Blogging is a powerful tool for marketing, but it can be difficult to find the time and motivation to write consistently. In this blog post, I will share tips that will help you build consistency in your blogging strategy. This is how to blog consistently.
You need to find time every day or week for blogging, even if it’s just 10 minutes at first. Once this habit becomes ingrained, it will become easier and easier until eventually, all those 10-minute sessions add up.
Bloggers who write daily are more likely to have increased blog traffic than those bloggers who don’t post as frequently.
How to Blog Consistently
It’s easy to get distracted, and it takes a lot of time to truly master the art of blogging.
If you want your blog to succeed, then you need to make sure that it will stay updated consistently. This is especially important if you are trying to build a target audience for your blog or business.
There are lots of ways that you could go about getting this done, but the easiest way would be to find time to blog every day or once a week.
How do I Find the Time to blog every day?
I know it can be hard to find the time and energy for blogging. Running a business is exhausting. Writing content is difficult. And in this fast-paced world where everyone has something to say online, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd.
Here are three easy ways to find the time to write a blog post:
-Schedule time for it in your calendar. Assign specific times to blog post writing, and then show up at those times every week or month. Your blogging schedule will help keep you consistent.
Pretend like you’re going to the gym: if you know that on Monday evenings from six until seven o’clock is when you have a “blogging” session scheduled, find ways to make sure that’s what happens by taking care of any distractions beforehand so nothing can get in the way of your article ideas coming into fruition during this block time.
-Use a timer app on your phone (or anything else) as another tool for distraction prevention; set an alarm clock for ten minutes or more and use it to help keep yourself focused on writing without interruption.
-Break your blog post into sections. Write the introduction and conclusion first, then fill in with new ideas throughout the day or week before publishing.
Write down your blog post ideas
Writing down your blog post ideas as they come to you is a great way to make sure you never run out of topics to write about.
Thankfully you don’t need to carry a pen and notepad with you everywhere you go. I write down my blog post ideas on my phone.
The thing is, you probably won’t use them all.
Writing them down and sleeping on them is recommended, so you give the idea enough space to breathe before deciding to use it or not.
I can’t tell you how many ideas sounded good at first, but then on reflection, a day or so later didn’t feel so hot.
You can also use a note-taking app like Evernote, or if you prefer, you can keep it simple with an old-fashioned small notebook and pen.
The important thing is that you have somewhere to write down ideas as they come to you so nothing slips through the cracks.
Brainstorm new ideas every day
I recommend brainstorming at least 10 new blog post ideas every day.
It sounds like a lot, but on the days when you don’t have any ideas at all this strategy quickly pays off.
How do you brainstorm new blog post ideas every day?
I look at my competitors and examine what they are writing about. This isn’t to copy them, but to be inspired by them.
I also do a Google search of my niche and see what people are searching for.
You can also use Google Trends to find new and emerging blog topic ideas.
If you keep brainstorming new ideas every day, you’ll have an endless list of ideas to choose from.
Create A Content Calendar
Create an editorial calendar layout with plenty of room to write down topics for posts ahead of time.
You can easily map out full months worth of content with a content calendar.
But don’t let your calendar become too rigid. Keep it flexible, adding or removing posts as you see fit.
This will help keep your blog consistent and give it a regular publishing rhythm, with new content coming out on a steady basis.
Why A Content Calendar?
A content calendar is one of the most important tools for bloggers because it helps them plan ahead so they know what to write about when.
It’s also essential if someone else has been assigned responsibility for writing blog posts (and making sure there are enough articles published each week).
Plus, it keeps people from running their blogs into the ground by posting too much at once without giving readers time to catch up between updates.
Batch and schedule in advance
If you’re finding it difficult to write consistently, you could always write in batch and then schedule.
Writing a handful of posts over the course of a day or two is easier for some people, and then they can schedule them in advance so they are released on a consistent basis.
For some people, it’s a lot easier to write and schedule five articles in two days, than writing a new one each day.
Most blogging Content Management Systems (CMS) will allow you to schedule posts ahead of time. WordPress is particularly good for this.
Eliminate Distractions
One of the things that helps me to blog consistently is removing distractions.
It’s easier for some people to focus on blogging without other things distracting their attention. I am one of those people.
So if you’ve got the TV on, even if it’s just for some background noise, you might have better results by switching it off.
If you’re active on social media and receiving lots of notifications, turning on airplane mode will help stop those distractions.
One trick I picked up for consistent blogging, was to write my posts in a coffee shop.
By sitting by myself, with nothing just a cup of coffee and my laptop, I had two choices; be bored or write.
This is one of the reasons that let me blog consistently – because it removed distractions and forced me into a “mindset” where blogging is my only choice.
Find Your “Perfect” Writing Environment
In my experience, getting the right environment for writing is essential when blogging consistently.
