How to write your blog posts efficiently...

I was asked the other day about how I schedule my posts, decide what to write and how I actually do it. I hadn't really thought about it before but I thought it might be helpful, so here we go....

I write blog posts in my head all the time, some of them are silly and never make it to the blog, some I forget about and of course some do make it out there. I also take photos all the time, whatever we are doing, whether it be something interesting or something mundane, there is usually an angle I can write about. I think that is where my creative side kicks in!

Usually on a Monday or Tuesday I sit down and upload the latest batch of pictures to the mac. I go through and 'flag' the ones I want to use, these are usually over several days so cover various events or items of interest. I like to get the blog posts for the week written in one go so that I can forget about it for the rest of the week and concentrate on business matters.

Next, I open photoshop and open all the flagged pictures. I do a quick bit of editing, add my name to the image and crop it to size. I try and stick to the rule of 600px wide. Once I have done editing I save all the images to my desk top. Sometimes, like today's post I don't have any photos, so I will whip up some graphics instead.

By this time I usually need a drink, water or tea that is!

Time to write. I open up blogger and 'new post' and upload any pictures for the post. Once I have the images up I find it easier to write. The images give me a prompt to work with. So, I write away, when I have finished I have a read through and do a spell check. Then I add any links.

Next up labels, it is important to add these if you want your readers to be able to search and find your posts and to help goolge index you blog, better for your ranking. I wish I had know this when I had started out!

Once that is done, I hit preview so I can check there is no dodgy formatting issue going on.

Then finally I use the scheduling function in conjunction with google calendar so I know what is scheduled and for when. I usually set the post to go out 6am JST. Using google calendar, I can see if easily if the blog post clashes with something or if it would be more appropriate to post it on a specific day.

I have some sponsored posts/ promotional posts, I get the information for them usually a couple of weeks before they need to be scheduled, for example, the recent Action Pack post. I tend to write these posts as the information comes in and schedule them ahead of time, this means I can work my 'everything else' posts around the promotional ones.

There are also the regular posts such as 'Pinterest Love' and 'Inspiration Sunday' these I try and schedule a month in advance, this takes the pressure off in case I have a really busy week and not able to blog for some reason. For Inspiration Sunday it also means I don't have to panic about finding someone to interview for that week.

These are the general waffle, I have no plan of what I am going to write about, it just depends what comes up, what has been happening and what catches my eye at the time. I have tried to be more regimented with these posts but it doesn't work for me, having the balance of a couple of regular posts a week and then the artistic license to write whatever I like is how I like it. Some bloggy experts out there are probably tut-tutting and shaking their head in disgust, but at the end of the day, this is my blog and I will do it as I like!

I also like to have a few pre-written posts that can be used at any time, general crafting or book reviews etc. So that I can pull them out of the bag in case of an emergency, those weeks when everything goes pear shaped!

Final word of warning, the scheduling function is great and saves me a lot of stress and headache BUT when the earthquake hit in 2011 I had a scheduled post go up all about rainbows and happy stuff - not appropriate AT ALL and due to what was going on I had forgotten about the post being scheduled. I am sure people reading the blog must have realised what had happened and didn't think I had lost the plot, writing about rainbows in the midst of such an enormous disaster but I did feel pretty rotten about it.

So, this is my way, I'm not saying it is the right or wrong way but this is what works for me. If you have any questions, pop them in the comments section.

If you found this post useful, please do me a favour and share it on your social media channels, those little buttons in the grey box just down there...

How to add a floating pin it button to your posts

You may or may not have noticed that I have a new pin it button to make it easier to pin to pinterest. If you are wondering what I am talking about, roll your mouse over this image...

See the 'p' in the corner? If you click on it you can pin the image straight to your boards, go on, try it out!

So how did I do this? Well I would love to take the credit but this is way above my geeky level, instead pop over to bloggersentral to grab the code for blogger, it is really easy to do, no geeky genes needed! If you are on a self hosted wordpress site, then you can get the code at Kevin & Amanda.

Make Them Fall In Love...

I would like to thank everyone for their input and comments about the mini blog series. I decided to bundle all the posts together to make it into an ebook. I have used a new service which means you can read the book on your iPad, kindle, computer - anything really. You get 3 formats so that it is compatible with whatever you want to read it on.

