How do you plan what to blog about?

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Judging from recent conversations with fellow business owners, one of concerns that holds them back from starting a blog is not knowing what to write about.  While it seems  some ‘bloggers’ can rattle off a 500 word topical post every day of the week, that’s probably because blogging is their full-time ‘job’ so they can afford to spend much of the day (and night) writing.

For the rest of us however, writing blog posts (as well as newsletters and articles) is something that usually has to be squeezed into tiny pockets of time.  Doing a bit of forward planning will make it easier to meet those deadlines.  You may like to try some of the techniques I’ve found helpful:

Decide how often you’re going to post each week, and stick to it (as much as is humanly possible).  Here’s a post from Graham Jones who gives good reasons why we need to do this.

Pick a few themes from within your area of expertise, 4-6 is a good number (my own include time management, planning, productivity and marketing).  Write them down as headings on separate sheets of paper (or on separate pages if you’re typing).  This will stop you from drifting too far off track from your core business and confusing your readers.

Next, think of all the different angles you could write about each theme and note them under the relevant headings.  Keep these lists safely and set aside time each month to update and add to them.

If you have any special promotions or new product/service launches coming up, plan some appropriate blog posts to tie in.

Be ready for inspiration for a blog post to strike – often at inconvenient moments!  Jot down those gems as soon as you can (I like to keep a special ‘ideas’ notebook and carry it everywhere, just in case).

For more ideas on planning your editorial calendar, I recommend you read this post from Darren Rowse.

Do you have any writing routines or techniques that help you to be productive?  We’d love you to share them with us!

About Louise

Louise Barnes-Johnston has been working in social media marketing since 2007 after realising that it was a powerful marketing tool which would enable her clients to raise the profile of their businesses on the internet, even when working to a limited budget. Her specialism is in researching social media practices; trying out the most effective online tools and then sharing the best of them with her clients.