I find that if I write while sitting at my desk I am more likely to get distracted because it feels too much like ‘work’; yet if I sit on the sofa, have some music playing, and take myself away from all distractions then the words flow much better.
Experimenting with different environments can help us learn what works best for our own individual needs – giving us more chances of success in our blogging efforts.
Understand why you’re being distracted
– The urge to do other things instead of blogging like go onto social media, clean the house or watch TV;
– Lack of inspiration – either because we’re bored with our blog content or don’t feel like what we want to say is worth reading
– Self Doubt – insecurities about how others will think or react after they read our writing which leads us into procrastination
It’s essential for bloggers to find ways to avoid these distractions and create a routine that will work for them.
– One way is by using the Pomodoro technique which breaks time into 25-minute increments with short breaks in between each one
This gives us small manageable tasks that we can complete without feeling overwhelmed or as if there’s an endless amount of work ahead of us.
– Another option would be making blogging our hobby so it becomes something fun, rather than a chore – this makes it much easier to find inspiration again and get out from under self-doubt when writing because you have more free time to do what you want outside of school/work.
Create Outlines
Creating a blog post outline is crucial to success, in my opinion.
I examine what my competitors are talking about, and even what they’re not talking about. Then I find the areas that overlap my knowledge and the areas where I can fill in the gaps.
Create Chunks
Breaking up a long-form content blog post into chunks, or “chapters”, can be very helpful.
I use this approach to outline my ideas and get my thoughts in order.
The chapters also allow me to have an idea of what needs more explanation, where it’s easier for readers to skim through (if they choose), without missing out on too much valuable information.
It’s always good to have the end goal in mind, and one part of that is knowing how you’re going to get there.
Figure out where each section begins and ends in order so that you can make sure they all flow together when it comes time to write them down with bullet points or numbers.
This will help keep yourself organized from start to finish.
Set Achievable Goals
Creating goals will help you stay motivated when blogging consistently. One goal might be 100 words per day; another could be 1000 words every three days; while others may choose 300/500-word posts as their blogging goal.
All content marketing is done best when you have clearly defined goals that are achievable and not overly ambitious.
You might also want to use a timer or other tools in order to stay on track with your goal, as well as being sure you don’t overdo it.
Use Templates
Use templates – even if just as a starting point or reference to save time by not having to reinvent the wheel every single time you want some new content.
Templates are valuable tools for bloggers who feel like they don’t know what to post about.
You can find templates on the Internet, or you might be able to create your own template from past blog posts of yours that were successful and then reuse them every time you want some new content.
Celebrate your little victories
It might feel like blogging is an uphill struggle – and it is.
That’s why it’s important to celebrate your little victories, even if they are just small, short-term wins.
Celebrating your successes will help you to stay motivated and focused on the long-term goal of being a successful blogger – which is what we all want.
How can you celebrate your little victories?
An easy, low-cost way to celebrate your victories is to treat yourself with a small gift. You might want to buy the book you’ve been wanting, or spend an hour at the spa getting pampered – it is entirely up to you.
I like to treat myself to books, or a meal out.
What’s important is that this little celebration doesn’t take any time away from your blog, but we all need some occasional time for ourselves in order to stay healthy and happy.
Think about the bigger picture
It’s easy to feel disheartened, especially when first starting your blog and it feels like nobody is reading your blog.
The results are low, and you might even be wondering if you’ve made a mistake, chosen the wrong niche, or if it’s worth your time at all.
That’s why it’s important to zoom out and stop looking at the day-to-day results. Instead, think about the bigger picture.
Look at your growth over the last 3 – 6 months.
Think about how your blog has impacted you in a positive way, and what it’s helped you to achieve. Look at your results over a longer period of time, to really see the direction you’re heading in.
Seeing success over a long period of time can really help with motivation when we feel like giving up on ourselves.
It doesn’t have to mean anything huge either – even something as small as acquiring a new backlink can work wonders in terms of improving morale and helping us maintain consistency in the longer term.
Don’t Obsess Over Your Stats
I try not to check my stats every day because it’s important for me not to obsess over any fluctuations in traffic or views and instead focus on what I’m doing right.
So when I publish a new post, for example, I don’t go back during the day to see how many people have read it – that way if there are low numbers (or no change at all), then it doesn’t discourage me from posting again another time.
It can be really hard sometimes but consistency is key. It might take months before you start seeing some results so don’t get discouraged after one month of no increase in followers or likes – just keep going with your blog.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different ways to blog consistently. How will you make time for blogging in your life?
The first step is to write down all of the ideas that come into your head – no matter how crazy or off-topic they may seem at the moment.
Once you’ve done this, it becomes much easier to brainstorm new ideas each day and find a way to fit them into your content calendar so that nothing gets left out.
You might also want to consider setting achievable goals for yourself when starting out with blogging; this could help keep things from getting overwhelming.
With these tips, you should become a more consistent and successful blogger.