Create A Blogging Strategy & Avoid Burnout
Guest Post by Shannon Cherry
You’ve heard that a blog can drive prospects to your door. You even started a blog way back when. But somehow you lost interest because it took too much time and you didn’t know what to write about anyway…
You’re missing some major opportunities when you don’t have a blog. Take a look at just a few things a blog can do for you:
1. Build your powerful presence.
The more you write about your niche, the more people interested in that niche will find you. They begin to know, like and trust you. And in turn, they will look to you for answers to their problems because they see you as the expert. (Hint: this often means you’ll make sales.)
2.Get media coverage.
More than 70 percent of all journalists use blogs to find experts to interview. I was chosen for a big feature in Entrepreneur about moms who work from home.
It wasn’t because I was making a seven figure income, which was a requirement. (I wasn’t.) It wasn’t because I do public relations and had an ‘in.” (I didn’t.) It was due to my blog. The editors liked what they were reading.
3.Increase your search engine rankings.
Google’s ‘secret sauce’ is content. To get better rankings you must continue to create fresh content in the form of blog posts in order for Google’s search spiders to continue to index your blog.
Without getting Google to index your site often, your rankings will often be lackluster. And your target market, as well as the media, won’t find you easily if your site is buried in page three of the search they are doing.
How many blog posts do you really need?
Blog as much as you can, ideally at least three times a week to get those spiders coming to your site often. If you can post more often, that’s even better.
I know what you’re thinking: at least THREE times? There’s no way I can come up with the ideas to write about that often, let alone do the writing.
Yes, you can. I know you can… you just need a plan.
After all, even the most prolific bloggers on the planet can’t just look at a blank computer screen, hoping for inspiration. They have a blogging plan, and you can too.
Try this strategy for planning your posts:
- Decide how often you want to post.
- Decide which days you want to post to meet your weekly posting goal.
- Come up with a theme for each day you will be posting.
For example, if you blog about publicity and PR: Mondays are ‘Media Marketing Minute’ (a quick tips about the media); Wednesdays are ‘Publicity 101’ (publicity basics); Fridays are ‘PR News and Views’(news stories that talk about PR).
If your blog is about dog treats: Tuesdays can be Natural Tuesdays (natural pet treats), Thursdays can be Bow Wow (amazing dog facts), Fridays can be Barks from Fido (blogging from a dog’s perspective).
- Once you have a theme for each day, you can brainstorm topic ideas easily. Basically, make a list of topics for each theme you’ve come up with. I suggest developing 12 topics for each theme at one time. That way you can have three months of weekly topics for each theme.
- Now you have a choice. You can schedule time to write blog posts on each topic and pre-post them to your blog according to the schedule you have decided on. Or write the about the topic on the day you have to do it.
When you are nearing the end of your topic ideas, simply repeat the process. You could stick with the themes you’ve set in place, move on to new ones or even add an additional theme or two.
What’s also great about this blogging method is that you can then also add more posts whenever you have something else to say or an additional idea you’d like to share.
Realize that blogging is about the journey, not the destination.
Prepare to be in it for the long haul. Consistency, dedication and habit will build your audience without overwhelming them nor yourself.
———-
Shannon Cherry is known as The Power Publicist and has been named one of the top 60 business bloggers & top 30 PR bloggers. She helps entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants build a powerful presence using publicity and the media.
Get your free Be Heard! publicity power pack by visiting Shannon’s website at: http://www.beheardsolutions.com
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Awesome advice, Shannon! I’m convinced that a blog is the perfect platform for anybody whose success depends on their expertise.
I like your tip on having a theme for each posting day. That really helps streamline the prep process and makes coming up with topics much easier. It works beautifully with having a blog editorial calendar, too.
Thanks for sharing!
Follow me @lexirodrigo on Twitter.
I have a blog calendar too, tying it all in with my marketing & promotions calendar. The more I plan, I find the easier it is to stay consistent.
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
Hi Lynn,
Last month I was speaking to a friend who wanted to post 3 blog posts a day for his new business. I tried to explain to him that posting that many times a day is not only a lot of work, but unnecessary as he was only getting minimal traffic to his blog. I also mentioned that cutting it down to 3 posts a week would be fine, with quality content being very important.