For now, I have set the minimum price for $0, yep, you can get it for free so all you need to do is set the sliders on 0.

BUT, if you want to pay for the book, maybe you think that over the years I have given you so many great ideas that you would like to reward all my hard work, *wink* then you can move the sliders. The top slider shows how much you actually pay and the bottom one is how much I get from the sale.

Now, maybe you have suddenly come into a lot of money, then you can take the slider right to the end, neat hey? The other thing I should mention, is that with it being an ebook if and when I update it you automatically get sent the updated version, clever stuff.

It is the first time I have used this software, so I haven't got my head around all the formatting yet. If you do download the book, I would love to know what it looks like on your reader, so I know how to improve it. So, what are you still here for? go and click on the green button and grab yourself a copy!

Make them fall in love part IV

Here we are, Part IV of this mini bloggy series. Here are Part I, Part II and Part III.

One of the questions I got which started these series was 'How can I increase my readership' and well, there isn't just one answer, hence the whole series! You need to have quality content, you need to share (don't just write about me, me, me), your blog needs to look good so that when a random person clicks through they are more likely to stay and if they like it so much, sign up for your email list/RSS feed there and then.

So, now you have your blog looking all fine and dandy you need to get readers to the blog, there are many ways to do this but here are a few to get you going...

Quality content
If you posts are badly written, irrelevant or just downright boring, no one is going to want to come back plus no one is going to want to share what you have written. I know I have said this before, but it is important!

Share, share, share
Share your knowledge, share your finds, share information, share your recipes, share your thoughts, share your hobbies, share what ever is relevant to the theme of your blog and encourage your blog readers to share your content too. Other bloggers are more likely to share your content if you are going to do the same for them.

Connect
Using social media tools such as Facebook or twitter, connect with other bloggers, leave useful comments of other peoples posts, if there is something you love, tell them, if something was helpful, tell them. Bloggers do read their comments and they do notice those who comment on a regular basis, use this to build up a relationship. Once you have a relationship it is much easier to ask about guest posting etc.

Listen to your readers
Sometimes you write what you think is an amazing post and you get no feedback, it is like a kick in the ribs, other times you put up a post that had no special content - or so you thought and the comments come flooding in. Listen to what your readers have to say and make a point to answer any questions or queries.

Keep it consistent
When I started out I blogged a couple of times a week and slowly it build up to everyday (I actually schedule some posts so I am not sitting here every day!). Last year, after the quake I was writing far more posts because I was putting information out there as I came across it but it was exhausting. Those big blogs that post 15 times a day - they do that with a team of writers and the recycle posts from their archives, us one-man shows can't keep up with that. So, decide how many times you will post a week and stick to it, I decided a while ago that I would try and post every day and here I am!

There are a lot of other ways to increase traffic to your blog, but it is not just traffic you want, you want people to hang about and come back for me, he is a list of ideas to get you going...

• share, share, share
• get featured (guest blog) on a bigger blog
• invite guests on your blog
• join blog hops
• join up with other bloggers and write a blog series between you (driving traffic from one blog to the next)
• if you still have a small blog join some weekly linkys. I usually join the Muffin Tin Meal linky. 
• once you have a following then run your own linky.
• run a contest or giveaway (great info on how to at Superlucky)
• organise a swap
• write useful comments on other peoples blogs
• build up relationships with other bloggers especially those at the same level & interest as your own.
• join online communities where you share the same audience.
• make sure your email tagline has your blog address in it
• make sure all your social media sites have a link to your blog
• make bloggy business cards to give to new people you meet.
• make good use of pinterest but don't just pin your own stuff pin lots of other peoples things too.
• when someone makes a comment be sure to reply
• use social media and spread your content around BUT make sure that your tweets for example are not all 'read my post' tweets or you will lose followers.
• install Google analytics and check where your readers are coming from. Pinterest drives the most traffic to my blog at the moment but it wouldn't if my photos were rubbish!
• give credit where credit is due and link to other peoples blogs and posts.
• survey your readers
• invite readers to comment and express their opinions
• be consistent, in your posts, in your social media networking, in answering questions and comments.

I think that just about wraps it up, if you have found this mini series helpful please share it with your friends, family, Facebook pals, twitter followers, next-door neighbours dog. I would love to hear your feedback, pop it in a comment below.