I don’t know I am the most organized person there is, but, when it comes to blogging, I do like to plan my blog content. I like knowing what’s ahead of me, what I’m going to write next and so on. When I don’t, I feel anxious as hell.
Ever since I started blogging over 6 years ago now, I quickly settled into a routine, made a plan for my blog’s content strategy in order not to feel that anxiety that sometimes freezes me completely, preventing me from blogging, at all. Having a plan isn’t anyone’s cup of tea, I knoow that, but it’s mine.
Today, I thought I’d offer you a look, deep down, at how I plan my blog’s content, from getting ideas, finding inspiration to actually hitting schedule on the blog post. I hope you’ll enjoy it and I also hope that it can provide some guidance for those of you a little lost about planning.
How do I plan my blog content?
It’s a pretty simple process, really, but I’d be so, so very curious to see if we share the same one of if you have any tips and tricks to plan your blogging, so feel free to let me know!
Find blog post ideas and inspiration
I feel like, for me, one of the toughest things ever when it comes to book blogging, is actually finding the ideas to blog.
There are SO many bloggers out there and so many content everywhere online, sometimes…. it’s hard to feel ideas coming. It’s hard to feel like we have brilliant ideas, like we can stand out, like what we write, matter.
I’m certain there are a thousand million versions of this post already out there, yet I’m still writing it. Want to know why? Because I’m trying to feel that, my voice, my own opinion, my way of doing things and of thinking might resonate with someone out there.
You always have something new to bring to the table, something new to bring to the blogging world so, when you have an idea, any idea, don’t give it up right away. Let it simmer for a while and if you like it, well… let the words flow and trust yourself. If you do, and if you write with passion, people will resonate with it.
☂️ Related blog post: How to find your book blogging’s voice?
How do I find my ideas to blog?
Oh boy. Well, to be completely honest with you, my brain and computer both are a mess of ideas thrown around everywhere.
I always have ideas ready for my blog. Random blog post ideas, some that are a little more developed, just a couple prompts that felt inspiring. I write everything down, whenever something jumps at my throat, no matter how random it can be, I write it down to remember it.
I might never use it, I might use it years from now, but… at least, it’s there.
MY ADVICE: Keep a notebook of ideas somewhere. I have mine on my Notion -more on that later in this post, where I write every little idea I have down. It’s a life-saver !
Ideas and inspiration come from anywhere, really. While I read a blog post, while I read comments or type a comment, while I scroll through bookstagram, book twitter, while I read or talk with my sister about something, while walking down the street and BAM.
More specifically, my ideas might come from:
- Current events and trends. For me, that would be like, themed months, such as Mental Health Month in May, Pride Month in June, etc etc, for book recommendations, to highlight some stories and so on. This can also be seasonal, like winter reads recommendations, the best back-to-school reads, books you can read on the beach…
- Book tags and memes. I don’t participate in memes anymore, but these can definitely give you some inspiration… or make you want to participate in them! Some Top Ten Tuesday prompts might inspire you to make your own list, or maybe one particular question in a book tag stood out to you and you feel like doing a whole long post about it all.
- Other bloggers. YES. I’m saying this and I think it’s important to recognize that other bloggers are a huge source of inspiration. (NOTE : INSPIRATION, not plagiarism!!!) Sometimes, I’ll read a blog post and one random sentence will jump out to me and make me feel like rambling on it. I did that recently!! Sometimes, a blog post will make me want to write my own take on the topic, too. Bloggers are inspiring and wonderful.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: If you’re directly inspiring yourself from someone else, a top ten tuesday prompt, answering to someone else’s blog post that echoed with you… remember to always mention it. Also, back to my reference in the topic, Cait’s post about plagarizing vs. copying.
Figure out your book blog’s schedule
It takes a whole lot of time to figure out how you want to blog.
Some people like having a schedule, like being organized, knowing when to post, plan their blog content ahead.
Some people are more spontaneous, would rather blog whenever they feel like it and that’s it.
There’s nothing wrong or right with either of these and it will take a bit of time to figure out how you want to schedule (or not) your blog posts. How much you want to post per week, or per month. What posts you like writing, how you like writing them and so on.
