Blogging is a valuable tool for writers wanting to grow and connect with an audience. It provides us with the opportunity to go deeper than a quick social media post. It also gives our readers a place to hangout with us in cyber-space.
But anyone who has done much blogging knows that it can also be stressful. These are my tips for reducing that stress.
12 Tips to Reduce Blogging Stress
12 Tips to Reduce Blogging Stress
1. Find a place to keep all your blog post ideas. I’ve discovered that ideas appear at the oddest times. I’ve also found that if I want to keep them, I have to catch them and put them away the moment they occur to me.
2. Work ahead. I try to schedule my posts as far out as possible. For me, that’s a week or two in advance. I also have a file of posts to use in case I need them.
3. Utilize the practice of cluster blogging. I shared an entire post about this concept in Maximize Your Time with Cluster Blogging. But in a nutshell, it’s writing multiple posts on similar topics.
4. Find some blogging buddies. I have an agreement with several bloggers who have the same focus as me. We agree that if we’re in a spot and need a last-minute post, we can take one from each other’s sites and give credit.
5. Keep a file of images. I keep all my previous blog images—and images I take specifically for my blog—in a file. That way if I need something quick, I don’t have to find something new.
6. Set goals 24 to 48 hours in advance of the real deadlines. The posts on my site go live at 4:00 am every morning. In addition, certain days have specific topics. Today is Social Media Monday. When I set my goal for when to write today’s post, it’s by 10pm Saturday evening. That way, if life happens, I still have time to readjust and not disappoint my readers.
6. Set goals 24 to 48 hours in advance of the real deadlines. The posts on my site go live at 4:00 am every morning. In addition, certain days have specific topics. Today is Social Media Monday. When I set my goal for when to write today’s post, it’s by 10pm Saturday evening. That way, if life happens, I still have time to readjust and not disappoint my readers.
7. Keep a checklist. I have a checklist of things to look at before I hit publish. I shared it here on Increase the Reach of Every Blog Post and Continue to Increase the Reach of Every Blog Post.
8. Break up long posts into two parts. When I see a post is running long, I look for ways to break it into two or more posts. That keeps my audience reading because the post length isn’t too long, and it keeps them coming back to read part two.
9. Pay attention to the comments. The comments section of your blog is a gold mine. Pay attention to questions and what’s said to find topics for future posts.
10. Redo and reuse. I hate to think that all the previous posts I’ve written are only read once. I also don’t want to repost the same thing (because of SEO algorithms that penalize this practice). The way to overcome this is to rework your post and then reuse it.
10. Redo and reuse. I hate to think that all the previous posts I’ve written are only read once. I also don’t want to repost the same thing (because of SEO algorithms that penalize this practice). The way to overcome this is to rework your post and then reuse it.
11. Don’t over stress. Life happens, sometimes you have to skimp on certain things. Or you might miss a post altogether. Be consistent while you can and don’t sweat the mistakes.
12. Give yourself some grace. It’s impossible to put up perfect posts. All of us find stupid typos and formatting gaffs. Don’t assume mistakes are unforgiveable.
These are the things that have helped me reduce my blogging stress. What would you add to the list? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below. I always learn so much from you all!
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
Edie
Your tips are always great reminders of something I may he forgetting to do. Thanks for keeping us on track!
ReplyDeleteBarbara, sharing these tips helps me stay on track, too! Blessings, E
DeleteThanks Edie...I picked up some new things to do and look for when blogging. The links you embedded were helpful.
ReplyDeleteSheryl, I'm glad to know they were helpful! Blessings, E
DeleteAs usual Edie, I came away with helpful information. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading everyday. #10 - redo and reuse- do you mention it is based on a previous post? Thanks Edie, I learn so much from your daily posts.
ReplyDeleteExcellent as always. I might add - use the "note" section of your iphone to blog when the mood hits. I've actually written a few blogs at the supermarket when the idea hits.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Edie!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear is running out of ideas. It hasn't happened yet but I dread the day. I usually brainstorm blog posts ideas in advanced and work out a schedule.
These are great tips, Edie! I've learned so much from you about blogging! One thing I've done is when I've needed extra time (i.e. for writing my manuscript), I asked a few writers to share a blog post on a certain theme. And I posted it as a series. I linked back to their blogs, as well. This offered me more time, and hopefully gave them some exposure to readers who hadn't met them before.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list, Edie. One choice I've recently made to relieve my stress is to blog less. (Boo.) I posted weekly on my mom blog for the first 18 months or so, but it became increasingly difficult (and stressful) to create the emotionally meaningful content followers expected each week. The last few months of 2017, I struggled to post once a month even. But I was surprised that my numbers held steady. I started this year with an announcement that I'd be posting monthly. I hope if the quality is good enough, the lack of quantity won't cost me followers. (Yikes.) On the flip side, if I post frequently but the content doesn't meet expectations, I'll lose followers anyway. , so we'll see how it goes. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Edie. I'm learning to batch my to-do's, spending a particular day to write only blog posts. It's helped me stay on task as well as ahead on my deadlines.
ReplyDeleteEdie, Vonda shared this post on Facebook so I popped over and am so glad I did. I'm already doing a few of things but needed to hear the others. The link you shared to the post on increasing the reach of every blog post was so helpful, too -- and so much easier to understand and follow than others I've seen along the same lines. Thanks for all the helpful info!
ReplyDelete