Confession! When I started my blogging journey a few years back, I didn’t really know what I was doing. Sure I was full of excitement and ideas, but I didn’t really have a blueprint to follow to help me streamline the process.
Juggling a job, travel and all the work that goes into maintaining a blog consistently is A LOT to handle! So finding a formula that makes managing it all a bit easier was key for me. After lots of research, learning from other creatives and plenty of trial and error, I have a MUCH better understanding of this wild world of blogging and my place in it.
I wanted to share some tips that have helped me along the way and that I think can help you too regardless of where you are in your blogging journey.
Below are my 16 tips to help make you a more successful blogger. I’ve also included a FREE editorial calendar & content planning templates to help you have your most productive year!
POSTS
1. Identify the categories you plan to write about: It may sound obvious, but narrowing down the categories you regularly write about can help create consistency and focus. You could also call this “niching down.” I’ve heard mixed messages about defining your niche, but I have found that identifying a few topics to focus on helps me stay organized.
My main categories include destination guides, travel tips, packing lists, travel inspired recipes and blogging tips. Once you’ve identified your own 4-8 categories, you can rotate through these topics on a regular basis. This will keep your content fresh and prevent you from having to scramble to find something to blog about each week!
2. Research key words and phrases: Narrowing down the topics you blog about is only half the battle. Writing articles that people actually want to read is equally important. Every piece of content you publish should solve a problem or answer a question for your ideal reader. That’s where a little research of keywords and phrases can come in handy.
Researching keywords and phrases is a little SEO trick that can help you frame your posts in a way that gets more views and ultimately provides greater value to your audience. A few tools I use to do this are Answer the Public and Keywords Everywhere. For example, if I’m planning to write a post about my trip to Belgium, I can just plug in that keyword and see what people are asking about Belgium and how many searches those questions have.
3. Write your articles in batches: Writing engaging blog posts on a regular basis can be extremely time consuming. I find it helpful to knock out multiple articles at one time. Even if I don’t plan on posting them for a few weeks or even months, having a handful of posts that are ready to go can be a huge time saver.
Now, you may be thinking, “I can barely write one post a week let alone a whole batch!” I hear you! But just try to carve out a block of time and get a few done – on the train home after work, on a long plane ride or on a quiet weekend afternoon. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later!
4. Re-purpose old posts to create new content:Have you heard about the 80/20 rule? It’s the idea that you should create new content 20 percent of the time and re-purpose and promote old content 80 percent of the time. I have yet to achieve that ratio, but I have found that refreshing old posts and using pieces of them to create new content to be beneficial. Not only is it a time saver, it also allows you to get more eyes on articles that may have gotten buried over time.
For instance, if you have an old listicle, pull out a few points and use it as a frame for a new post. So, The Top 10 Things to Do in New York could be used to write The Top 3 Things to Do in New York If You Have a Free Afternoon. Or 10 Items I’m loving For Fall could become The Perfect Date Night Outfit for Fall. It’s the same content, just packaged in a different way!
5. Keep a running list of post ideas: Ideas can strike when you least expect them, so it’s important to have a place to jot them all down so you’ll have them for later. I have a running checklist is my notes on my phone to keep track of my ideas. After I complete a post, I’ll check it off, but I don’t delete it in case I want to somehow rework into a new piece of content later. It also helps if I’m having a creativity block to scroll through and see if any of my ideas can spark my next article.
6. Utilize an editorial calendar: An editorial calendar is an invaluable tool to help you stay organized and keep your content fresh. I started using one last year and it has been a game changer. I start out the month by jotting down general post ideas, taking note of any holidays or upcoming trips I may have that I know I’ll want to create content for. Then, I plot in the posts I plan to publish making sure to spread out my topics accordingly.
PHOTOS
7. Edit your photos as you go: One of the most time consuming aspects of blogging for me is editing photos. I typically take hundreds if not thousands of photos on each trip. It’s fun in the moment, and also necessary to ensure I have sufficient content for posts, social media and pins. But organizing and editing them all can be daunting. I find that tackling this job right away works best for me. Whether it’s the plane ride home if I’ve been traveling, or locking myself in the office for an afternoon, I just have to suck it up and do it! Then when I need them for a blog or social media post, they are organized, edited and ready to go!
8. Keep your photos organized: I just mentioned this above, but keeping your photos organized is crucial. I now use Lightroom, which has great features for keeping track of all your pics. I create albums categorized by date and location as well as have separate albums for Instagram and Pinterest.
