Creating A Realistic Blogging Schedule

Hello again Lovelies,

To jump off Mondays post I want to dive right on with the best way to create and keep a realistic blogging schedule. No, it isn't easy. But if you get started on the right foot each month with a social media and blog post planner system, you'll be glad come the end of the month when you are fluid in your blogging abilities.

It's not always easy to pop out all the content you want all the time so I have decided that a break down of how I created my schedule with probably work out best for all of you wonderful readers. It's actually quite simple and anyone can do it!

If you ever read my post on Evernote you already know half my secret. I use Evernote to plan out everything in advance and create each post, including the handy clipper tool, no matter where I am. With the latest addition of my post planners I can combine these two systems and create some serious magic. How? Watch this!

Step 1 | Create a SECRET Board on Pinterest - And start saving Pins you find useful. Think of it like research. Why is it a SECRET board? Because if you make it public you'll keep Pinning to it and forget about it. Then everyone else can come along and steal your inspiration. Not Ok folks! As you're Pinning keep in mind your ideal audience. What kind of things would your readers like you to share? At the end of each month go through that SECRET board and clip all the posts and articles you think your readers will love to a folder in Evernote.

Step 2 | Pick Out Enough Saved Clips to Share One A Day on ONE Social Network - There is no rule that says you cannot share the same article on more than one platform so make sure you are choosing only one a day Can you find a way to use it in a blog post as well? Maybe as an outside resource? If you can, that's extra credit.

Since I plan out all my blog posts in advance and schedule them before I do anything else, I like to keep my social shares centered on the same theme. So if I am sharing a recipe on my personal blog then I will usually share similar recipes on social media. If you follow me on any social platforms then you'll notice that all my shares are tailored to each days post. This week being all about blogging means that all my posts are centered around that opposed to marketing, monetizing or whatever else.

Focus on this when you're choosing from those web clips. What is the top post on your blog right now? Does that article you want to share have anything to do with your latest post? It's really a no-brainer once you get started.

Step 3 | Write It Down in A Social Media Planner - Once you've selected the best clips for your platforms, jot them down in your calendar so you know what you'll share where and when. This works for two reasons: you'll remember what clips you want when and you won't have to surf through hunting down posts to share because they are already at your finger tips.

Using a social media planner is super easy and will keep you on your game. It's also a realistic way to make sure that you're sharing everything you want to share because it isn't just being stored somewhere. By keeping the SECRET Pinterest board you'll have a constant well of great content to share and by keeping the planner you'll have a record of what you shared when so you don't repeat it a hundred times (GUILTY! Hey, if it's a good article, I loooooove to share it!)

Step 4 | Schedule It! - Once you have your month planned in advance you can start scheduling. I prefer to go a month at a time because it's time consuming to do more but I can easily get lost of I do less. Having the full month scheduled will take up a ton of time but it will also allow you to get on other projects. As long as you remember to schedule the blog post before the social media post you'll be golden.

Above All:

Make sure that when you are creating your schedule that you will stick to it. Don't make plans to share 300 posts a month or you'll set yourself up for failure. Instead make goals. Start out with the goal of 50 social media posts a month and then next month make it 75. Keep going up until you're happy with your schedule and your engagement.

The same can be said about blogging itself. Don't commit to a post every day if you know you can't turn out that kind of content. Try once a week to start and as you grow and create, raise the posts. But always keep a schedule. Readers love consistency!