How to Blog Consistently: 6 Strategies to Keep You Publishing

The temptation to rely on automated systems is enticing! It’s like the smell of freshly baked sourdough bread – you just have to try it.

Just a taste. And once you do, you’re hooked. You’ll be telling people you need to leave dinner early because your starter needs to be fed. And that will seem like a totally normal and valid reason to you!

So while technological advancements are made every 12 seconds, your writing might miss the mark if you overly rely on automated tools.

I know what you’re thinking, “ … but AI can spit out an article in a matter of seconds with the right prompts! I can plan out my blog for the next 37 years!”

While true, AI will never be able to add that personal touch. It’s important to remember the value of human-generated content – words that can and do resonate with readers on a deeper level. Those experiences that writers share with readers that make them go, “Oh, yeah! That’s exactly what happened to me.” or “Hey, that’s the problem I’m having. How did they solve it?”

No matter what, human-generated content fosters genuine connections, weaves a compelling story to lure the reader in, and uses personal anecdotes to engage the readers’ imagination. Not only that, when you write your own content, you grow with your readers. You learn about their changing needs and preferences, and adapt your writing accordingly.

So, while I’m fully aware that AI provides convenience and efficiency (it is meant to be a tool, after all), it’s the human touch that sets our content apart – and that’s exactly what we do for our clients.

Let’s get to six strategies focused on how to blog (and publish) consistently.

1. Idea Jedi: May the Words Be With You

Blogging is a lot of work and can overwhelm you if you’re not careful. One of the first hurdles you’ll need to overcome is coming up with and tracking your ideas. 

Try one or more of the tips below to help you discover and remember what to write about.

Brainstorming

Set aside time specifically for kicking your brain into idea-generation mode. You can make a list, use a mind map, create a spreadsheet, or even use an AI tool like ChatGPT. 

The goal is to come up with as many ideas as you can and remember them. (And because those are famous last words, put your ideas down somewhere. We use a Google spreadsheet to organize topics for our content marketing services.)

Engage With Your Audience

If you’re blogging, it’s probably for other people. That means you’re writing with specific interests or problems in mind. To ensure you stay relevant, find ways to engage with your readers. Comments on posts or social media, questionnaires, or surveys are great ways to do this.

Take a Moment

Inspiration strikes when you least expect it, like while taking a walk, grocery shopping, or when you’re in the middle of writing something unrelated (writers, I know you feel this one). 

Keep a notepad handy if you’re old school, use your phone to record a message, or text yourself – whatever works to make sure you get the idea recorded.

Format Exploration

Blogging the same way week in and week out can get boring, fast. So change it up. Think of all the different ways you can present information to readers.

Which ideas would be better as a listicle, a how-to, or a case study? Organize your ideas into formats you think might be fun and interesting, then give it a try.

We do the exact same thing with our clients when developing their content strategy. We start with researching their audiences, markets, competitors, and finally, keywords with business value. Then we brainstorm creative angles and ideas for the articles we want to write.

2. Blogging GPS: Genius Posting Schedule

Scheduling – probably the most annoying part of blogging consistently. Yes, I know that you can write your posts ahead of time and schedule them to be posted. But how many people actually do this? 

If you run a business, it’s not that easy. Life happens. New product launches get delayed or pushed up. That Monday post had to be pushed because you have to promote a new course. You had to swap out Friday’s post because the product you were going to launch needed some rework. 

And now, you don’t see the point of blogging because this scheduling thing sucks, and nothing’s ranking after two whole weeks!

Want to get on track, or perhaps find the track? Try these tips to help schedule and post your blog content.

Define Your Goals 

What kind of blog do you have? What is its objective? Do you want to publish posts daily, bi-weekly, weekly, monthly…yearly? What topics do you want to cover and how thoroughly do you want to cover them? Do you want to attract and convert readers?

When you answer these questions you’ll have a roadmap for your blog schedule, which will help you plan accordingly.

Use Themes 

To make it more interesting, you can designate a certain topic or theme for each month. January could be about ways to kick off the new year, trends, or must-haves. November could be a series of posts on a specific topic allowing you to go deeper and provide more relevant information with each post.

Create a Content Calendar

I know this might seem pretty obvious, but even the most plan-oriented person can be derailed when it comes to planning content. As I said before, life happens, but so does work. It can be hard to find time to write posts when you’re talking to clients, working on lead magnets, email campaigns, or just about anything else to keep your business going. 

Find a system that works for you.

We use Asana, which I love. We plan out our content and the content of our clients three months in advance. We know when to start researching, writing, editing, and reviewing. This helps us keep things running smoothly so you don’t have to worry about it.

Factor in Flexibility

Ahh, what a perfect world it would be if everything went to plan! Unfortunately, this is not the case. You’ll always have to make room for a bit of flexibility.

Maybe that post you had planned for next week doesn’t work because of a new sales funnel – no problem, just swap it out! Maybe a client has a guest post they need to get up. Great, we can do that!

Having an agile project approach helps us do this for our clients. While we plan content well in advance, we can pivot whenever they have a new idea, direction, goal, or promotion.

3. Tick Tock: Create Blocks of Time to Write

It’s not always easy to find time to write – especially if you run a business (which is why many companies work with freelance writers or agencies like ours).

