How to Create a Blogging Workflow That Actually Works for You!
Creating a solid blogging workflow is KEY to becoming a successful blogger and it will become your best friend! The whole process involved in creating and maintaining a blog can be super overwhelming. From content writing to making search engines happy, to promoting our content…it’s A LOT, friends! But I promise, having a solid workflow will help streamline all the things and make you massively productive!
How to create a blogging workflow: Step-by-step process
There are 3 key steps to creating a solid workflow that actually WORKS for you! It’s one thing to have endless amounts of time for content production but I am guessing you don’t have endless amount of time, no?
Creating solid, optimized blog content and promoting and maintaining it, is a lot of work, right?!
So let’s streamline the process and make the most of the time you have:
Step 1: The first thing you need to is grab a piece of paper (or download my blogging workflow template), and put on some music. Then do a brain dump of ALL of your blogging tasks. This is EVERYTHING you currently do for your business…writing, emails, keyword research, posting on social media sites, making pins, listening to podcasts/courses, etc.
Step 2: The next step is to go through each day…Sun-Sat and determine exactly how much time you have each day to spend on your business. This is 100% dedicated time you can spend on your blog. Be realistic and HONEST. If you can write down specific times, that’s even better.
Step 3: Last, start plugging in your brainstormed tasks into your daily hours or time slots. You might find things that fall off your list! You might have to make some tough decisions about what tasks to keep and what to let go of. Always in the back of your mind, ask yourself– “What is the return on investment on this task? Will this task ultimately help grow my business??”
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What’s a blogging workflow?
A workflow is defined as: The sequence of steps involved in moving from the beginning to the end of a working process (Merriam-Webster).
To me, a workflow is just a massive, super streamlined to-do list.
Some people may think a blogging workflow is simply a CONTENT workflow or the process of getting a new post published…sounds simple, doesn’t it?
In reality, a blog workflow is SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! There are so many steps involved in publishing ONE post…and that is both before AND after you hit the publish button!
Workflow to publish ONE blog post
I have massively oversimplified these steps but if you have gone through the whole process, you know it’s not a short one! The writing process alone can take me up to 6 hours for ONE blog post! And that doesn’t include sizing images, making sure I have the correct alt text, adding internal links, affiliate links…ALL THE THINGS! The entire process can be overwhelming.
A workflow simplifies this whole process.
Why is a blogging workflow so important?
The content creation process can be super overwhelming, especially if you are a new blogger who is still learning the basics!
The best way to get the blogging process under control is to have a solid workflow and STICK WITH IT!!! I am convinced that my success growing my blog to 50,000 sessions in one year was ALL because I stuck with a workflow!
A workflow will help you:
Download your blogging workflow template
Tips for creating your ideal workflow
- Be realistic about the time you have. Try to schedule a time that you know will be more or less uninterrupted. The worst thing is to schedule a block of 3 hours and be constantly interrupted. It’s better to schedule 30 minutes of super-productive, uninterrupted time.
- Don’t be afraid of early mornings and late nights. I photographed recipes at 5am for my blog every weekend for over a year!
- One super important thing to remember is you may have to adjust your workflow to find the right balance. Give yourself a little bit of grace to work out the kinks–it probably won’t be perfect the first time!
- If you are a newer blogger, make your focus producing NEW CONTENT.
My favorite tools to stay productive
Use the right tools to keep you organized–don’t overcomplicate things! See a list of all of my favorite FREE blogging resources here!
- Grammarly: Could not live without it (I use the free version)! It’s my own personal online editor!
- Trello: Simple Google docs and sheets work but if you need something a bit more comprehensive, Trello (free version) has worked well for me!
- Google Calendar: Google Calendar is also a great place to write your workflow. Simply plug in your daily tasks into each day and specify the time block. You can have a separate calendar just for blogging so it doesn’t get mixed up with your family/personal calendar.
I hope this gives you a little sense of how to create a blogging workflow that WORKS for you! I truly believe if you can create a solid workflow and stick with it, you will explode your productivity and blog growth!
