Blogging 101: Creating a Blog Schedule

Welcome back to Blogging 101. Last Saturday we talked about writing blog posts. This week, we're going to talk about creating a schedule for said blog posts. Let's dive right in.

Why a blog schedule?

I know not everyone makes a blogging schedule, and I know it's not for everyone. So if you really don't want to make one, go ahead and skip this post. But allow me to make an argument for one first.

It's perfectly okay for you fly along by the seat of your pants with blogging. But think of the security a schedule could give you. Instead of worrying about what you're going to post next week or tomorrow, you can simply look at your blog schedule and see what you have planned. It also helps you think ahead to posts you might want to do or see if you're writing too much of one type of post.

Also, having a schedule doesn't remove all spontaneity. If you decide you don't want to do the post you have written down for a certain day, you don't have to. You can also do extra posts or change the post, or whatever.

At least give a schedule a try. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep it. That's the nice thing about trying something. It doesn't have to be permanent. (Unless it's like a tattoo or something.)

Creating your schedule

First, you need to decide how many posts you want to do a week. If you've already been blogging for a while, you can skip this part. Do you only have time or desire for one post a week? Do you like to post a few times? It's all up to you and how you want your blog to work.

Once you've got that part figured out, get out a calendar (you can print one online if you want) and a pencil. You can also do this in Google Calendar or whatever is easiest for you. This is the (kind of) easy part. All you have to do is write down what post you want to do on the days you post. The hard part is deciding what those posts will be.

That's where have a running list of blog post ideas is helpful. Or, if you don't have any, think some up or browse around online for some ideas. It helps you have some set posts. Like I have a book review for my first post every month and my last two posts are always book reviews and my monthly recap.

A thing that really helps me in keeping up with my schedule and not feeling panicked when the day arrives and my post isn't ready, is drafting my posts ahead of time. You can do this a day or two before, or like me, draft most of them at the beginning of the month. It saves me time and stress later to take some time for simply writing blog posts at the start of the month. But you can do what works best for you.

Sticking to a schedule isn't that hard, and the nice thing is, if you decide to switch something up and do a different post than you planned, you can do that. Just because you make a schedule doesn't mean it's set in stone. It's your schedule and you can chose to ignore it if you wish.

Don't forget to come back next Saturday for part 3, blog social media.

Let's talk! Do you have a blog schedule? What do you think of it? Do you draft your blog posts on the day or long before? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

Blogging 101: Writing a Blog Post
Setting (And Keeping) a Writing Schedule