Blog Workflow: How I Am 3 Months Ahead On Content

We all hear people talk about the importance of a blog workflow, but some of us are skeptical if it actually works. What if I told you that as I am writing this I am over 3 months ahead of my blog content all thanks to my blog workflow? It is true, I am writing this on April 15, 2019 and this blog post is going live on July 24, 2019.

Many want to know the secret to my blog workflow and how they can also get 3 months ahead. But before I share how I did it, I think it’s important to understand why blogging is important.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BLOG?

Blogging drives traffic from social media

Blogging is good for SEO

Photo by Stephanie Parshall Photography 

HOW TO GET 3+ MONTHS AHEAD ON YOUR BLOG CONTENT

STEP 1: CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR

Before I could start creating content, I needed a content calendar to map out what I was posting and when. I knew I wanted to post every 2 weeks and wanted to always post on Wednesday because consistency is key. I made a list of every other Wednesday on a sheet of paper and started listing out topics I wanted to talk about.

How did you know what content to put out there?

I started by adding in weddings and events I hadn’t blogged yet. My goal was to post a wedding or event once a month and on the other day of that month I would talk about something wedding planning or entrepreneurial related. If you don’t know what to write about, ask your community what they want to learn about – put on note on instagram or facebook, email them, etc.

How do you know your content is going to be relevant when you post that far out?

The simple answer is you don’t. I tried really hard to pair things where I thought they would fit best, like outdoor lakeside weddings in the summer time or conference planning content closer to the date of The Haven Conference. But you don’t know what is going to be happening in the world. What I told myself is the worst that would happen would be I had to write a couple of extra posts throughout the year and weave it into the content I already created. Which I would rather have more content than none at all.

I know there are a lot of wedding photographers that like to post weddings on their blog before sending the clients their gallery of photos, if this is you – take a look at the wedding dates you have on the calendar this year and all those blog posts to your content calendar.

STEP 2: ASSIGN YOURSELF DEADLINES TO GET YOUR BLOG CONTENT WRITTEN

After I created a content calendar, I then gave myself deadlines to get it all completed by. I started this whole process at the beginning of 2019 and it was my goal by mid May I would have content scheduled through September, which is the end of my busy season. To do that I realized I needed to write/schedule one blog post a week.

Allow yourself a “content creation” day/time

I knew if I didn’t carve out time every week to get this all done then it would never happen and I would disappoint myself again, so I decided to make Mondays my content day.

Below is a little taste of what my content calendar looked like complete with post dates, titles and due dates. I wouldn’t get to hung up on the titles when you are creating your content calendar, because chances are they may change a couple times. Also you may notice the beginning was a little rocky and I missed my first post date, but I finally found my stride and was able to get really consistent.

• 1/9 The Ultimate Guide To Beach Weddings in Michigan (due 1/7)
• 1/23 A 12 Corners Vineyard Wedding (due 1/14)
• 2/6 The Stress-Free Guide to Packing Wedding Decor (due 1/21)
• 2/20 A Ciccone Vineyard Wedding (due 1/28)
• 3/6 4 Reasons to Attending a Conference (due 2/4)

STEP 3: CREATE A BLOG WORKFLOW

One of the best ways to maximize your time is to create a work flow. If you’re new to workflows, workflows are basically a system or checklist that walks you through something you have done before. Below is my blog workflow:

• RESEARCH
  • Google if this is already a covered topic
  • Put a message out on social media to see if people are interested in this topic
  • Develop a keyword and focus your blog content around it
• OUTLINE
  • Create an outline of the content
  • Create a photo gallery and change the titles to the keyword (if applicable)
• CREATE
  • Write the blog post in WordPress
  • Reread for spelling and grammar errors
  • Add affiliate links (if applicable)
  • Create a Pinterest graphic (if applicable)
• SCHEDULE
  • Schedule blog post in WordPress with keywords and affiliate links
  • Schedule blog post in CoSchedule
  • Schedule Facebook post in CoSchedule
  • Schedule Instagram post in CoSchedule
  • Schedule Pinterest post in CoSchedule
  • Schedule Linkedin post in CoSchedule
  • Schedule email blast in MailChimp
  • Post a few photos to Google My Business

You may have noticed I mentioned CoSchedule a few times in my workflow. It is my favorite tool for getting the message out about new blog posts and have saved me hundreds of hours of work. You can find out more info about CoSchedule and what I love about it here.

Bonus Tips:

1. Stay disciplined – it’s easy to skip a day of writing or deem yourself “too busy” to create content, but the further you get behind the harder it will be to catch up. Block off that time in your calendar every week.
2. Stay consistent – If writing one blog post per week is too much, then lower the amount of times you publish a blog post. Change it to once every 2 weeks, once every 3 weeks or once a month. Just make sure it consistent because posting fewer blog posts is better than inconsistent posting.
3. Think about whats going to bring in new business – To make your efforts feel “worthwhile” think about what content is going to bring in new business. Sara at Sara Does SEO has lots of recommendations on this.
4. Share your blog content everywhere – Make the time you spend writing worth your time and make sure your sharing your blog content all over Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. CoSchedule helps you save time doing this!

So there you have it! That is my blog workflow that has gotten me 3 months ahead on my blog content so I am relaxed and not stressed about content creation during my busy season. If you want more business related tips and trick check out my post on How To Block Schedule Your Day.

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM? Here are the cliff notes

1. Set a goal for how often you want to post on your blog. My goal was 1 blog post every 2 weeks, but if you’re new to blogging start with 1 post per month and you can always add more as you get the swing of it.
2. Write down a list of “post dates” on a sheet of paper based on the frequency you want to post. I decided to post on Wednesdays, so I listed out every other Wednesday.
3. Fill in what topics you want to talk about on each post date.
4. Assign yourself a due date to complete each blog post by.
5. Carve out time each week to get your content creation done. I made Mondays my “content day” and wrote 1 post every Monday.
6. Create a blog workflow that works for you. Scroll up to see the one I use!