How to blog consistently? A million dollar question asked by many bloggers!
And when it comes to blogging you would have heard this advice a lot!
Stay consistent.
Yes staying consistent makes a big difference when it comes to blogging.
With blogging (and with any other business) you can’t expect to reap benefits over night.
It takes consistent, smart work to be able to succeed. And even after you succeed to need to keep up your consistency to retain that success.
With blogging, everything has to be done in a consistent manner for long term benefits that can be scaled.
One of the crucial things that need your consistent attention is publishing.
Consistent publishing has various benefits. A few of them are:
These are just a few benefits!
But there is one problem. Being consistent with publishing is not an easy task – at least for most bloggers.
And I do agree with that. Writing is not so easy – at least when you start out.
You need some practice to do it consistently and feel great about it.
Initially you might find writing to be a tedious task, especially when you have to do it on a consistent basis.
But when you get that into practice, it becomes an easy task.
Having said that, even if you find writing easy, it can be quite challenging to publish blog posts consistently on your blog?
Why? Because it not only involves plain writing. It involves idea collection, idea generation, and having a content plan.
I will share three things that helped me stay consistent with blogging (and I run multiple blogs).
When you blog hop, or read your feed in social media you come across a lot of great articles by other bloggers, don’t you?
And when you read those blogs or those comments or those social media discussions, you get inspired for blog post ideas!
It happens with me all the time.
But the most important thing here is to capture those inspirations.
I use a combination of Feedly, Pocket and Evernote to capture those ideas.
In Feedly, I have a collection of a lots of blogs in my niche. Whenever a new blog post is published in any of those blogs, I get a notification in my Feedly app.
I review those posts and when I find any of those interesting (as a whole) I save those particular posts in my Pocket.
Whenever I have to generate a list of ideas I do that with my Pocket app open for inspiration.
Sometimes, a particular part of the blog post, or a particular point or one comment might come in as an inspiration.
Sometimes, while writing a blog post for my own blog, in the middle of doing so, I might be struck with another idea (probably an expansion of the post I’m writing).
For these kinds of ideas I use an Evernote notebook. I either clip those blog posts, or copy paste those comments, and inspirations in a notebook for later reference.
I have all these three apps both on my Mac and my phone so I can work with collecting ideas any time.
In short, you need to always have a handy list of interesting things to blog about!
The next thing that helps me to publish consistently is having a running list of ideas.
I have it in a notebook – yes, plain pen and paper stuff.
Initially I tried various tools and apps but every time I found myself switching to a different tool and ending up with ideas scattered all over.
When your list of ideas is not in one place, you cannot use them effectively.
So I started using a notebook merely for this purpose.
Since I need to have a list of ideas for my multiple blogs, I partition the notebook and have the ideas written down.
To write down those actual ideas, I pull up my Pocket app or my Evernote notebook.
When you have a running list of ideas you don’t have to wait for inspiration to hit. You don’t have to stare a blank screen.
And you don’t have to panic about what to write when you have to write something.
You can just sit down, pull up an idea from the list and start writing – it gets that simple!
Here comes the crucial bit. An editorial calendar is a must if you want to create and publish content consistently.
Even if you have the means to collect ideas and even if you have an idea bank with you all the time, without an editorial calendar your writing and publishing will not be streamlined.
An editorial calendar will tell you when you need content. And what content you need. So you can plan ahead and keep things rolling.
It was only when I started using an editorial calendar, I started writing and scheduling blog posts well ahead of time.
Even when I fell sick, or was unable to write for a day or two here and there, there was no panic, because my blog publishing was scheduled well in advance.
If you are someone who thinks you don’t need an editorial calendar to stay consistent, think again.
If you are someone who is convinced every time you read a blog post about using an editorial calendar, start hunting for editorial calendar tools, start using for a few days and then fall off the wagon you must understand the problem: You are probably using a too sophisticated (or complicated) tool for your editorial calendar.
Just make it simple, usable and to serve the purpose!
Being consistent with blogging is highly crucial for your blogging success. It shows that you treat your blog as a business rather than doing it for fun.
If you’ve been wondering about how to blog consistently (like the pros do) make use of these tips to stay consistent with blogging.
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Agreed with this one! I set up a schedule of what stuff to do every week: Article writing, marketing, etc.
It's in a checklist form which makes it so much more satisfying whenever something gets accomplished.
I do that "running list of ideas too." From what I've read somewhere, you must always have a pen and a piece of paper (or better yet, a notebook) for collecting ideas. Some amazing ideas can pop up in your head at any time, and if you DON'T write it down, it'll disappear forever. It's best collect whatever great thought pops into your head.
Hey Ray,
I so much agree with you on having pen and paper handy all the time. I have them by my side, and when I'm travelling I always have my phone as well as the small diary-pen in my handbag.
Ideas pop out at strange times, and you should be prepared always lol!
Thanks for stopping by!
Jane.
Agreed with this one! I set up a schedule of what stuff to do every week: Article writing, marketing, etc.
