I've experimented with different ways of blogging and how I go about writing my posts. When I first started blogging I'd open up the laptop, start and new post and just type away. When I was done it would get a quick read over and then I'd hit publish. Over time I've noticed the way I blog is getting much easier and more efficient and have found that following a few keys things can really help when it comes to getting on top of blogging. I use OneNote for planning out a lot of my blog stuff from noting down ideas to keeping track of when I want my posts to go up.
Plan Ahead For Photos
Photos can be a key part of a post and getting high quality images is something that you should take the time to achieve. This doesn't mean you need a really expensive DSLR and the newest Photoshop as you can take really good photos with your phone if you wanted, just having the correct conditions are more important. I use a few different pieces of kit for my blog photography which you can see here. Lighting is key when taking photos, which is why it's important to plan when you to take them. The last thing you want is to need photos for your upcoming post and the lighting it terrible. If you know what photos you need then take advantage of good lighting conditions and set up and bulk take them so you should always have photos for your posts.
Whenever You Get Some Inspiration, Write It Down
Ideas can come to you at the most random times, and the most annoying thing is getting home later that day and trying to remember that amazing idea you had for a blog post. The best thing to do is write down these as soon as you think of it, whether its typing it on your phone, writing it on a scrap of paper or even scribbling some notes on your hand. I've thought of ideas if I've been out somewhere for the day or even when I've been travelling on holiday. Sometimes your best ideas come naturally when you aren't trying to force them. I can remember not long after I had started blogging when I'd be staring at my laptop trying to think of something to write and really struggling. Anything I did write felt far too forced and wouldn't have been the best quality I was capable of producing. Since I've been using OneNote I now log all my new ideas which results in better blog posts and I can keep to a schedule.
List All Key Points You Want In Your Posts
People have different ways of blogging, some find it easier to just sit down and get a post done in one go and that might be what works best for them. I have tried this and I sometimes found once I'd published posts, there were parts missing from it or things I wish I'd thought of to include earlier on. What I tend to do now it to now is once I have my post idea, to sit down and have a mini brainstorm as to what I want to include in the post. Sometimes trying to get your ideas down gives you other ideas that would work and makes sure you get a quality post that you are happy with. I even find that brainstorming ideas for one post can give me a whole new idea for a separate blog post so it can be a really productive method.
Have A Schedule
Having some way to schedule your posts can be very useful when it comes to making sure you always have post ideas. There are a number of different ways to create a schedule, I know Laura likes to list the posts that she wants to publish in a certain month as this works better for her so she still has some freedom for spontaneous posts. Others may want to know specifically what day the post will go up. You can see how my schedule works in my OneNote post. I do set out what days I want to post on but I'm not overly strict and can alter this when new ideas come to me, or if I randomly go somewhere or get an opportunity for something. Knowing what posts you want to write in advance can really help keep you posting consistently which will help get new readers and keep your current ones coming back.
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