Consistency is key when you plan a blog schedule! Let me share with you some tips to help you easily stick to your blogging schedule.
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Blogging is fun, they said! In fact, in the beginning, you ask yourself why you didn’t it start earlier. Sharing thoughts and ideas with an “infinite” number of people seem to be a dream coming true. Yet, soon enough, you realize that writing a blog post is only the tip of the iceberg.
There were also things such as:
- Social media
- Link parties
- Interactions
- Giveaways
- And-what-not!
It’s not rare to see bloggers feeling so overwhelmed by all the extras they forget why they started in the first place: writing content.
Without realizing it, they go from publishing a new post between 3 to 5 times a week to just once or twice. In worst case scenarios, they go as low as every once in a while… So what?
You might ask yourself what’s the big deal if that’s sincerely all you can do. Unfortunately, no matter how good your intentions are, you’re hurting your blog’s traffic.
Let’s compare your posting schedule to your favorite TV program.
What would happen if your favorite daily TV show, wasn’t daily anymore? Imagine if, all of a sudden, their schedule became a mess.
They would sometimes air on Monday, other times on Wednesday (at a totally different time from what you were accustomed to) or simply vanish for a month or two, just to return as if nothing had happened. How would you feel if your favorite daily TV show didn’t follow their schedule anymore?
Even the most awarded program would lose a huge number of their viewers, maybe ALL of them, if they suddenly stopped following their schedule. Note that it has nothing to do with the quality of the TV show. Each episode would still be excellent. However, life goes on.
After a couple of days, people would start looking for alternatives to fulfill the time left by the missing TV show. Maybe, they’d find something else to watch on another channel. Or, they’d simply decide it was time to start something more productive like working out or reading a book.
The same happens with your readers when you are unable to stick to a consistent blogging schedule. Slowly, they stop coming back until they completely forget about you and your stellar content.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Check out these #tips and develop a consistent #blogging schedule today #IBABloggers.” quote=”Develop a consistent blogging schedule today and keep them coming back.”]
Developing a Consistent Blogging Schedule
To be able to stick to a blogging schedule, before anything, you have to develop a realistic one.
Many people fail with their planning efforts because their expectations aren’t realistic. How many times have you caught yourself making a New Year’s resolution list that would take you 10 years to fulfill?
To create a realistic blogging schedule, you have to be able to answer the following questions:
- How much time does it take you to write a blog post?
- How long does it take you to create images for your post?
- How much time do you need to review your content and schedule it?
- How long does it take you to schedule social shares?
Note that I’m focusing on fundamental tasks required by bloggers. You may even perform more steps on a regular basis. Yet, unless you manage to answer these 4 questions, it’s impossible to stick to a consistent blogging schedule.
Let’s review these 4 questions one by one.
How much time does it take you to write a blog post?
The answer to this one depends on elements such as:
- niche
- topic
- content
- writer’s experience
- preparation
- knowledge
A fashion blog post requires more preparation (photoshoot) than writing. The same goes to a tutorial.
My posts are never shorter than 800, easily going up to 1,000 words or more (this one has 1412). It takes me about 2 hours, spread in at least 2 days, to finish a single post, whether it’s for my website or a guest blog like this.
And note that I’m only talking about writing!
Do you know how much time you need to write a typical post to your blog? If you don’t know yet how much time you need to write a blog, you must start tracking it.
How long does it take you to create images for your post?
Whether you use stock images on your website or you take your own pictures, you still need to customize them before uploading them to your blog.
Tools such as Canva or Pablo make the entire process much easier. However, you still need to do the work. Create images that will complete your articles, not ones that will hurt them.
Think of all the size variations you’ll need:
- Open Graph
Create templates and reuse them every time to speed up the process.
Finally, add the time spent with your images to your schedule.
How much time do you need to review your content and schedule it?
Reviewing a text is more than looking for spelling errors. It’s about making sure your blog post makes sense and is accessible.
If you’re interrupted frequently during your writing process (kids calling, telephone ringing, someone at the door, unexpected visitors), you may lose your train of thoughts. It’s has nothing to do with having no idea about what you were writing, but the connection was broken.
Before hitting schedule or publish, take the time to read your blog post, reread and read again.
If possible, read it out loud. Make sure your blog post “sounds” good even if it’s meant to be read in silence.Does it sound right? Is the message clear? Is your content meaningful and useful?
Posting something just because it’s on your editorial calendar is a waste of time and energy. Your readers don’t know anything about your blogging schedule anyway. When you write, you want to help others and not just keep them busy.
If you check my Medium profile, you’ll see that it takes about 6 minutes to read my blog posts. Multiplied by 3 reviews, I need to make sure I have between 18 to 30 minutes to review each article I write. That is assuming I’ll only do minor changes at this point.
When planning your blogging schedule, include a realistic review time.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t waste your readers’ #time! Follow a #blogging #schedule. #IBABloggers” quote=”Don’t waste your readers’ time with an inconsistent blogging schedule.”]
How long does it take you to schedule social shares?
Last but not least comes the time spent with the scheduling of your social shares.
Yes, I said scheduling!
If you want your blog to grow, you can’t count on the few hours you have online to spread the word about your latest article. There are various scheduling alternatives on the market for all levels of experience and budgets. Choose your favorite one and start planning!
Your social media time is for interaction, not posting. Use your “free” time to engage with your readers. Don’t waste it with tasks you can easily automate and get better results. Even if it takes only 15 minutes to schedule post months in advance, it’s still time you need to take into consideration when creating your blogging schedule.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Learn how to stick to a consistent blogging schedule #IBABloggers .” quote=”Invest time in engagement automate the rest. #IBABloggers”]
How to stick to your blog schedule
Once you know how much time you need for blogging, you’ll have to plan it.
Even if it looks like you won’t be able to keep up with daily posts, as you initially dreamed of, remember that once a week is still better than once in a blue moon. Don’t jeopardize your planning efforts by scheduling for a week more than you could do in a lifetime.
Bloggers wear various hats, mainly at the start.
If you can’t hire a Virtual Assistant right now, you’ll have to assign to yourself all the steps involved in blogging. I’m not saying this to discourage you! On the other way around, I want you to succeed as a blogger and in life.
In my work, I help people like you become more productive one day at a time without stress. That’s why I recommend putting together a blogging schedule you can stick to consistently, without neglecting the other aspects of your life or yourself.
Things won’t necessarily be perfect just because you have a plan. But you can surely accomplish much more with one.
Are you feeling so overwhelmed by all the blogging extras that you forget why you started blogging in the first place? What’s your biggest challenge? Are you following a blogging schedule? Let me know in the comments section below.
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