You might also change. You might go from posting every day to once a week, you might want to skip reviews altogether after realizing you actually hate posting them. It’s okay, too.
I changed! My blogging content strategy was like: post 4 times a week, participate in blogging memes every week in my schedule. I felt like I couldn’t skip a posting day because I might be a bit controlling. I’m not like that anymore.
How do I plan my blog’s schedule?
I personally love being organized and having a set schedule. Knowing when to post, what I will post next and being prepared. I like knowing what’s coming and I JUST NEED A PLAN OKAY.
Working full-time during the week, I use my weekends to plan my next week of blogging. Sometimes, when I’m inspired, I will plan a little more ahead than a week.I usually post 3 times a week :
- One of these posts always is a review. Despite reviews being unpopular (yes. I said it. You know it’s true), I still love writing book reviews and highlighting books this way, so I make a point of writing reviews almost every week.
- The two other blog posts are different, depending on my mood, my current ideas and the time of the month we’re at, too. Book recommendations, monthly wrap-up, book tags, talks about blogging or books… I’m not setting myself a too-tight schedule on ideas to let inspiration take me wherever it wants every week.
My tools to plan my blog content
- Google Drive: I have a Post Schedule Spreadsheet, I also have a document with some ideas for my posts. You can also use an Excel Spreadsheet, Google Calendar, Notion and so on.
- Goodreads: I need this. Like, I can’t write a bookish blog post, whether it’s a recommendations post or a book review, without goodreads. I need the synopsis because I forget character’s names OKAY.
- My sister, because I ramble on and on and ooooooooooooooon about blogging and, oops. Thank you Nyx.
☂️ Related: Find out about all the great book blogging resources I use for my blog!
MY ADVICE : When it comes to planning your blog’s content, cutting yourself some slack is important. Feeling inspired? GREAT. Enjoy it and go with the flow, write more! Feeling down and burned out? Allow yourself to skip some days. Find your own pace to work on your blog. A little bit every day, on the weekend, every blue moon: to each their own. Blogging is a hobby and you need to have fun while writing!
Promote and market your book blog: how to put yourself out there
Promoting your blog is part of your blog content plan. It’s something that should be on your to-do list as a blogger, no matter whether you’re just starting out or a long-time blogger. Without promotion, you’re not getting eyes on your content and.. we want people to read what we have to say, don’t we?
We’re all a little too shy about promoting our own work, me included. I never want to be too annoying, I never want to shout even when I spend hours and hours on a blog post and want it to succeed… I always have a hard time shouting about it.
You should promote your book blog more. You’re working hard, harder than some people might imagine. You deserve to share the blog post you wrote with others.
Where to promote my book blog
Okay so I’m definitely not promoting my book blog as much as I could, but I’m mostly using these two social media to talk about my blog posts:
- Twitter: I’ve been on twitter for a couple years now and I always share and re-share my blog posts on here.
- Instagram: Okay so I JUST started getting on bookstagram, like, a couple weeks ago, so I haven’t been doing much of my blog’s promotion on here. I do a couple posts where I mention my blog, I promote my new blog posts on my stories, too, though.
- Pinterest: I’m always, at the very least, pinning every blog post I’m ever writing on Pinterest.
These don’t bring much traffic to my blog, to be honest, because I don’t have a huge following in either of these, but they do bring a little bit awareness to my blog and, with work and perseverance, this work will turn into something!
I think that the biggest thing I do that helps me promoting my blog is blog hopping. Not to leave comments saying “hey check out my blog” (there is nothing more off-putting than that, if you ask me), but to genuinely interact with bloggers.
Read their blog posts, talk about them with them, share their posts in my monthly wrap-ups and so on. This has allowed me to create genuine connections and almost naturally, brought people back to check out my blog, leave comments, grow my following and interactions and… left me with incredible friends, too.
☂️ Related blog post: My top 5 tips to interact with the book blogging community
Other things will help you gain traffic, followers and interaction on your blog, such as writing great, SEO-optimized blog posts, something I’ll have to write to you all about soon!
