| My Blogging Process! |
I've been blogging for over three years now and as the industry advances my blogging process evolves with it. My approach to blogging has certainly changed over the years and for the first time, I'm starting to feel organised with my blog. In January I decided to refrain from posting as much as I was during previous months to refresh myself for the new year ahead, and I feel as though this has improved my productivity levels and my inspiration. My blogging process is much more effective now than it ever was so for today's post, I thought I'd share what my blogging process involves...
1) Ideas & Planning // On the last day of each month I like to set aside an hour or two to reflect on the previous month's content and social media growth to see how I can improve the following month. I keep a written record of each month's stats so that I can look back on my achievements at the end of the year.
During this time I also have a massive brainstorm session where I jot down an extensive list of possible post ideas for the month. The first thing I do is write down what holidays or special days there are in that month, and I come up with 3 or 4 post ideas that I can create around them. I think it's important to make the most out of these days when it comes to blogging as you could easily hit an inspiration slump. Luckily finding inspiration for ideas is never a problem for me so sitting down to think of ideas in one sitting works well for me. I try not to think of blog post ideas in my daily life as I used to do this and it started to consume me. I'm living a more mindful lifestyle now so thankfully I've learned to switch off my blogging thinking cap when I'm not working on the blog. But the odd time a post idea will come to me as I'm out and about or watching the tv so if that happens I'll put a reminder on my phone to add it to my list when I can.
On my February list, there are over 40 ideas so I always have backups if an idea doesn't work out. Once I have all of my ideas on paper, I'll then roughly mindmap the post ideas that appeal me to the most. I jot down what products I could talk about, the style of photography I think would suit the post and plan out a few points to talk about or headings that I could include in the post. After I've completed that, I usually open up the monthly spread in my Kikki K planner and I'll make a plan of what posts I'll publish each day. I try to stick to the plan but sometimes life gets in the way - like when I got sick last week or the weather inhibits outfit photography - so I might have to make a few changes throughout the month.
In addition to my planner, I have a notebook that I also use to organise the tasks that I have to complete for each post. Then every Monday I'll confer with that notebook to write out my weekly tasks in my planner. I also outline my posts for the week every Monday by uploading images to each post as well as adding my social media links to the end of the post and other little bits that go into every post.
2) Photography & Editing // I usually set aside two mornings of the week to bulk photograph, one day for blog photography and one day for Instagram. Sometimes if the lighting is particularly nice then I'll spend additional time taking photos for both the blog and IG. When setting up my photography layout, I'll reference back to my notebook with the plan of each post and I'll see what style of photo I had in mind for each post. The key to bulk photography for me is to ensure that there are no distractions as I find this interrupts my creative mode. I turn on one of my Spotify playlists that inspires me and I ensure that I have some snacks handy in case I get hungry and start to lose motivation.
I like to get the photos edited shortly after I've taken them so I can get the task out of the way. I do enjoy editing photos but it's not my favourite part of blogging so I like to get it completed asap. I transfer the photos from my DSLR to my Macbook and then using ICloud I send them to my phone. There I'll carry out the first edit using VSCO cam and I'll then send the photos back to my Mac where I'll further edit them using PicMonkey. I've tried an abundance of different editing software, including Lightroom and Photoshop, but I find this system is quick and easy to do so I have more time to focus on writing the posts.
3) Writing // One of my favourite quotes states that "Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well." Words are without a shadow of a doubt the most sacred thing to me. From reading them to writing them, they inspire me more than anything else in the world. I've always loved writing and the main reason why I started blogging was so I could have a public forum to share my writing. As writing is the part of blogging that I'm most passionate about I tend to dedicate a lot of time to curating a well-written piece.
I'm a visual learner and worker so I work better with aesthetically pleasing visuals. This means that I must have the photos and the headings already laid out in a draft before I can begin writing. I couldn't even contemplate writing my posts in an exterior outlet and then pasting the post into blogger, as that would overwhelm me. As you can imagine, it makes it difficult to write on the go but fortunately, at the moment, I have no need for doing so as I have plenty of free time to write at home.
If I'm suffering from writer's block, then I'll always just force myself to write. I find that the only way to get over it is to write, write and write some more. I usually just force myself to write an introduction to the post and then by the time I get stuck in, my inspiration is flowing. I then go back to the introduction because it's usually a load of rubbish {haha!} and I'll re-write the paragraph once my inspiration has returned. I also make sure that I read every day and write something every week to avoid writer's block.
4) Fine-Tuning // Once I've finished writing the post, I'll have a quick skim through it to make sure it's legible and that all of my points are clear and concise. I then leave it for a day or two and then come back to edit it. I read each post twice, once out loud and once in my head to ensure everything is correct. Obviously, a few mistakes slip through the cracks but they're usually minor like missing small words, so overall the sentence still makes sense. I also have Grammarly installed on my Mac so I don't really have that much to fix when the time comes to edit the post, as the app does most of it for me.
5) Promotion & Social Media // After I've scheduled the post to go live, I then schedule promotion tweets and Facebook posts for each blog post. I don't really spend that much time on social media anymore as it started to overwhelm me. Since I've started living more mindfully I've essentially cut out social media from my life apart from scheduled posts, a few live tweets here and there, and I spend a little bit of time on Instagram because, despite the many faults it now has, it's still my favourite platform.