Unfortunately, he would not hear of this. He insisted that posting that many times a day to his blog would drive traffic to it. Yet he was not interested in hearing about a social media strategy to help him get readers.
It frustrates me that businesses think along these lines.
What are your thoughts on this and what could I have said to help him understand?
Follow me @Mrktgthatworks4u on Twitter.
I have to say that ideas shared in this post along with Lynn’s post on how to write a blog post has helped me thus far with writing more frequently. By simply creating an outline on a blank document and then thinking of themes as mentioned here, the ideas start to flow. The blog boost article is a great supplement to this post as well.
Fabulous ideas Shannon!
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I love the idea of daily themes for your posts. It lets readers know what to expect!
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That is one point I didn’t make. So thank you. With my first blog, having themes brought in different visitors on different days. If I only was smart enough to capture and segment those folks back then…. Ahhh, well…
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
I’m fixating on your mantra “consistency, dedication and habit” – squeezing something I love doing (blogging) into an already busy business day is hard but so doable and so worth it. I’m therefore looking for all the assistance I can get to drill that “consistency” mindset into my day.
As usual, to the point and real life advice from you Shannon!
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It helped me to know when my best writing times are and actually book the time to write blog or compose vlog posts. Every Monday in basically open my blog planner and write enough to get the posts done for a week. Then I schedule the posts.
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
After just starting my new blog, it is great to hear that 3 times a week is enough. I am hoping that this will give me an indication of whether the niche is worth developing – and maybe then spending more time and getting more regular with the posts.
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Don’t overwhelm yourself with the numbers. Some weeks I have five posts; other times only two. (I know… Me bad.) The key, as I have said, is consistency. And if you don’t get it done one week, start again. Google is forgiving and your audience will be too as long as you don’t abandon it!
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I really think a plan is SO important to keep things going. Everyone starts with the best of intentions, but so many of us give up. Personally I’ve decided to post twice a week based on my readership. I now spend extra time writing my posts, and I have seen a fantastic response so far in terms of comments – it seems like finding a plan to suit me has really improved my blog.
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Good tips. I would remember these the next time I sit down for writing blogs..really some practical sensible tips..thanks a lot !
Good post Lynn. Consistency in posting can really determine the success of your blog. Also no shame in splitting your longer posts into a series of posts and publishing them at a later date. Helps with a writers block in the future as well. Always have some posts queued up so you can meet your goal of consistent posting.
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Great to see your guest post here Shannon. Writing great guest blog posts is another great way of getting more exposure and traffic to your own blog and site.
I used to have a set schedule with themes and all that jazz. It helped me build a routine of writing. I even mapped out what I would write each day for 30 days.
Now I write every time inspiration strikes. Some days I’m not inspired so I don’t write. Other days… actually most days, I’m continually inspired and I may crank out 3 posts that day. As soon as I finish posting this comment I will finish up writing my 3rd post for the day on one of my blogs.
Inspiration is all around us. A comment from a friend may trigger an idea. A letter in the editorial section of the paper, a news flash, or even someone else’s blog post may spark an idea. Opportunities are all around us.
You don’t need to force the content. I think that when you are true to yourself, keep your writing real, and are not trying to appeal to every one, you end up attracting many more readers and readers who truly care about your writing.
Build the habit with a schedule, goals, or themes and you’ll soon find that you won’t need a schedule. Find your groove and express yourself… Now I can’t get that song out of my head from Madonna “EXPRESS YOURSELF!”
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I don’t use themes as much anymore either, Scott. But it really helped me get in the habit when I started.
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Do you also check out which days you get most comments or results? I guess some days are better than others.
Does anyone actualyy post at the weekends?
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Although I am not a stats expert, I have read that more people read blogs during the week. That said, TEST! Every market is different. Don’t rely on what happens on the ‘average’ blog.
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
Does anyone post at the weekends or store their posts for the week.?
Have you monotored on which days you get the best results for your posting?
