Take the stress out of blogging by creating a no-brainer content plan

The masses have spoken and it seems that many of you have a blog (hooray, you rock!) but you also have a blogging problem (boo, hiss).

• You are in angst over finding content for your blog.
• You can’t find enough time to write for your blog.
• You are so lost in how to put this whole blogging thing to work for you.

Well, 2013 is around the corner and I want to help you succeed with your blog. Here’s a seriously simple plan to keep your blog tapped with content.

Warning…this will be simple. Do it. 

Download the tadah fun sheet to start your editorial planning and print it out OR simply divide a piece of paper into three parts – one large and two small.

1. do a brain dump…..In the largest of the three boxes, fill this area with any and all questions you get asked from people (friends, your spouse, your readers, your Facebook or twitter friends, etc) in regards to your business or expertise. Also add any topics that you want to write about. Go ahead, write random things, like those you may think of while in the shower or while washing dishes. Just dump it all out and write it down. Don’t think too much. You’ll weed out the goodies later.

2. List your wish list for promotions or launches throughout the year or quarter. Be sure to write promotions you’ll be doing with others or any affiliate promotions, your own launches as well as any events that you may want to highlight on your blog.

3. Write a list of themes that you want to cover as a series. For instance if you work in photography you may want to do a kids series of how-tos or a wedding series. Thinking of themes can really help you plan out your launches and blog content.

Schedule it!

Decide how often you want to post on your blog. Once a week is adequate. Just be sure to choose the same day each week for consistency and so that your audience knows what to expect.

Now that you’ve dumped all those great bottled up ideas on to paper, weed out the goodies, the ones that call to you or maybe ones that you wrote down twice without thinking (yup, I’ve done that).

As you find topic winners, pop them into your calendar. I use a google calendar as well as my wordpress calendar plugin. When writing them in your calendar there’s no need to get creative. Just write the topic down on a date and move on.

Look over your editorial calendar and move things around until everything looks good. (pssst, don’t over think it!)

Congratulations! You just created your very own editorial calendar, and in minutes! Now you can….

1. Write in bulk. I know time is short. But I bet you could write at least two, maybe three posts during your child’s nap time. Or in between lunch and your next call. Schedule an hour a week to write. Now that you have an editorial calendar, you already know what to write about so half the battle of blogging will be gone.

2. Outsource. So maybe you have time but you just aren’t a writer and find it daunting. Hire out. Pop an ad on hiremymom.com looking for a writer. Offer to pay a flat fee for 10 or 12 articles. Now that you have an editorial calendar, outsourcing is a breeze. Offer more detailed bullet points if you think it will help but many times, the writer will run with just a topic given.

3. Better execute your launches. Having an editorial calendar that also includes your promotions and launches (see above), helps you better execute. By committing to a date, you are more likely to deliver.

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