Monday, January 25, 2016

How I organize my blog

Hi guys! Today I want to share with you some tips to help you get more organized and make your blogging more efficient. Back when I had just started this blog, I didn't plan ahead much and would write post sometimes only a few hours before they were due to be posted. Now, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of spontaneity but with life getting more hectic later during the year, I quickly found that this freestyle approach to my blogging was becoming a little strained. So, after a few months of blogging, I began to change the way I plan and organize my posts. 



Whether you're a new blogger or you've been blogging for some time now and want to make things more efficient, I hope you'll find these tips useful ^^


Keep a blog journal



It doesn't have to be anything fancy so long you have something where you can jot down blog post ideas and quick post drafts. I use this beautiful cloth bound journal covered in dragon patterns that I bought in Hong Kong during my 2014 Christmas vacation there. The purpose of a journal is to give you a place where you can store all your ideas and bits and pieces of writing that cross your mind. Once you have all of your thoughts and ideas in one place, later, it'll be easy for you to reference to them when writing a blog post. Like I said, your journal doesn't have to be overly fancy. However, things that visually appeal to us are more likely to motivate us. So if you're going to be using a journal, you might as well pick one that'll motivate you to use it ^^


Make lists of ideas



You can list down all the blog post ideas that come to your mind in your journal so that when you need to write a post, you only need to pluck an idea from your list. You can add to your lists ideas inspired by other blogs and YouTube videos, Pinterest boards and things you come across in your everyday life. You can have different lists for different categories of posts. You enjoy doing tags? Why not make a list of all the cool tags you enjoy? Thus, whenever you feel like writing a tag post, you'll can have your pick from all those in your list. You can have different lists of ideas to cover as many topics and post categories as you choose. You can use color tags or sticky notes to index your various lists in your journal to make the referencing easier for you.


Use a planner or an agenda



Once you have all your ideas in one place, it's easy to allocate specific posts to specific dates. Aside from my journal, I use a planner where I write the specific post titles I want to publish on specific dates. I usually publish around 7 posts every month. So whenever I'm planning a particular month's post schedule, I simply pick out 7 post ideas that I'd like to do from my journal and decide on which day I want to do each of them. Thus, when I open my planner to a particular month, I know at a glance what are the posts I need to write for that month.


Write your posts in advance



Having your posts already planned for the month makes it simple to write them in advance. You already know what you need to write about so there's no need to spend hours browsing Pinterest boards for blog post ideas. I usually have around 4 posts written in advanced and ready to be published. I spend a couple of days during the week working on the upcoming month's posts and then I take a break from writing during the remaining days of the week. I use that free time to catch up and comment on the posts of other blogs I enjoy reading. Whether you're still studying and you have assignments creeping on you unexpectedly or life suddenly just gets crazy, having at least one or two pre-written posts can help you account for those days where you simply don't have time to sit down and write a full post.

So those were a few tips on how you can organize your blog to make it more efficient. I hope you found these useful. If you have other tips for me, feel free to share them with me in the comments! Happy blogging guys ^^


Source


Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo

11 comments:

  1. I've started using a paper planner again, and I find it super helpful in keeping track of blogging tasks and possible post ideas. I also love getting ahead on writing and scheduling posts and I try to set some time aside on the weekends to devote to that, but somehow, the minutes just usually end up getting away from me, lol. Great post!

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    1. Yes, my planner definitely makes keeping track of blog posts easier. Haha, I understand what you mean. Sometimes I do want to do some advance writing but end up doing nothing because stuff comes up. Thanks for dropping by ^^

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  2. Ooooh pretty blog journal ♥ I tend to keep lists directly on my laptop and on my mobile, in case inspiration strikes me whenever but I do like the idea of keeping a paper planner^^ Back when I started blogging, I'd never plan posts in advance either but now I can't imagine not having it all planned out :) Lovely post Soudha! xx

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    1. Thanks ^^ I also keep lists on my phone sometimes. You never know when an idea might pop up! Same thing here. Now I simply can't imagine blogging without writing stuff in advance.

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  3. This blog journal though <3 These are some really good tips! I may follow them because right now I don't follow any schedule at all :/ Awesome post!

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  4. Wow these are some really awesome tips! Now I have an excuse to go out and buy yet another journal, I love collecting them for my writing and I think I will actually start keeping a blogging journal. Once again, such an awesome post!

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    1. I'm glad you like them Anissa ^^ Haha, looks like I'm not the one to have a little problem with pretty journals XD If I see a pretty journal, I have to buy it. It's almost as bad as my book buying actually :D

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  5. These are fantastic tips for bloggers! I would like to transition to a paper journal because they are more appealing - right now I just keep ideas and lists on evernote or google docs which is convenient if I want to look up something randomly, but having a physical journal is so nice. And yours is beautiful. Writing posts in advance is so important too - it's great to have something fall back on when things get busy.

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    1. Thanks Charlene ^^ I like to keep lists and stuff on my computer too but I also just enjoy being able to write in an actual diary or journal.

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  6. Oh wow, I just love the journals you have here! They are absolutely gorgeous <3 I have a list of blogger ideas and booktube ones I would like the make a reality when I have the chance to do so. Oh, and I just love prescheduling. Without it I don't know where I would be. Also, my calendar helps me keep everything organised. <3 Great tips here!

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