Follow me @JudithsAtkinson on Twitter.
Good solid advise. Many bloggers enter the field thinking it is all about making money. Think about the craft and develop a plan for the long haul.
I like what you said about “…blogging is about the journey, not the destination”. Well said.
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Hi Shannon – Great post, I love your idea of breaking the week into different theme days. I’m definitely going to use this idea.
Follow me @jjwrites on Twitter.
great advice. I do have a question though. Can a blogger post too much in one day. The reason I ask is because I have a large ping list and ever time I post my automatically sends out pings. could that hurt my blog by pining to much to those sites?
Shannon, you said you wished you’d captured and segmented those different readers. You mean by offering specific opt-ins within
the list?
Thanks for the great post. I am taking it all in!
Follow me @ginaparris on Twitter.
Yes Gina… Since my old blog, where I used this themes approach had a variety of themes, I should have had opt-in boxes back then to capture each and upsell more -especially after the Entrepreneur story appeared.
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
Thanks Shannon. I think these are great ideas and I plan on implementing them on my blog.
Blogging strategy is one of the most common problem of every bloggers. They don’t know where to start because they lack a system, plan or strategy that they can follow. Something like a mission (right term when you’re working in a company).
Great post Shannon! I agree, you have to a blogging plan in place if you want to stay consistent. If you do have a plan, it’s also easier to have others step in and post for you if you have to be away from the computer for an extended period of time
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Hi Melissa. I have to say the blog plan you share is great for beginners! I use a modified version of it myself!
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That is an excellent idea to come up with a theme for each day of the week. My current plan is to try for 2.5 posts a day, with 2 posts per day about news and then every other day a product review, how-to articles, etc.
Follow me @tailormypc on Twitter.
Hi Shannon,
I liked your post. Planning it out rather than wait until I’m inspired is a lesson it’s taken me a while to learn.
As far as when people read blogs – my experience has been on one of my non-IM sites, having to do with children and families, I get slightly more readers on the weekends. I’m guessing because the weekends are more family-oriented.
Thanks Shannon
Peggy
Follow me @pegbaron on Twitter.
Loved the strategy planning part of your post Shannon. It’s so important to plan, you get so much more done in the end. Quality over Quantity is important, it’s so easy getting into the trap of chucking content out that isn’t properly ready.
Follow me @blogandlearn on Twitter.
You make a great point Robert. Now that Google’s ranking in ‘real time’ (thanks to Twitter), it’s easy tofall into the trap that more posts per day will be better. What you really need are SEO optimized posts that appeal to your target market. Otherwise you’re just cranking out garbage.
Follow me @ShannonCherry on Twitter.
I work online all day running 12 sites.
1. I write all the content mon & tues
2. I schedule the posts to go live each day. Wordpress is a doddle!
3. and I stick to a Editorial calendar so no time is wasted ‘thinking of the next subject’
and
Flickr creative commons has a huge collection of great free images.
Another time saver!
Ivan
Follow me @ivanwalsh on Twitter.
Great tips for those of us just getting out there. It’s just the kind of organization I have been needing to get a schedule started and keep to it. I’m working on implementing these tips right now. Thanks!
Jeff
Follow me @careerbrksecret on Twitter
Follow me @careerbrksecret on Twitter.
The idea of making themes and topics in advange is absolutely brilliant. I have four websites and two blogs and this could really help with the blogs. I´ll do a list today and try it out. Thank you very much.
I surely lack the structure in my writing battles but this might just do the trick. Tnx.
I would like to ask a question. I’m in the process of creating my first blog. I have a web site. Do I name my blog the same as my web site?
Thank you,
With Grace and Charm
Walethia
Follow me @graceandcahrm2 on Twitter.
I think that half of my time is spent on thinking about the topic of my post. I ca really see how this might help the creative process.
You have shared very nice tips for schedule our blog. I will follow your tips for my blogs. Thanks for this post.
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If you really want to be successful in blogging, you must have a commitment on doing it. We must admit that most of us are hardworking at first, but when things get tougher we surrender right away. Persistent, strategy and hardwork are three of the most important things we should consider.