape. They’re ones I’ll focus on here:
- Planning a new blog
- Gathering ideas for a post
- Writing the outline
- Drafting the content
- Reviewing the text
- Publication and follow-up
Let’s check out some of my favorite tools and see how you can also start using them to get the most of your time.
[bctt tweet=”Blogging stress-free with these great tools. #IBABloggers #blogging #planning” username=”IBAbloggers”]
Disclosure: I, Debbie Rodrigues, receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. See full disclosure here.
How to Use a Tool for Each Step
1. Planning a new blog
To make sure I don’t miss a single step of the writing and publishing processes, I treat every single post (including a guest post like this one) as an individual project.
After testing different tools throughout the years, I fell in love with the way Kara from BohoBerry uses Trello.
I’m a visual person, so the colors of the boards and labels on Trello are really a must for me. Besides, you can also set due dates for your cards and visualize them in a calendar format.
Trello is very easy to use. In addition to planning your blogging steps, you can use it to manage any project you want: private or professional.
2. Gathering ideas for a post
I use editorial calendars to collect topics about which I would like to write about in the future. This step really sets you up for blogging efficiently and stress-free. But as the publishing date comes closer, it’s time to start working on the post itself. It’s then that research begins.
It makes no difference whether you’re going to create a recipe, share an outfit or do a review. You’ll surely have to:
- gather information on the subject; or
- find the ingredients of the season; or
- check if there’s any special celebration coming; or
- learn more about a brand or author.
Google Search is probably the best-known tool for most of us, but I like Feedly a lot too.
The way I use it is by adding my favorite feeds to my content. I can always refer back to them when I need some inspiration or references for my new posts.
3. Writing the outline
After having some unpleasant experiences losing almost finished texts due to Internet and computer issues, I started using Evernote to outline (and many times also to draft) blog posts. Its use has really improved my process for blogging efficiently and stress-free!
Evernote is a flexible tool you can use for pretty much anything you can think of. It’s accessible through:
- the online version
- desktop apps
- mobiles apps
The online version is clean and has a minimalist look and feel. It’s perfect for focus.
Thanks to its search system, you can easily find any note or notebook in Evernote that contains the keyword you’re looking for.
Depending on the plan (free or paid) you choose to use, you can store more or less data within a month. If you’re not sure you’ll need all the extra features, you can still sign up for its free version.
4. Drafting the content
Once you have your outline, it’s time to start with the draft for the post.
Basically, it’s a matter of filling in the gaps between items on the outline with the details collected during your research.
Along with the quality of the text, it’s important not to lose sight of its readability. You want your readers to enjoy reading your blog as much as you want them to find value in the relevant information shared.
One great writing tool I love is Hemingway Editor. It has an online version and a desktop app.
For a more focused view, you can choose the “write” mode and once it’s finished, switch to “edit”. On this mode, you can see:
- word count
- number of paragraphs, sentences, characters and letters
- readability score
- approximately reading time (for this blog post it’s about 4 minutes and 30 seconds)
It also uses a color code to highlight:
- sentences (very) hard to read
- phrases with a simpler alternative
- adverbs
- sentences in the passive voice
Hemingway’s online version is free so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try it.
5. Reviewing the text
As I mentioned above, Hemingway Editor is an excellent tool to review the quality of your post. But when it comes to grammar, however, Grammarly should be your weapon of choice.
Whether you’re a native English speaker or not, we’re all humans and therefore, we make mistakes.
With the free version of Grammarly, you get basic checks that are going to help you improve your English text (sorry, not available in other languages). And if you opt for the paid version, the corrections will be more advanced. It suggests corrections, as well as advice on better-paired words and synonyms.
Another great feature of Grammarly is its browser add-on. It corrects any text you write on your computer. It includes Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, for example.
Who likes typos on social media?
6. Publication and follow-up
After your blog post is reviewed and published, it’s time to start promoting it.
One of the tools you can use is Buffer.
Please visit our post on Buffer to discover more about this user-friendly tool.
[bctt tweet=”Check these #blogging #tools that will help you every step of the way. #IBABloggers” username=”IBAbloggers”]
Blogging Made Easy
These are my personal favorite tools, but they’re not the only ones out there. Experiment with those that have your favorite features. Look first for free versions or, at least, freemiums you can test before making an investment.
The idea of using the tools mentioned above is to facilitate the process of blogging efficiently and stress-free. They eliminate:
- guessing
- inadvertently making typos
- waste of time
- chaos
- stress
If you’re a new blogger and are still trying to figure everything out, pick the one step with which you struggle the most. Test the corresponding tool suggested for a couple of posts (it may take a week or a month depending on how regularly you bring out new content).
Before adding another tool to your arsenal, make sure you feel comfortable with the one you’re using. Once you feel comfortable with one step, move on to the next one. In no time, your blogging process will have an easy-to-follow structure! Not only will you be saving time, you’ll make it a stress-free experience as well. Now go, get to blogging efficiently and stress-free!
Do you have a favorite tool for blogging efficiently and stress-free? Go ahead and share it with us in the comments section below.