Develop Your Blogging Plan

I’ve heard a number of organizers say “I just don’t have time to blog,” but often, half the battle is planning ahead. Deciding in advance what you’re going to blog about will give you an opportunity to think about how you’re going to address a particular topic, and to write at least some of your posts ahead of time.

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The key to successful blogging is to continuously create compelling content, and with a new year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to begin working on your editorial calendar, so I’d like to share a few helpful resources.

Blogging Planner & Calendar

A great way to get started is to download your free Blogging Planner & Calendar from Blog Energizer. The 2012 planner has a full page for each week with a grid for you to schedule your posts as well as blog-related emails and promotional activities and other notes. Each weekly page also includes special dates that might inspire a blogging idea, such as Clean Out Your Computer day (February 13), Simplify Your Life Week (first week of August) and Procrastination Awareness Month (April), as well as a blogging tip, like

Improve your titles. Add specific info – like price, time investments, results – instead of generalizations.

Throughout the Blogging Planner & Calendar, you’ll also find full-page articles to help you with a particular aspect of your blog, such as “Growing Your Traffic.”

This has been one of my favorite blogging resources for several years, and I encourage you to download a copy.

Blog Post Ideas plug-in for WordPress

If you have a self-hosted WordPress blog (if you don’t, we need to talk!), you can install this plug-in, also from Blog Energizer. You’ll find it especially valuable if you like to draft your posts right within your blog dashboard, because each time you go to create a new post, you’ll be presented with a topic idea. You can configure it to display topics related to home, business, and/or health, depending on the focus of your blog.

You can purchase the Blog Post Ideas plug-in for WordPress for only $4.00, or receive it free with any WordPress Package from Organized Assistant®.

Other Sources of Blogging Ideas

There are entire blogs dedicated to inspiring bloggers and other writers. Here are a few that offer topic ideas:

• Daily Blogging Ideas
• For Bloggers by Bloggers
• The Daily Post
• Daydreaming on Paper
• Plinky

If you think about it, your daily life is probably filled with things you can blog about! Consider the following questions:

• What have people asked you in workshops, emails, and consultations?
• What have people in your target market posted in forums or on social networks?
• What organizing products do you use or recommend most often?
• Do you work with complementary service providers? Who are they and what do they do?
• What organizing books have you read lately? How about other books that might be useful or inspiring to your clients?

The possibilities are endless!

Still feeling overwhelmed? Contact me for a free consultation. I help a number of professional organizers with their blogging strategy, and would love a chance to speak with you to explore ways we can work together for your blogging success in 2012.