For the past 6 weeks I've been experiencing some pretty severe fatigue (thanks, Vitamin D deficiency) and the last thing I've wanted to do is blog if I'm totally honest. While most of you won't be feeling like a sloth due to an obsession with SPF, blogging slumps can come on for various reasons, good and bad - I know I've wanted to blog less when I got addicted to watching Making A Murderer! But ditching your blog when you've worked so hard on it just isn't an option.
Which is why I came up with my monthly 3-hour blog planning solution that has actually motivated me to blog more even if I'm still feeling like sh*t! It's a mixture of inspiring yourself to blog while carefully planning the right content + making your blogging month that bit easier!
Basically here's how I got my blogging mojo back in 3 little hours!
Basically here's how I got my blogging mojo back in 3 little hours!
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| My stock image library for September |
Plan out your blog content for the month ahead
This may seem an obvious one, but I certainly wasn't doing it so far in advance, but it makes a huge difference. But unlike normal blog post planning the aim here is to plan your content around myself/your needs and then think about what your readers want. How I like to plan my content is to have a huge brainstorm and write down as many ideas for blog posts as possible and also products I want to review over the coming month. I when decide realistically how often I can blog each week and start to plan it all out. If you're not feeling blogging right now include fun and easy posts each week such as wishlists and tags that won't take much time.
This may seem an obvious one, but I certainly wasn't doing it so far in advance, but it makes a huge difference. But unlike normal blog post planning the aim here is to plan your content around myself/your needs and then think about what your readers want. How I like to plan my content is to have a huge brainstorm and write down as many ideas for blog posts as possible and also products I want to review over the coming month. I when decide realistically how often I can blog each week and start to plan it all out. If you're not feeling blogging right now include fun and easy posts each week such as wishlists and tags that won't take much time.
- Include at least one easy to write/fun blog post per week
- Think about what your readers want to see and when. Examples - Haul posts on/after payday, seasonal posts. This all increases page views!
Shoot & edit your own blog stock images
I've briefly mentioned creating a stock image library before because it's so handy when it comes to days you just aren't in the mood to take photos or the weather is too dark or you just fancy getting a post up quickly. For this I aim to take between 4-8 different images with slightly different themes to them. If flatlays don't come naturally to you then seeking inspiration on Pinterest or from your favourite blogs will seriously help. Once I've shot 4-8 setups I then jump on my laptop, select my favourites and edit them. These can be then used throughout the month just by adding a bit of text - for this I use PhotoScape or Canva. Above are my own stock images and as you can see I used the top left image for today's blog post just by adding a diagonal strip and text, which took me all of 5 minutes!
I've briefly mentioned creating a stock image library before because it's so handy when it comes to days you just aren't in the mood to take photos or the weather is too dark or you just fancy getting a post up quickly. For this I aim to take between 4-8 different images with slightly different themes to them. If flatlays don't come naturally to you then seeking inspiration on Pinterest or from your favourite blogs will seriously help. Once I've shot 4-8 setups I then jump on my laptop, select my favourites and edit them. These can be then used throughout the month just by adding a bit of text - for this I use PhotoScape or Canva. Above are my own stock images and as you can see I used the top left image for today's blog post just by adding a diagonal strip and text, which took me all of 5 minutes!
- These can be carried over to the next month and re-used multiple times
- Perfect for blog tip and lifestyle posts
Write up a weeks worth of catchy blog titles and save them
Getting blog post titles wrote and saved as blog posts can be such a motivation because whenever you go onto your blogging platform they will be waiting for you and you can write bits as and when you feel like it. Also planning out your titles instead of writing them just before you write the blog post means you will create more interesting titles that people will want to click on! For extra help creating eye catching blog posts this title template I found on Pinterest is great or you can even paste your title into CoSCoschedule Headline Analyzer which will score your headline and really help you make it the best it can be - I love this free resource!
Getting blog post titles wrote and saved as blog posts can be such a motivation because whenever you go onto your blogging platform they will be waiting for you and you can write bits as and when you feel like it. Also planning out your titles instead of writing them just before you write the blog post means you will create more interesting titles that people will want to click on! For extra help creating eye catching blog posts this title template I found on Pinterest is great or you can even paste your title into CoSCoschedule Headline Analyzer which will score your headline and really help you make it the best it can be - I love this free resource!
*Planned out titles will always attract more page views
*You've already started your post so you'll feel motivated to write it up!
This 3-hour blog planning really has motivated me at a time when I seriously need it and I couldn't recommend it more - if you give it a go let me know how you get on in the comments!
Fee xo.
This 3-hour blog planning really has motivated me at a time when I seriously need it and I couldn't recommend it more - if you give it a go let me know how you get on in the comments!
Fee xo.