IMPORTANT NOTE: When it comes to promoting books….remember that authors are humans behind the screen. DO NOT TAG AUTHORS IN YOUR POSTS on social media is the golden rule that always needs to be remembered. I personally only tag authors when my review is a 5-star review… or maybe a 4-star sometimes, but when I’m not really criticizing everything. I do tag them when I’m sharing a recommendations post and blabbering on about how much I love their work, though.
Always, always remember to be proud of your work. You’re doing amazing.
If you want to learn more about book blogging, you might also enjoy these posts:
- 5 Things You Need to Know Before Starting A Book Blog
- Time Management as a Book Blogger: my Top 5 Tips
- How to write a blog post people will read
📌Pin How I Plan My Book Blog’s Content on Pinterest!
How do you plan your blog’s content? Do you have a schedule or are you more spontaneous? How do you promote your blog? Any tips to share?
Also small question: are there any blogging topics you’d like me to cover? Let me know in comments!
Twitter ☂️ Bookstagram ☂️Goodreads ☂️ Bloglovin’ ☂️ Support the blog
I really enjoyed reading this post! I’m struggling to get traffic to my blog at the moment, but feel really inspired to try out some new types of content and to get a regular posting schedule set up – thanks for sharing all these helpful tips!
Thank you so, so much, I’m so happy you liked it 🙂 it’s so great that you’re feeling inspired lately!! 😀
What a lovely post!! I organize my blog posts in a calendar in my agenda book, which I’ve done for years. There’s just something so satisfying about physically highlighting a post title once it’s all scheduled and ready to be published! Thanks so much for this little insight into how you blog! <3
Ahh thank you, Holly, I’m really happy you enjoyed this <3
I so agree with you! I also highlight my posts in my schedule once they're ready to go and it's so satisfying haha 🙂
From a new book blogger who is trying to learn and make connections in an overwhelming community that already has their own connections – thank you! This is so helpful. I had no idea that book reviews weren’t popular. Why is that?
Oh I’m so happy to hear this could be useful to you 🙂
I honestly don’t know, but personally, I feel like it’s all a matter of… taste. It’s complicated to grap a large audience on a specific book review, because there are people who haven’t read the book and might be wary of reading it because of spoilers, and people who have no interest in said book, too. It’s easier to find a larger audience and to catch someone’s attention with a larger discussion topic or a tag, where you mention multiple books, for instance 🙂
A lot of bloggers already talked about the topic and I’m sure you can find interesting blog posts about it if you’re curious! I also wrote about it a bit right here with some advice to switch things up: https://drizzleandhurricanebooks.com/2017/10/11/book-reviews-unpopular-why-comments/ 🙂
This was such a helpful post! I’ve been wanting to read a post like this for a while, since i’m new to book blogging and still have lots of questions i’m trying to find the answers to. Specially when it comes to growing our blogs’ audience.
For planning my blog i’m currently using Excel spreadsheets as well as the Trello app on my phone, and always looking for more ideas on how to stay focused and organized✨
Oh thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this <3 and I'm always happy to help new bloggers, if you have any question at all! 🙂
Ahh that's so great! I know a lot of bloggers using Trello, it sounds like such a good system, I'll have to try it out 😀
Happy blogging!
You’re more organized than me! Right now, I mostly just do memes, like Top Ten Tuesday and The Sunday Post. Since I’ve been blogging for so many years, it’s hard to come up with new ideas. I feel like I’ve done everything. I do almost all of my blog promotion on Pinterest. That’s the only site that brings reliable traffic for me.
Oh yes I can understand that. After 5 years, I struggle to feel like any of my ideas are new, but… sometimes I go back to old blog posts and come up with a way to talk about the topics with different angles, too 🙂 old things we did can be an inspiration, for sure 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m glad that Pinterest is a good traffic source to you, I really should get to it more 🙂
Amazing post, Marie! ❤️?? I love all your steps and there’s a lot that I also use myself. ?
I especially agree with writing down every thing that comes to your mind, I forgot to write down ideas and then forgot about them lol, so it’s important, even if you still don’t know how to develop that idea, at least you have a source of inspiration already written ?