I also utilize the star and flag features to organize further. 5 stars for the photos I really like and have used or plan to use in a post or on social. 4 stars for photos I want to keep for use later and 3 stars for photos that are just ok, but I’m not ready to delete. Everything else gets removed from the library and deleted from my camera’s sim card so I have space to fill up on my next shoot!
If you don’t use Lightroom, I recommend utilizing some type of sorting system that includes date and location so you can easily access the photos you need.
9. Batch shoot your content: Whether you’re shooting at home or abroad, try to create as much content as you can in as little time as possible. Plan what outfits and locations you want to capture ahead of time to the extent you can, and get it all done at once. That’ll free up more time for you to sight see, be in the moment or work on other things.
When I went on a group ski trip last year, I knew I wanted to shoot enough content to last me through several posts, but I also didn’t want to spend my whole trip taking photos. Solution, I set aside 2 hours to shoot all my outfits and scenes and ended up with enough photos to last me for weeks!
10. Utilize stock imagery: Let’s say you have an awesome idea for a post, but don’t have quite the right image to pull it all together. You could go out, buy props, plan and shoot your own photo. Orrrrr, you can save yourself a ton of time and find a high-res stock photo that already exists and is perfectly legal to use. Some sites that I like that offer free photos are Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay.
11. Create templates for Pinterest and Instagram Stories: Something that I should have done from day one that saves me a TON of time is creating templates for my pins and Instagram Story blog post promotions. You can easily make these with programs like Canva and Over. The key is to pick a few designs and fonts that you love and are on brand and stick with them! I made 4 Pinterest templates that I regularly use. Now, all I have to do is add a few images from my latest blog post into the template and voilà! I have 12 pins ready to go that I can schedule in Tailwind. (More on that below!)
PROMOTION
12. Regularly promote old content: Similar to using old posts to create new content, you also want to periodically PROMOTE your old content. Whether it was a post that performed particularly well, or you have an old article that is relevant to a current event or upcoming holiday, don’t be afraid to share it again! Add a link on social media, or create a new Pinterest graphic. Just make sure to update any outdated information and links!
13. Utilize scheduling programs to ease your workload: Automating some daily tasks frees up more time to spend creating. This is something I plan on utilizing more this year. The three scheduling programs that top my list are Planoly, Tailwind and Crowdfire.
Planoly allows you to schedule and arrange your Instagram feed and plan your captions and hashtags. Tailwind is a great tool for automating your Pinterest posts. I have an account, but I am still learning how to fully use it! And Crowdfire is great for keeping up with Twitter.
14. Seek out guest posting opportunities: This is another big item on my “to do” list this year. Guest posting for other blogs or online publications at least once a month is definitely a key to success as a blogger. They get content, which is always in high demand, and you get new eyes and backlinks to your site. It’s a win, win!
15. Show up consistently: I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but consistency is key. It’s SO true! You can’t expect to build an audience or achieve any level of success as a blogger if you don’t show up consistently. Doing so builds your credibility and brand identity and leads to increased trust and recognition from your audience and brands.
Staying consistent isn’t easy, but it’s crucial and something I’m working on really hard this year. So much so that I made consistency my word for 2019. Even when your motivation dwindles and you’re busy or tired and those voices of doubt start to creep it, you just have to push all of it aside, show up, do the work and keep on going!
16. Engagement, engagement, engagement: The business of blogging is built on people, which means it’s all about relationships. In order to grow, you have to give and that means engaging regularly and authentically. Whether you comment on other blogs within your niche, engage with your current followers on social media by liking and commenting on their posts or seek out new people who follow accounts similar to yours, these are all forms of engagement and they’re necessary to build an audience and community.
FREE TOOLS TO GET YOU STARTED
To help you kick off what I hope will be your most successful and productive year yet, I’ve created some tools to get you started!
This FREE download includes a 12 month editorial calendar so you can create, organize and track your posting schedule plus 6 content planning templates – a post checklist, weekly and quarterly planners as well as important dates, post ideas and content category worksheets. Now you can keep all your exciting ideas in one place and turn them into amazing content to share with the world! Access all these goodies by clicking the link below!
I can’t wait to see what you create! What tips would you add to the list? New to blogging? What questions do you have and what type of content would be useful? Share your comments below!
PIN IT!
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