How I Post Consistently

I recently did my first ever guest post over on a publishers website *eek!* And have been given permission to cross post! So here’s my guest post on How I post Consistently, which you can also find here

It Won’t be Easy

The life of a blogger is not easy. You’ve got to juggle writing content, social media interaction and that pesky little thing of your life away from your laptop. Or Smartphone as the case may be. It’s not always easy and any form of regular input to your blog is impressive, whatever your situation.

However, posting consistently is key to successful blogging, in my opinion. I read somewhere, when making a blog was a fleeting idea in the back of my mind, that to get followers you had to be everywhere. People forget, hype moves away and if you’re not posting regularly your existing followers won’t remember you and new followers won’t find you. It’s important, but definitely not easy.

I’ve been a blogger since April and will not claim to be an expert in the art of consistent posting. There were times, my dissertation due, exams coming up and the constant battle of looking for work after university, where my blog was on the back burner. It’s not my career, it never had priority over my work or social calendar, but that didn’t mean I wanted to let it flop.

Think Ahead

The first step to posting consistently, for me, was to work out how often I could realistically post. My original intention was a book review, a ‘meme’ and another post every week. Did it occur to me that I fall into slumps, that I don’t realistically read a book every week or that a busy week might drag me away from my laptop? It was what I could achieve on a good week, but normal weeks aren’t full of Friday meetings finishing early or long train rides to visit friends. Two posts a week is slightly less than I can write but very achievable on weeks when I’m busy or in a slump or have no inspiration on what to write. There’s no shame in flooding your drafts with potential posts since there will be an inevitable moment where your grateful for the hoardes of drafts you’ve stocked up.

Savor Moments of Inspiration

The second step in tackling regular posting was ideas. Whether you blog about books, your life, or even you pet dog there are going to be days when Fido doesn’t do anything to merit a post. I originally intended to blog when I felt like it. In those wonderful moments when the words write themselves and I find myself furiously tapping out a post on my smart phone. It worked for a bit but I soon discovered inspiration, although often, is far between. I’d have twenty ideas for a post one week but then have none for the next. To counter this I began to drop down all the ideas, no matter how silly, as they appeared and began to select a favourite each week. And if none of these take your fancy find a tag or meme that another blogger has done recently. You don’t need to be tagged, you can just go for, honestly no one will mind. These posts are often very well received because they’re often funny and if the tag is quite popular other bloggers might flock to it the same way you have.

Find a Schedule that Works for You

This brings me nicely into my third point- regularity. I’m not convinced that posting on the same day ever week will improve your blogging repitoir or your followers but it can help with regular posting. My posting has become much more consistent since I joined in with a Tuesday meme. It gave me a regular posting schedule which put more structure in my week. I know I post once on Tuesday and have to have a post published between then and next Tuesday, which isn’t all that difficult. And it gives me a sort of deadline to work to that makes me actually get on with it, above all else.

A trick that I’ve started to use lately, but have found infinitely useful, is setting aside time to blog. I’m not saying always stay in on a Monday night and work on your blog, I’m suggesting finding small pockets of down time and working in them. I blog on my commute, but whether it’s your bus ride home or the ad break in Strictly you might find these little moments infinitely useful, no matter how short.

A final quirk I feel I should doff my hat to is scheduling. Personally, I don’t schedule posts. I find it difficult to keep track of what’s posting and to interact with comments and shares on social media. But if you’re in a hotel room in some exotic tropical location on your family’s annual holiday you don’t really want to be worried about writing a blog post and miss the traditional ‘who won Monopoly argument’. Scheduling can make consistency easier and you never know, it might work really well for you.

Lets Compare Notes

So there you have it, some small tips that have helped me manage my posting. Would be great to hear from you if you have any tips of your own and if you think mine might be helpful?