This is the seventh article in the series Blogging 101 series.
One of the toughest parts about blogging is the idea of creating a routine that is consistent, productive, and creative. You cannot predict when you will have the inspiration to write five great articles, nor can you expect to consistently update a blog on a whim. So the question is, where is the happy medium?
We have five suggestions for you to create the best space and routine to make the most of your time and have a consistent blogging routine, but ultimately you know yourself best. Blogging from home, do you find that you cannot focus because of your DVR? Get out. Need more creativity than what we suggest below? Find places that truly inspire you. Use your community to inspire ideas. Do what is best for you and your blog.
- Schedule more time than you think you need. It usually takes us an hour to write a high quality article. If I want to do 14 articles a week, that means I need a minimum of 14 hours and realistically 20 hours with the social media and networking. How much time can you afford and how will that look throughout your week?
- Do post series. Writing a new article every time is tough to do. If you have ambitions to do at least one post a day, for a couple of years, that means you have to come up with at least 700 different topics to write about. The first few months will be easy to do, but you will hit a creative writer’s block. One of the best ways to continue the writing process but not waste writing days. Series writing takes one topic, diving deep into the nooks and crannies of the subjects, and showing off your expert knowledge.
- Blog somewhere unusual. The daily routine may not be very inspiring for you as well as offer too many distractions. If you put two hours of time to writing, make that consistent and do not answer the phone or lose your train of thought, that is the biggest creativity killer. Use nature, interesting coffee shops, or unusual settings to inspire you to write to the best you have to offer.
- Find inspiration in your community of bloggers. Yesterday, we talked about networking to create a community of bloggers around your themes that you will be writing articles on. This community of bloggers has the potential to feed your creative thoughts as well as speak into the expert suggestions.
- Start the routine now. Your blog has not gone live yet, but this is when you need to be getting into the routine so that you have a great setup for success in the future. Not only will you get a rhythm for writing for the blog, but you can create a HUGE reservoir of posts to use when life gets too busy. This is a must for the routine writing because there will be days that you want to write five posts and only come out with one. If you have a set of 20 backup posts, you won’t have to worry. Get a healthy amount (15-25 posts) that you will not use right away, but are such good quality that you can use them at a moment’s notice.
What are you going to do to develop a creative routine for your blog?
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