1) Ideas & Planning // On the last day of each month I like to set aside an hour or two to reflect on the previous month's content and social media growth to see how I can improve the following month. I keep a written record of each month's stats so that I can look back on my achievements at the end of the year.
During this time I also have a massive brainstorm session where I jot down an extensive list of possible post ideas for the month. The first thing I do is write down what holidays or special days there are in that month, and I come up with 3 or 4 post ideas that I can create around them. I think it's important to make the most out of these days when it comes to blogging as you could easily hit an inspiration slump. Luckily finding inspiration for ideas is never a problem for me so sitting down to think of ideas in one sitting works well for me. I try not to think of blog post ideas in my daily life as I used to do this and it started to consume me. I'm living a more mindful lifestyle now so thankfully I've learned to switch off my blogging thinking cap when I'm not working on the blog. But the odd time a post idea will come to me as I'm out and about or watching the tv so if that happens I'll put a reminder on my phone to add it to my list when I can.
On my February list, there are over 40 ideas so I always have backups if an idea doesn't work out. Once I have all of my ideas on paper, I'll then roughly mindmap the post ideas that appeal me to the most. I jot down what products I could talk about, the style of photography I think would suit the post and plan out a few points to talk about or headings that I could include in the post. After I've completed that, I usually open up the monthly spread in my Kikki K planner and I'll make a plan of what posts I'll publish each day. I try to stick to the plan but sometimes life gets in the way - like when I got sick last week or the weather inhibits outfit photography - so I might have to make a few changes throughout the month.
In addition to my planner, I have a notebook that I also use to organise the tasks that I have to complete for each post. Then every Monday I'll confer with that notebook to write out my weekly tasks in my planner. I also outline my posts for the week every Monday by uploading images to each post as well as adding my social media links to the end of the post and other little bits that go into every post.
2) Photography & Editing // I usually set aside two mornings of the week to bulk photograph, one day for blog photography and one day for Instagram. Sometimes if the lighting is particularly nice then I'll spend additional time taking photos for both the blog and IG. When setting up my photography layout, I'll reference back to my notebook with the plan of each post and I'll see what style of photo I had in mind for each post. The key to bulk photography for me is to ensure that there are no distractions as I find this interrupts my creative mode. I turn on one of my Spotify playlists that inspires me and I ensure that I have some snacks handy in case I get hungry and start to lose motivation.
I like to get the photos edited shortly after I've taken them so I can get the task out of the way. I do enjoy editing photos but it's not my favourite part of blogging so I like to get it completed asap. I transfer the photos from my DSLR to my Macbook and then using ICloud I send them to my phone. There I'll carry out the first edit using VSCO cam and I'll then send the photos back to my Mac where I'll further edit them using PicMonkey. I've tried an abundance of different editing software, including Lightroom and Photoshop, but I find this system is quick and easy to do so I have more time to focus on writing the posts.
3) Writing // One of my favourite quotes states that "Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well." Words are without a shadow of a doubt the most sacred thing to me. From reading them to writing them, they inspire me more than anything else in the world. I've always loved writing and the main reason why I started blogging was so I could have a public forum to share my writing. As writing is the part of blogging that I'm most passionate about I tend to dedicate a lot of time to curating a well-written piece.
I'm a visual learner and worker so I work better with aesthetically pleasing visuals. This means that I must have the photos and the headings already laid out in a draft before I can begin writing. I couldn't even contemplate writing my posts in an exterior outlet and then pasting the post into blogger, as that would overwhelm me. As you can imagine, it makes it difficult to write on the go but fortunately, at the moment, I have no need for doing so as I have plenty of free time to write at home.
If I'm suffering from writer's block, then I'll always just force myself to write. I find that the only way to get over it is to write, write and write some more. I usually just force myself to write an introduction to the post and then by the time I get stuck in, my inspiration is flowing. I then go back to the introduction because it's usually a load of rubbish {haha!} and I'll re-write the paragraph once my inspiration has returned. I also make sure that I read every day and write something every week to avoid writer's block.
4) Fine-Tuning // Once I've finished writing the post, I'll have a quick skim through it to make sure it's legible and that all of my points are clear and concise. I then leave it for a day or two and then come back to edit it. I read each post twice, once out loud and once in my head to ensure everything is correct. Obviously, a few mistakes slip through the cracks but they're usually minor like missing small words, so overall the sentence still makes sense. I also have Grammarly installed on my Mac so I don't really have that much to fix when the time comes to edit the post, as the app does most of it for me.
5) Promotion & Social Media // After I've scheduled the post to go live, I then schedule promotion tweets and Facebook posts for each blog post. I don't really spend that much time on social media anymore as it started to overwhelm me. Since I've started living more mindfully I've essentially cut out social media from my life apart from scheduled posts, a few live tweets here and there, and I spend a little bit of time on Instagram because, despite the many faults it now has, it's still my favourite platform.
How do you stay organised with your blog?
Love,
Cliona xx
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ReplyDeleteSuch an amazing post! I loved reading about your blogging process. It's like going behind the scenes. I like to schedule my posts. I try to post 3 times a week and I find that scheduling is the best way to do it. xo
ReplyDeleteAntonia || Sweet Passions