But for those of you who want to create your own content, here are some tried and true tips on how to set aside time to be a wordsmith.

Early Bird or Night Owl?

When are you the most creative? Trying to write when your brain is idling will make the process feel forced and more like work. The result being, that you’ll be less likely to stick with it. So figure out when your brain is firing on all cylinders, grab your favorite beverage, and start typing.

Schedule Dedicated Writing Time 

Now that you know when your brain is good to go and can string words together to make a coherent sentence, use your phone, a planner app, or any other scheduling device that works for you and block out time. The key is sticking to it so it becomes a routine.

Minimize Distractions

I know how easy it is to peek on social media and get lost in a series of videos about squirrels trained to water ski. (Purely an example for this post.) 

To avoid that, create an environment conducive to writing. Find a place you’re comfortable, turn off all your devices, and close all unnecessary tabs – then get to it. 

4. Cookie Cutter to Creative: Crafting Tasty Unique Content Using Templates

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you write a blog post. In fact, if you want to write blog content consistently, you need a template or two to ensure you can.

Incorporate a few of the ideas below to create templates and use them in your writing.

Customize Structure 

Your content is unique to you, so that means your structure is too. Create a template that fits with your writing style. Have a title followed by a goofy or insightful intro. Then go into your H2s, do you want them to be helpful or more intriguing? 

Create a few templates, and use them to drop your content into to see which works best. This helps you stay consistent but also makes the process easier.

We use spreadsheets to develop our topic ideas into SEO-backed outlines that form the backbone of our content. This method still gives our writers creative freedom while meeting the needs of our clients.

Inject Your Personality

The most important part of your writing is the part that engages readers. In many cases, that’s your unique takes – your personality. 

After you put content into your template, make sure you go through and fine-tune everything so it sounds like you. If you don’t want to read it, no one else will.

Use Visuals 

Words are great, but giving readers something more is important. Find visuals that illustrate your message or help emphasize an anecdote or analogy used. This makes the post more interesting to read and helps break up the text.

5. Chop ‘Til You Drop: Get to the Point

We love our words. It’s why we wrote them. So when editors come in with their red pen, it can feel a bit personal. 

But editors are your friend. They prevent you from going on and on about how much you like sourdough bread or how cute water-skiing squirrels are.

So before my editor cuts me off, let me get to the point.

Step Away From the Content

Before you even think about editing something you just wrote, stop. Close the tab and call it a day. You can’t go from writing to editing, it’s too much of a switch, and you’ll either end up adding more or rewriting the entire thing, twice.

By taking a break, you can come back and edit with fresh eyes, which allows you to catch all those spelling errors and inconsistencies.

Read Out Loud

This is probably the best tip I was ever given about editing. Reading something out loud, or having it read out loud to you, allows you to hear where the content is clunky or awkward. If you, the person who wrote it, stumbles over the words, it’s a sure thing that readers will as well.

Another thing reading out loud helps with is missed words. All too often, we make silly typos or forget to add words. This is a great way to find them.

Trim the Fat

A lot of writers rely on modifiers or adjectives to make their point. It just doesn’t work! 

For example:

• The girl ran really fast across the room. 
• The girl ran quickly across the room.
• The girl sped across the room.

You can see the progression to a more concise phrase that has more impact and is easier to read. Trimming unnecessary words is essential to crafting a post people can and want to read with ease.

Mind you, not everyone has someone on their team to edit their work. If that’s the case, you’ll need to self-edit – and the above tips will come in handy!

6. Curate Your Creative Mojo: Nurturing and Feeding Inspiration

Maintaining a blog is a lot of work, and coming up with ideas on the regular can be mentally taxing.

To avoid burnout and ensure you continue to enjoy creating content, you need to keep things fresh!

Get Experimental 

Try different writing styles. Write from different points of view. Incorporate videos, podcasts, or other interactive elements. By trying new ways of creating content, you’re less likely to get bored and burn out.

Welcome the New

Widen your horizons with new experiences. Getting out of your routine can help keep your writing fresh. Attend conferences, and industry events, or just go on a trip. 

Remind yourself there’s a whole world out there, and each time you learn or experience something new, it just might inspire you to write about it.

Take a Break 

Sometimes, taking a break can be a good thing. If you think you might be nearing the border of burnout city, stop writing. A lot of people will tell you that you need to write every day. To me, that’s just unsustainable. 

No matter how much we might like doing something, there are times when we just need to not be doing it. And that’s okay. It’s the perfect time to recharge, reconnect with what inspires you, and find other outlets for your creativity. 

Maybe you like photography, or painting, or playing the guitar. Whatever it is, enjoying other things might just help spark your writing mojo.

Blogging Regularly: Not As Easy As It Looks

Writing blog posts consistently is a lot of work. To succeed at it, you need to have a love of writing, organizational skills, and the ability to come up with lots of new ideas. And I haven’t even gone into the on-page SEO optimization elements that make your blog more effective.

Not everyone can do it, and if you run a business, it can perpetually fall to the bottom of the priorities list. But if you want to grow organic traffic, an active, strategic blog is the best way to do it.

If you want help creating consistent blog content to drive your business, we can help. 

Schedule your free SEO + content marketing consultation with us today!