Setting a Schedule and Making Friends for Blogging Consistency
TL;DR
- You need to figure out how much time you can devote to blogging.
- Setting a schedule in your content planning is essential.
- Find a friend who will motivate you to blog consistently.
Time for blogging consistently is not always something we have. But we know publishing regularly is important for growing traffic to our websites. New bloggers should set a schedule for how frequently they will post articles.
Once you have that plan, you can make a friend who becomes an accountability buddy. This is a person who helps motivate you and provides check-ins to see how you are doing. Be realistic about your time commitment. Accepting responsibility for your writing is one way to succeed.
Setting a Blog Schedule
I’ve talked briefly about the need for a content strategy. This type of planning will help you do tasks related to your blog. This includes things like setting a mission statement. That will give you a deeper understanding of why you are writing. Part of that planning process is to develop a blog schedule.
This is sometimes referred to as a cadence. It is an outline of how often you will publish blog posts. It is important to take into account your time commitment. How often you can produce a well-written article. Think about the research, writing, and editing process. How long it takes to find a good featured image. All the considerations you need to prepare as well as publish. It might take you several hours to do so. Consider how many times a week you can achieve this.
Details About My Blog Schedule
In my planning, I decided early on that I wanted to publish three times a week. My blog schedule is to release new articles on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This is because I wish to get more search traffic. I’m using a deliberate keyword strategy to get better rankings. I know Google tends to reward blogging consistently and often.
It takes me three to four hours on average to complete a 750+ word blog post. I am aware of how often I can produce that output. I decided to spend a month writing articles for the blog. So that I can solely focus on that. Without worrying about other things like promotion or community building. I needed to write about 13 articles in a month. This is doable, giving me enough time to take a few days off if I need it. I like this sort of flexible scheduling.
Yes, you can write and schedule your articles for later. Take this into account and see where writing fits into your week. Give yourself the space and time you need to craft something amazing. Setting a blog schedule is important to avoid burnout. You don’t want to try to achieve something that causes you harm. Find a plan that makes sense for you.
Taking Responsibility for Your Blog by Making Friends
In college, I learned about a strategy for completing my work in a timely way. This was the accountability buddy system. You agree with a friend to do regular check-ins. They keep you motivated and on track to achieving your goals. The idea is that you support each other for mutual growth.
When you know that a check-in is coming up you feel responsible. You consider what you have done and achieved between meetings. This reflection might be painful if you are falling behind. But, that is why these are your buddies. Their purpose isn’t to make you feel guilty or ashamed of your work. Their goal is to talk to you, listen, and help you figure out what you need to do next. Don’t be afraid to readjust your process if needed. You are still learning and mistakes are a good thing. They teach you lessons that guide your blogging journey.
About the Blogging Buds Newsletter
There are reasons why I wanted to call my community the blogging buds. Accountability buddies are a huge part of that. The purpose of the community is to provide mutual support for those starting a blog. So that we can grow traffic to our blogs together. Working as a team to encourage each other. So that we can achieve our desires. Whatever purpose you have for blogging we are here to see it come to fruition.
The newsletter is for people who may feel like they are going it alone. Or those who want to work alongside someone in a similar situation as them. Someone who is beginning blogging for the first time. But, it is okay to ask a friend you have in your personal life as well. I do this by emailing back and forth with someone about what I’m doing and working on. You don’t have to be working on the same things.
Your accountability buddies may become your good friends. If they are also bloggers they might make great collaborators too. You can work on a project together that supports both of you. It feels good when I can guest post on a friend’s blog. It gives me more exposure and gives them a little time off to work on their things.
Conclusion
It is good to make friends when you are starting your blog. You want to connect with others at the same stage as you. So you can grow your blogs at the same time. An accountability buddy offers support when you are feeling alone. A buddy can also keep you on track with your schedule for blogging consistency. They can do this with check-ins to see how you are progressing. A blogging schedule and a friend will give you a sense of responsibility. Making it easier to stay motivated.
Would you like to find an accountability buddy? Sign up for the newsletter to make a match from the community!