Is it really Friday already? I swear this week just whizzed by. More and more, my daily calendar is getting filled with all things blogging - BlogPodium planning, projects, media events, post writing, photo editing. It has become clear to me that I need a bit more structure, a bit more discipline, to keep on top of things before they get way out of control. With the ongoing renovation, basement stuff stacked in every spare corner of my house, and a typical almost-three-year old, I already have my fair share of "out of control", thank you very much.
The first seminar I attended at Alt Summit was about The Business of Blogging. Ami, Chris, and Pam talked about how to manage the transition of your blog from a hobby into a business. While my blog isn't a full-time business, I've started to approach it a bit more seriously. I've actually implemented some of the practical tips I learned and found that they really helped and gave me some breathing room in my packed days. Maybe you'll find these tips useful too.
- Have regularly-scheduled, original content.
- Be consistent. When you know what you’re going to write about, your readers know it and your sponsors know it too (and may be more willing to pay you for it!)
- Structure your posts regularly through the week, especially Monday to Thursdays which are the heaviest traffic days.
- Most people read blogs around the hours of 8am, 12pm and 3pm. Publish around these times. Have a fresh post up first thing in the morning, just as the East coast is getting ready for the day.
- Make sure your readers can count on you for their content fix. Have regular features your readers can know and depend on.
- Set editorial calendars that outline your monthly posting and yearly editorial content. Make your content sensitive to the seasons and holidays. Knowing this ahead of time has benefits like:
- Gives you lead time to find guest bloggers
- Helps focus your creative content ideas
- Shows potential advertisers and brands that you are serious
- Create a writers’ guideline, a description of what you write about. Good blogs have consistency with their images and writing
- Be proactive in: building your network, promoting your content, reaching out to advertisers
I know I personally need to work on #6. I usually come up with post ideas on a whim (which would explain why I'm writing this post at 11:30pm! Ha!).
Okay, enough about me. Tell me, are you a super-organized, ahead of the game blogger? If you are, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore ;)
