Planning Blog Posts

Hello Everyone, 

Planning blog posts takes a lot of my time. I like to start my planning on Saturday, where I decide on my subject matter for the week, and write it down using this planner by Fee, Make Up Savvy, which you can find here. I love this planner as it has boxes to tick when I have finished each stage of a post: writing it, choosing and editing a photo for it, and scheduling it. My aim is to be much more organised with my blog, hopefully getting ahead with my posts at some point. I try to get as much of my writing done during the weekend, freeing up my week for any reading, homework or tests that I have. I try to jot down my initial ideas about the posts in a notebook, getting the basic structure or outline sorted out. Then, I will write the post. I edit while I am typing it out, and then will re-edit as much as I can when I've got the picture(s) in. 

Sometimes I'll have a theme for the week, a subject I want to discuss in more than one post. Most of my travels are like that. I want to record as much as possible so I will split it up into logical sections. If there isn't a theme for the week, then I have some basic structure that are permanent features. Motivate Monday and Five on Friday are my quick and easy posts (although Five on Friday I don't always get around to doing). The ones that require more thought are the others, Tuesday to Thursday. They can be anything I want them to be. Sometimes deciding what to write about is difficult as there is so much choice. However, the more I do it, the easier it gets. I get inspiration from other blogs, articles I read, or conversations I have with one another. Sometimes an issue plays in my mind for weeks, or even months, before I write about it. 

A lot of the time I'll have lots of ideas of post series, or post ideas that never make it to print (online print). They are often something a bit off the wall and not achievable. But there are some that have managed to make it at least for a short while. You can find some of them in the sidebar in my past posts. Generally, I tend to write on subjects that I've been reading about, so a series isn't always possible. 

I hope this post has given you a little insight into how I plan and write blog posts. It may give you some ideas on how you could write posts, or writing an essay for uni. (I use the same basic principle when writing my own university work, without the pictures of course). 

How To Write Your First Blog Post

Hey Everyone, 

Now, as this is my first blog, I was rather apprehensive about writing my first official post. "What should I write about?" and "What will people think of it?" were just some of the questions running through my head. So, I did what any student does when they need answers: I Googled it. 

Now, as I found, I clearly wasn't the first to do so, as when I was typing "how to write your first blog post" into the search bar, that was one of the suggestions Google gave me, as well as "how to write your first CV" and "how to write your first novel". There were over 1,110,000,000 results. (I've included links to the blogs I found most useful at the end.) I wasn't alone in this being a big deal. I wasn't alone in having no idea where to start. And I’m sure as hell not alone in writing about How to write your first blog post.

I should say at this point that I am referring to personal blogs and not product blogs, although some of the ideas are transferrable. Product blogs are blogs which represent a product, or brand. Their blog will promote the products and answer questions that customers had. This is their niche, what their blog will revolve around. Personal blogs are different because you have to find your own niche as you go, unless you have a clear idea on what you’re going to write about in the first place. Unfortunately, I don’t, I just like to write. So there will be reviews, rants and ‘rticles. (I know, I know, really bad pun.)

After thorough searching through my results (looking at every result on the first two pages); this is what I discovered: Just Do It. Now I know that sounds like a really bad Nike ad, but it’s true. So many people when writing their first blog post spend ages on choosing a subject, not enough time actually writing so that when they finally do post something, it’s lacklustre and uninspiring. Most bloggers say that they look back on their first post and are embarrassed. That’s fine, as long as it got them going. One post will lead to another and before you know it, you've got a blog.

One general tip for writing posts is to check grammar, punctuation and spelling. Blogs are written in informal English, but that’s no reason for sloppiness. Incorrect grammar and punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence, so be careful. And awful spelling doesn't give a good impression to your readers.

There are plenty of other tips on how to keep your blog going. Plan how many times you are going to post, because consistency and frequency are important. Don’t post multiple times every day for a week, then nothing for a month. Write multiple posts on word documents at one time, and then stagger posting them online over a month or so. Listen to comments and emails, but not religiously. If they’re changing what you are about, then ignore them. But some may have useful insights, so don’t discard them.

The point is, if you want to write a blog: Just Do It. Don’t wait around for some singular spark of inspiration to hit you and you become the most read blog around. That’s not going to happen. The only way to get traffic and therefore a noteworthy blog is to just start writing. 

Gracexxx

http://www.socialnomics.net/2014/01/15/precautions-for-writing-first-blog-post/

http://www.chadrallen.com/2013/11/26/quick-start-guide-writing-first-blog-post-6-steps/

http://www.quicksprout.com/2013/04/04/11-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-my-first-blog/

http://47leads.com/6-easy-steps-to-write-your-first-blog-post/