It's in a checklist form which makes it so much more satisfying whenever something gets accomplished.
I do that "running list of ideas too." From what I've read somewhere, you must always have a pen and a piece of paper (or better yet, a notebook) for collecting ideas. Some amazing ideas can pop up in your head at any time, and if you DON'T write it down, it'll disappear forever. It's best collect whatever great thought pops into your head.
Hey Ray,
I so much agree with you on having pen and paper handy all the time. I have them by my side, and when I'm travelling I always have my phone as well as the small diary-pen in my handbag.
Ideas pop out at strange times, and you should be prepared always lol!
Thanks for stopping by!
Jane.
Hi Jane,
Super tips! I am greedy for ideas LOL. I gobble up ideas freely through blog posts, comments, emails, social media, Feedly as noted, and wherever I see people talking about blogging. When you've ideas to explore thru your blog it's easy to be consistent. Some wonder how I churn out content regularly; I just collect ideas left and right, set up Word docs, record titles, and return to the posts to write 'em at a later date. You can never have too many blog post ideas to call upon when it's time to write ;) Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Ryan,
You are SO right about the fact that there can never be too many blog post ideas! It is never enough :)
Having a handy idea bank is the key to churning out content regularly. And it is no surprise you get it covered :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
Super tips! I am greedy for ideas LOL. I gobble up ideas freely through blog posts, comments, emails, social media, Feedly as noted, and wherever I see people talking about blogging. When you've ideas to explore thru your blog it's easy to be consistent. Some wonder how I churn out content regularly; I just collect ideas left and right, set up Word docs, record titles, and return to the posts to write 'em at a later date. You can never have too many blog post ideas to call upon when it's time to write ;) Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Ryan,
You are SO right about the fact that there can never be too many blog post ideas! It is never enough :)
Having a handy idea bank is the key to churning out content regularly. And it is no surprise you get it covered :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane, I've never used a calendar but after reading this I see I really should. I do get antsy if go 3 weeks without a new post. I email myself ideas all the time but don't always get the passion I need to post on them. I need to really feel it to spend the time writing it and researching the topic. I also like Ryans idea about having several in the "bucket" to finish up and post. Thanks for the inspiration here Jane!
Hey Lisa,
I used to be emailing ideas to me as well. But in the chaos of my inbox, I really won't pay attention to those ideas.
And when I really have to write, finding an idea from my mailbox doesn't set me up.
But this editorial calendar thing really keeps me going - since I am able to see things with all clarity and in a structured manner.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jane.
Hi Jane, I've never used a calendar but after reading this I see I really should. I do get antsy if go 3 weeks without a new post. I email myself ideas all the time but don't always get the passion I need to post on them. I need to really feel it to spend the time writing it and researching the topic. I also like Ryans idea about having several in the "bucket" to finish up and post. Thanks for the inspiration here Jane!
Hey Lisa,
I used to be emailing ideas to me as well. But in the chaos of my inbox, I really won't pay attention to those ideas.
And when I really have to write, finding an idea from my mailbox doesn't set me up.
But this editorial calendar thing really keeps me going - since I am able to see things with all clarity and in a structured manner.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jane.
You are so right, Jane - a pool of ideas to dip into at any given time, plus an editorial calendar to keep yourself on track are crucial.
I also find it helpful to have a set time a day when I write, no matter what. Definitely keeps me writing!
Hey Ana,
Love the "write no matter what" thing! It definitely helps me too.
And the earlier I get on with it the better. If I postpone writing to a later time in a day, it gets delayed and becomes a burden.
So I see that I get it done as soon as possible in the day.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Jane.
You are so right, Jane - a pool of ideas to dip into at any given time, plus an editorial calendar to keep yourself on track are crucial.
I also find it helpful to have a set time a day when I write, no matter what. Definitely keeps me writing!
Hey Ana,
Love the "write no matter what" thing! It definitely helps me too.
And the earlier I get on with it the better. If I postpone writing to a later time in a day, it gets delayed and becomes a burden.
So I see that I get it done as soon as possible in the day.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Jane.
I couldn’t agree more. As a blogger myself, I find it also quite hard to update regularly and momentum might be the most important rule if you want to be successful with your blog (not just on monetary terms but also if you want to be proud of your work). It goes without saying, the content must be a priority and it must be relevant to your interests, whereas writing about stuff that doesn’t hold any relevance might result in dry, dull writing and it ends up damaging the whole work. So if you see that you can’t hold up to a really tight schedule, maybe it would be advisable to downscale a little bit in order to regain momentum.
I couldn’t agree more. As a blogger myself, I find it also quite hard to update regularly and momentum might be the most important rule if you want to be successful with your blog (not just on monetary terms but also if you want to be proud of your work). It goes without saying, the content must be a priority and it must be relevant to your interests, whereas writing about stuff that doesn’t hold any relevance might result in dry, dull writing and it ends up damaging the whole work. So if you see that you can’t hold up to a really tight schedule, maybe it would be advisable to downscale a little bit in order to regain momentum.