No matter what they say in thousands of blog posts and YouTube videos, blogging is a massive undertaking, especially if you have a day job and a family to look after. Many bloggers don’t last beyond ten posts. Having done that so myself on two previous occasions, this time I am prepared.
Some strategies I am using are:
- Make a list of 52 topics to give you a whole year’s worth of blogs. Topics that have interested you in the past. Topics that you want to explore. Topics about which you have some opinion. Just a simple list of topics at this stage, no need to go into detail. If stuck, try Top 35 Blogging Ideas.
- Plan how many times you are going to post. Posting daily could be very intimidating for beginners. Anywhere between 3 to 4 times a week is great, 2 to 3 times a week might work. Determine how often you need to blog, find a sweet spot, and stick with it until you are ready to grow your blog.
- Each week, take a topic from your list and explore it from a different perspective. That way, you can generate four to five posts from a single topic. You can use Hubspot or Portent to give you different angles on your topic.
- I find mind mapping a great tool to get initial ideas on the page. There are some cool sites to Create a Mind Map and bring your thoughts to life and Visual Blog Content with Mindmaps.
- Speed-write a week’s or a month’s worth of topics in advance. That will give you time to polish them before posting.
- Once you have written the posts, you are going to need images to make them look inviting. I have written many text-only blogs and after a while, they are too much for the eye. Everything you need to know about images and How to find images for your blog are good links to start your learning about images. The best sites I have found so far for free images are Pexels and Unsplash.
- Sketching is a good way to make your own images. They are more personal and relevant. Another good source is the photos from your collection. They not only bring back memories but finally get seen. If nothing else works, gather a few objects together at home and take a photo with your mobile phone.
- I think that the ability to schedule the publishing of blogs is the single greatest invention in blogging. Schedule a week’s worth of posts and relax. They will be posted right on time on the days you have selected in the calendar.
- Do not worry if things are not looking that great on your blog. You have time on your side No one is going to find your blog for months. So keep learning and keep improving.
- If you really get stuck, find help as I did. While searching for web developers, I found WebTree a web-design site. I dropped an email to Jenny Power who responded even though she was on holiday and helped me find the right theme. She has a free tutorial on her site to Build Your Own Website. Check it out, it is pretty amazing.