Starting a blog can be daunting, especially if you have yet to decide a niche you want to focus on. Once you have decided on a niche, and what you want to use to host your blog, then comes the content planning.
Creating a consistent schedule that worked for my content right off the bat.. Well let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. I wrote maybe 10-15 blog posts that I was proud of but it wasn’t necessarily focused on a niche. So once I decided on the niche I wanted to focus my blog and services around, it was time to figure out my content planning.
I have used Canva for years and LOVED it! I know there are some people who have a love/hate relationship with it and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.. However, the content planner that Canva has for their premium membership has made my life so much easier!
Now if you are asking “What is a Content Planner?”.. It is essentially a tool that will help you plan out what you are posting and where you are posting it. For example, I typically will plan out my content 4-8 weeks in advance. This gives me enough wiggle room if I wanted to take a vacation, have a sick day, or just simply take a break from digital marketing.
Other tools you can use to organize your content could be Excel or Google Sheets for all of my spreadsheet lovers! There is also Notion which is ideal if you want to leave notes and have a more “drag & drop” method. The key to finding a tool that works for you is something that can keep you consistent. Being consistent is going to be a major key to growing your traffic to your blog or other social media outlets.
So you picked out the tool you want to use, congrats! Now where do we go from here.. Use this tool to help you, not hurt you. I know that sounds like “uhm, duh?”. But let’s go through this real quick. Ask yourself the following questions: How often are you going to be posting? Are there any events that I need to focus on? Do I want to create a series?
Build a loose frame of what you want your content to look like. For example, I use a paper planner that I picked up from Target and I merged my blogging life with my personal life. I write out when I am posting on every social media outlet and how I can integrate this into my personal life without making this more difficult than it needs to be.
Friendly reminder, once you have figured out which tools you want to use for your blog, which niche you want to focus in on, and what you want your content to look like. Remember that none of this has to be set in stone, life happens.
Congrats on pursuing the life you have always craved and dreamt of. I am SO proud of you and I am always here if you need some extra support.
