written by Rachel Abernathy
How do you blog consistently, churning out one quality post after another? That is one of the challenges most bloggers will ever face.
After you read this post, however, you will walk away with actionable steps that will help you blog more consistently. Whether you’re writing about food, travel, technology, or something else entirely, these tips apply to you.
But First, Why is Blogging Consistently Important?
There are many reasons why blogging consistently is important. Most importantly, it’s good for Search Engine Optimization, signaling to search engines that your website remains valuable. Blogging consistently also encourages your readers to check back regularly, addicting them to your content and leaving them hungry for more. In addition, blogging consistently builds your website and makes it more valuable for readers, not to mention it makes you a better writer and blogger over time.
The Challenges of Consistent Blogging
Of course, bloggers are busy people! Sometimes, it feels like there is too much to do, and not enough time or energy to accomplish everything, so blogging consistently can feel overwhelming.
Have you struggled with publishing new posts frequently? As you make resolutions and plans for the new year, consider implementing some of these tips to help you blog more consistently. It’s the perfect season for planning! But if you’re reading this blog post another time—for example, in the middle of August—that’s fine too. These tips can be implemented any time.
Let’s learn how to blog consistently!
Make a (Realistic) Blogging Schedule
First, build yourself a blog posting schedule you can actually keep. Don’t be overzealous as you plan. Be realistic on what you actually have time to accomplish, and then pencil those blog posts into your schedule. Try to make those blog posts non-negotiable items on your to-do list, something that simply MUST be finished.
Publishing frequently on your blog is always a good idea, but that doesn’t mean you have to publish new content every day. Remember, you’re going for consistent, high-quality content, not frequent, low-quality content.
Use Processes & Templates
Processes and templates can save you a LOT of time and mental stress, if implemented properly in your blogging system.
Consider making processes for each major step of the blog post process:
- Researching process.
- Outlining process.
- Writing & editing process.
- Designing process.
- Publishing process.
- Promotion process.
Even if you don’t refer to the process regularly yourself, it may be helpful to get all of the steps on paper. Not only will you have a reference if you ever have a nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something important (read: days when you have a headache and can’t think at all), but they can help you easily scale your blog later, if you later decide to hire help.
Put your processes and templates in a document or notebook or use a project management tool like Trello or Asana, both of which allow you to add due dates and other important information to your to-do items.
Build templates for emails, social media posts, and graphics, so you can copy, paste, and quickly edit for new posts. Building these things from scratch takes the most time, and getting them standardized beforehand is very helpful.
Plan Blog Posts Ahead of Time
Everyone goes through busy seasons in life, even the most organized and proficient bloggers! If you know you’re going to be busy, plan blog posts ahead of time.
WordPress, one of the most popular blogging platforms, allows users to pre-schedule posts for publishing. You can also pre-schedule emails and the tedious bits of blog posts promotion, like sharing on Facebook or Pinterest.
Batching and pre-scheduling posts takes some upfront time investment, but it removes a tremendous amount of pressure and stress for busy bloggers.
Sometimes, even just planning content ideas ahead of time is enough. There are very simple processes out there that can help you plan a massive list of content ideas in a fraction of the time. To do this effectively, it’s important to understand your reader and their transformation.
Uncover Potential Bottlenecks
To continue progressing, it’s important to understand what obstacles you face along the journey. This is where uncovering bottlenecks (i.e., the things that hold up progress) is helpful.
Look back at your processes. Is there something that always seems to “stick” and prevent you from continuing forward? Maybe it is something that’s challenging for you because you don’t enjoy doing it. Or maybe it takes too much time or it just never seems to go smoothly. Identify those bottlenecks and brainstorm how you can move past them.
For example, maybe creating companion graphics is the bottleneck in your blogging process. Perhaps you find design tedious. Or maybe you just don’t have a good design tool. Or maybe you don’t have an organized system for finding graphics once they’re created. All of those things can be remedied.
Occasionally, you might run into bottlenecks that you can’t avoid or completely remove. Even in those cases, just being aware of what holds you back can make a huge difference in your productivity.
Accept Guest Posts
You don’t have to write everything you publish on your blog. Guest posts are a great way to outsource the most difficult and time-consuming part of blogging: writing new posts!
Plus, guest posts help you network with likeminded bloggers in your niche. They may even lead to increased traffic for your own blog, because guest post authors share their guest posts with their friends, family members, and followers.
Side note: This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that we accept guest posts! Contact us to learn more.
Keep a Fresh Supply of Ideas
One of the most challenging steps in blogging? Coming up with new content ideas, especially as a new blogger. This is where brainstorming and saving those ideas makes all of the difference.
Ask Your Audience for Ideas
As a blogger, your audience surprises you! They LOVE the strangest and most obscure topics sometimes, so why not capitalize on what they actually want to read?
Check your social media accounts, email inboxes, and comment sections. What do people commonly ask you about? What do people commonly ask pertaining to your niche? Those topics make great blog post ideas with pre-built audience interest.
Brainstorm New Blog Post Ideas
Get inspired by looking at writing prompts, exploring other FAQs, reviewing current headlines, and looking at the calendar. You never know what you’ll discover!
Make an Ideas Repository
The best ideas often come to you when you least expect them. Make sure you have a place to store random ideas that float into your head as you go about your day. You could set up a spreadsheet or document, use a digital or physical notebook, or utilize other online tools designed specifically for bloggers and content creators.
Hold Yourself Accountable
It’s easy to feel alone as a blogger, especially if you’re working entirely from home. Never underestimate the power of accountability when it comes to consistent blogging.
And that doesn’t just mean finding a blogging accountability buddy (though you might find that it works well for you to have one). Rather, it could be as simple as telling someone to expect a new blog post on X topic soon (or better yet, by a specific date)! Once you’ve said it, it’s hard to go back on your word, and it will help light the fire of completion required for finishing that post.
Don’t Let Perfectionism Prevent Blogging
Remember, done is better than perfect.
Quick caveat: I’m NOT saying that quality doesn’t matter here. 🙂 Every blogger should try to create the highest quality, most valuable content possible.
But don’t let seeking an impossible level of perfection hamper your efforts either. There’s an old adage that says something about a writer never actually being finished with his work; he just stops writing! It’s the same with blogging. There will always be more to fix, update, or adjust.
If you’re prone to perfectionism, remind yourself that you’re blogging, not pouring cement. You can always go back and improve your posts later. In fact, at the time of this writing, current search engine trends actually reward content updates, so refreshing content frequently has its advantages.
Keep Plodding — Onward & Upward!
How to blog consistently is the question of the ages for bloggers. Here’s an important last step: Just keep going, plodding onwards and upwards toward your goal, one little step at a time.
Don’t have an “all or nothing” attitude here. If you have a few extra minutes, make the most of them. Brainstorm some new post ideas. Edit the piece you wrote last week. Prospect for guest posts on social media. Get yourself in the habit of working bit by bit, making progress whenever possible. That’s one of the biggest secrets of how to blog consistently!
So what are you waiting for? Get blogging.
