Many of us who blog work full-time jobs, or in the case of fitness bloggers, multiple part-time jobs if you teach fitness classes or are a personal trainer. I’ve been blogging for over three years now and blogging seriously for just over a year, juggling my ambitions for my blog with other jobs. Through trial and error I’ve found some systems that help me manage and grow my blog and brand on a part-time schedule. Today’s post is all about what’s worked well for me, and what I’ve found to be particularly helpful.
Write a content calendar. Having a planned content calendar has probably been the biggest help to my blog. When I sit down to write my blog posts, I don’t have to think about what I need to write about because I’ve written down my topic already. Decision fatigue is real. Sometimes you spend more time waffling between choices than you do actually accomplishing what you’re trying to decide on. I used to waste hours trying to figure out what to write my next blog post about, hours that I could have spent creating awesome content for my readers.
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I take time each month to research keywords for SEO and write out my blog post calendar. (I like to research popular searches—I want to help people with my blog, so I like to know what topics people need help with.) Sometimes a good topic will come to mind and I’ll replace the post I had planned, which then gets added to a list of topics to be added to the next month’s calendar. I’m currently about a month and a half ahead, but I intend to plan further and further out as I get more practice with planning.
The same is true for social media. I took an Instagram Course from Amanda Tress a few months ago (which I’d highly recommend taking if you haven’t already), and one of the biggest takeaways I got from the course is the need to plan my social media content like I do my blog content, so I don’t waste time wondering what I should post about. Again, there’s room for spontaneity—I can add in posts whenever I like—but I save so much time because I don’t have to think about what I need to post about.
Schedule social media posts. Speaking of social media, it’s so helpful to schedule posts ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about the actual process of posting at a certain time. You can schedule posts on Facebook pages directly through Facebook. For Instagram you can use programs like Latergramme that will pop up on your phone and copy your description into the clipboard to paste into Instagram. And, there are programs like Buffer that will allow you to queue up posts for multiple social media platforms.
Listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Professional development is so incredibly important. You’ll get wonderful ideas from learning from pros who have been where you’ve been. For a few months now I’ve been listening to blogging and entrepreneurial podcasts in my car (look forward to hearing about my favorites in a future post) and it’s been so helpful. Normally driving around seems like wasted time, but now even if I’m stuck in traffic, I can be learning and developing the mental skills I need to grow my blog and business.
Bloggers: how do you maximize your time?
Blogging really is a part time job! I do have a content calendar, but if I”m feeling particularly inspired, I bump a scheduled post and write what I’m feeling.
Great tips!
It really is. And I do the same thing with my posts. Sometimes a great idea warrants bumping another planned post back for a couple weeks.
Love these ideas. I’ve been scheduling social stuff the past month or two and I’ve loved it. I’m doing the Bosu campaign with SweatPink and it’s opened my eyes to the importance of creating a content calendar. I’m hooked now.
Yay, so glad having a content calendar is helping you stay organized! It really is a game changer for blogging.
Having an editorial calendar is the best blogging tip I have. I may deviate – – but it’s always there 🙂
Yes, exactly! I’ll tweak mine if I have a really great idea come up, but then the post I had planned for that day can get bumped back a few weeks. Thanks for commenting, Carla! 🙂
Great tips! I am also into all that entrepreneurial stuff as you know and love learning about more business ideas. Tailwind has really been helping lately with Pinterest and it my new obsession. Also my content calendar is super important since I can plan and also schedule all my social media from it!
Pinterest is such a great thing to maximize. It’s still my top referral source for traffic and it’s helped my blog so much. We should get together sometime and chat business. And eat food, of course. 😉
I wake up early and have my coffee and breakfast while I do my commenting, then I go workout. It gives structure to my day, keeps me used to being up early (helpful during marathon season), and starts my day off right!
Yes, love structure. When you have a routine that becomes habit, everything else just seems to fall into place. And blogging work is best done with coffee. 🙂
Thanks so much for this post – I am about to start my first “big girl” job as an associate at a law firm in NYC and I don’t know how I will manage blogging with working 50-60 hour weeks.
You are so welcome, Alyssa! Hope these tips help. Good luck with your new job–that sounds so exciting!!
These are really great tips! I need to get better about doing SEO research and planning my content ahead – so this was a great nudge in that direction!
Yay, so glad they were helpful! Hope that the SEO research helps you–it’s really helped me through some writer’s blocks before!
Up until September I was on point with scheduling content and posting. Then September happened. I’m hoping I can eventually carve out some more time to get back to being consistent, but I also know that when I’m in a funk the most important thing I can do is be patient with myself.
Yeah, life definitely gets in the way sometimes, which is totally understandable. So glad you’re doing what you need to take care of you. Big virtual hugs to you! Love you!
Woohoo I am doing all of this stuff:)
Great tips.
Thanks, Abby! 🙂
Planning out my content makes such a big difference! No more sitting at the computer, wondering what to write about.
Right? It’s been such a huge help for me, too!
Great tips Beth! I was doing good about scheduling out my posts for a while, but I’ve fallen off of my routine. I’m finding it’s harder to get creative and figure out what to post last minute. Thanks for the encouragement with your time saving tips!
Thanks, Carly! I’ve definitely been there. So many times. It’s so stressful to try to figure out what to write about at the last minute, and I personally have wasted a lot of time sitting at my computer with a blank post and a blinking cursor, trying to figure out what to write about. Good luck creating a content calendar! 🙂