Ahh thank you so much Sofi! <3
I so agree with you on that! No matter how small or how random an idea is, I try to always write it down, you never know when it might inspire you 🙂
This is so interesting to read! I often plan out my content by writing it down into a notebook month by month and then switching around posts based on how much work I’m going to put into them. I do still participate in Top 10 Tuesday whenever I can think of something that fits with the prompt, but a lot of other memes just don’t interest me. I think I’m okay with planning but I am so, so, so bad at promoting. I have one tweet go up when a post goes live and I do comment on other posts, but those are usually from blogs I already follow. I try to blog hop as much as I can but it’s a little difficult for me. I just recently restarted my blog from scratch so I have a lot of promoting to do ?
Oh thank you Louise, glad you enjoyed this post 😀
It’s so great that you use a notebook. I’d love to do that, too, but… in the end, I find it easier to have it all on my computer to copy and paste things haha. And… being an annoying perfectionnist, I’d spend too much time making the notebook hahaha 🙂
Ahh well that’s good already! Promoting is a little exhausting and it’s so hard to know what to do and… there’s so much we could do, too, but only so little time each day!
Thank you so, so much for your comment, Louise <3
I’m always impressed with people who do a lot of planning for their blog. I’ll confess that my blogging is much more haphazard. I mean, I blog consistently, but I don’t have a specific schedule and I write down ideas for future posts, but I often find that if I don’t write the post right when inspiration hits, the idea fizzles for me. Maybe someday I’ll gain some semblance of organization, but I’m not holding my breath. 🙂
I am amazed that you’re able to blog so consistently without keeping a specific schedule! I couldn’t do that, I’d be too stressed out or something haha 🙂
You’re doing amazing!
Absolutely have to agree that promoting a blog is one of the hardest parts! It’s difficult just to tell people about it, and to keep mentioning it in various places.
I agree! It’s hard to keep up, to know where to promote and how and…. well, I’m always scared of being annoying a little bit, too, haha 🙂
Interviews, blitz, promo posts are organised. I mark them on calendar and schedule them a day before. I’m in habit of writing review as soon as I finish the book but I don’t post them immediately. I fit them in between promo posts and whenever I have free date unless it’s a tour read. But I make sure there is review at least once a week. I promote blog and posts mainly on Twitter and Instagram.
Ahh yes! If you do a lot of these kind of posts, better being organized ahah 🙂
I’m amazed that you can write your reviews right after finishing a book, I am soooooooo very lazy when it comes to this haha 🙂
thank you so, so much for sharing your system! 😀
I have! Of course, I give an hour two to organize my thoughts or write it next morning but I can’t start new book without writing review of previous book. It not like I forget what I want to say but it keep bothering me I haven’t written review and because of that I can’t focus on new book. Kind of I want clean slate before fresh start.
Oh yes, I can understand that! I wish I had your discipline with reviews hahahaa 🙂
Loved getting little peep of the “behind the scenes” of your blog!
Oh thank you so much! 🙂
Organization and Time management are two of my favorite topics to read and watch videos about (except books of course 😀 ). It’s so interesting to see what tools fellow bloggers use, how other people organize their time and keep up with blogging <3
I use Google Calendar and Google Drive a lot. Basically all of my blog posts are on my Drive and I even draft them in Google Docs. And I can't leave without google calendar, it has my whole life planned there (including blog posts). 🙂
Ahh thank you,I’m so, so happy you like this kind of post! <3 <3
It's so great and so practical that you have it all in the same place, yay! 😀
I LOVE this post. Thank you so much for writing it! I feel so inspired after reading it and so many good ideas!
AH THANK YOU I’m so, so happy it made you feel inspired <3 <3 <3
This was another fantastic and super insightful post as usual, Marie ?! I’m constantly in awe of how devoted you are to your blog and developing it into something bigger and better than it already is ?. I always look forward to your consistent content ??.
I don’t do tags as much either, and I feel like I’m constantly reworking what type of schedule and content works for me haha (right now that’s posting book reviews or personal “discussion” type posts once a week ?). The tip about month/season-themed content is super useful, and it’s fun seeing what type of posts people create based off them. That being said, I 100% agree that other bloggers are great sources of inspiration haha ?. I especially love how discussion posts can snowball into dozens of other discussion posts—it really makes us feel more like tight-knit network ?.
