Have you forgotten when you last updated your website? Are you finding it tough to write regular blog posts? Read on for my tips that will help you blog more.
Many website or business owners start with positive intentions. Adding regular blog posts, reviewing the site content, changing the site copy. These are great for your site, for your site visitors and for Google rankings. But, these fundamental site activities are often dropped. Either because they aren't effective or because other things just get in the way!
Yes, we all have lots to do in our businesses and posting a new blog post or news article is sometimes low priority. It's tough to find the time. It's hard to think of things to write about. It's just difficult to get it done!
Yet, it needn't be that way. A bit of organisation can minimise the time it takes and make it a lot easier to blog more. Better organisation helps the process. It means that you think about it. And starting a post becomes easier.
Let's get organised!
- Don't be too ambitious. Set yourself a realistic writing schedule that you can keep to. It doesn't have to be every day, every week but it has to be monthly. Otherwise, it won't become a habit and will be less effective for search engine rankings. It has to be something that you can maintain. Decide what works best and stick to it.
- Start a timer for 20 minutes and write down every blog post idea that you can. Get your team or colleagues involved. Don't be too critical at this stage. It's a brainstorm. Just write down the ideas.
- Go through the ideas and prioritise them. What is easiest to write? What makes sense for your site visitors? What search terms do you want to use? Do some keyword research.
- Begin writing those posts. The first draft is often the most difficult. Just start writing. Get something down. It might only be an outline. You might only have a few minutes. But getting started is half the battle. Don't put off starting because you don't have the perfect post. Write something! I find that starting a post with a few lines will get my brain thinking and helps with the rest of the post. If you can't finish the post, save it as draft and come back to it. That's OK.
- Put your blog post ideas and draft posts into a calendar. Finish each post when it is due. Stick to your schedule. Publish on your website!
- Review this process and your progress throughout the year.
About two years ago, I started implementing the routine I've described.
For example, I created a writing folder where I save draft posts. I save my blog post ideas in a To Do list app. I created recurring tasks for writing blog posts in the same app. Simple steps but I'm better organised. I've written more blog posts since.
Start now. Get organised! Write more blog posts this year!