Concept to Content: Find Your Blogging Workflow
A lot of the time when I share my blogging and productivity tips, I get questions about how to find ideas and topics and translate them into a blog post. And when I started out, I didn’t really have a system in place that would allow me to produce as much as I do now. But over time I’ve developed a few tricks that have really upped my productivity and hopefully bettered the experience for you, the reader. So today I wanted to share my own strategy and share some ways you can find your own blogging workflow.
Brainstorming Topics
There’s nothing more daunting than sitting down to a blank page (or screen in this case) and expecting a post to flow out of you. That’s why the first step of your blogging workflow starts in the brainstorming period. The idea is to get inspiration around a topic you’re interested in writing about and you probably already have an idea about what this is. A couple great places to find inspiration are Pinterest and YouTube. Do a quick search to see what kind of content is popular around your subject. This will give you an idea of the angle or story you want to tell. And I am absolutely not advocating plagiarism or outright copying. So much of what we consume online has already been written about 10 times over but your unique voice and perspective on the subject is what will draw people to your work. So remember, make it personal and only write about what you’re genuinely interested in.
Getting The Shots
There are two places you use storytelling in a blog post. And I would say all blog posts tell a story even if they are instructional or educational in nature. The first part of storytelling is of course through your writing and the second part is through your imagery. If you’re mostly taking your own photos (like myself) then you will want to make sure you’re getting a few variations in images:
different angles
vertical & horizontal orientation
detail shots
portrait & still life shots
maybe even a flatlay (read the Flatlay How To Guide)
The photos should compliment the subject of your blog post, even illustrating it if necessary. For example, if you’re writing a recipe post then include photos of how you do certain steps. They should look like they all go together in a series, so that the more visual learners and skimmers (also like myself) can gather the relevant information without loosing interest and be inclined to read further.
Watch: How I Take Instagram & Blog Photos
The Fine Tuning
Then comes the extra attention to detail part that will really maximize the potential of your blog post. This step consists of a few key items that I have as a sort of checklist to go through. You can start by fine-tuning the layout of the post, moving text blocks and images around for the best flow. Add headlines and different text formatting (bold, italics, bullet points) to break things up and help readers navigate the post.
Add links where they belong and maybe throw in links to other relevant content you or someone else has created. I love this as a reader because it presents me with the next thing to read, watch or bookmark for later. Chances are your reader landed on your page because they were seeking out information on a topic of interest or looking for some entertaining content and there’s a desire for more of it so be a pal and point them in the right direction.
Post, Pin & Promote
Now that your sweet baby blog post is ready to make its way out into the world wide web, the final step is to promote it and make sure people actually see it. This does require some form of a social media platform be it Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter or Bloglovin. And to promote it you will need a photo (which you conveniently already took) and maybe a graphic to go with it. The best place to make easy-peasy graphics that look great is Canva. Just search the type of graphic you want to create: a Pin, an Instagram Story, etc., drag and drop into the template and you’re set! I like to include the “Pin For Later” graphic in my blog posts as well.
Still worried no one is reading your blog post? Find a community of likeminded people that support what you do. This could be through a Facebook community page or Instagram hashtag. Just remember, there is someone out there who is interested in the same things you are, who would love to hear what you have to say. Finding your community takes time and it’s not a one-way street either so show others the type of support you would want for yourself. “What you seek is seeking you” and so on.
So now you have an idea of the steps I take to create a blog post and I hope you can take this as a jumping off point to personalize your own workflow. There are a lot more details that go into writing a post: editing photos, utilizing SEO, etc. but this will give you a general look at how to take an idea from concept to content. If you have more specific questions or would like me to write another post on a specific topic, feel free to drop a suggestion in the comments. As always thanks for reading! xx Jessica
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