I just created a Twitter, so I’m so glad that you mentioned /not/ to tag authors in reviews! I think I’d be too shy to even if they were five star reviews anyways, but it’s a nice reminder haha.
Take care, Marie ?!
Oh Belle thank you so, so much, your words mean everything to me ahh thank you??
I feel like it’s a constant work, thinking about the kind of content you put out there. We’re constantly changing after all and I know some times I really get into lists, then some other times I really get into blogging kind of posts, it constantly changes ahah.
Oh I get that so much. I just feel a little nervous and shy to tag authors as well no matter what ?, but now I do when I’m being 200% positive about their books, because… well as an aspiring author, I know I’d love to hear from people who adore my work ?
Thank you so, so much, Belle! <3 <3
I resonate with all your points! And I never tire of reading a behind the scenes post! Thanks for sharing! It’s encouraging to know that I’m on track with some things I’m doing and feeling. I like to have a general plan, too! And I’m always on the lookout for an inspiration! Great post!
Oh thank you, Carol, so glad you like it 🙂
I’m so happy you’re a planner like me, yay!! 😀
I love your blog so much ❤
It’s so interesting looking at how other people blog. I’ve just gotten back into blogging and I’ve established a schedule now. I’m not sure if I’ll be strict and stick to it all the time hehe ? I use Evernote now for blog posts and a planner to plan my content! ?
Ahh thank you Kyra this means so, SO much ahh <3 <3
I'm glad you're getting back to it all and hope that being organized will suit you! 😀
Lovely post, Marie! 🙂
I enjoy reading about your processes! I’m definitely a scheduler… I have to have a plan, otherwise I can’t function, haha!
I feel so out of touch haha, my planning happens on my paper planner. I don’t use Google Docs or Excel, I enjoy having a tangible calendar to see and feel everything haha! Over the years I’ve been switching things up because after a while things get kinda boring so I’ve tried different memes, not all of them stick, but it’s fun to try them! 😀
Thank you so much Meghan, so happy you liked it 😀
SAME ahh we are one and the same ahah, I’m glad you have a plan, too and I admire you so much for keeping it on paper. I’m too lazy to do that ahah 🙂
Agree! It’s fun to try things out and it keeps things interesting for sure 😀
You’re welcome! 😀
Oh, haha thank you! I know it’s probably easier to keep my plans in a calendar on my computer, but I just can’t let go of paper… the day they stop making agendas I may have to rethink my plans haha! ?
?? I get that though, there’s something so wonderful about having an agenda ahah 🙂
I’m very much spontaneous, even though I’d like to be able to post at least once a week, even that has become complicated for me. So, I’ve been mostly winging it lately. I am on the lookout for ideas all the time, and try to keep up with other blogs reguarly 🙂
I do promote on Instagram, but if I had to give a tip, I’d say don’t forget about Pinterest, specially with posts with tutorials, tips and things like that, because it’s a really good place to promote that kind of content, and it’s not as time consuming as maintaining a twitter or instagram account♥
I’m glad this has been working out for you so far, Pam! I feel like being spontaneous would have me a little bit of a mess ahah, I like plans too much 😛
Oh thank you for the lovely tip! I know a lot and work with Pinterest on the daily with my job, but haven’t properly gotten to it with my blog. I should get to it 🙂
Thank you so much! <3
It really stings me how unpopular book reviews are, so I always try to show them some love when I pick my favourites posts each month.
I also definitely agree with what you said about promoting blogs. I’ve just gotten into Twitter and I love the community there, but blog hopping is my favourite way! I do tend to prefer people who just comment to discuss and don’t always link their own blog after a simple “I like this” though. If you comment something thoughtful I’ll almost always check out your blog without prompting. I love book blogs – obviously.
I get that, it always makes me a bit sad, too, but… I don’t really know what more we could do? :/ Thank you, for doing that and showing some love to reviews, you’re wonderful <3
I'm glad you agree with this! I'm the same way, when I can feel someone wants to genuinely chat with me, I'll always end up checking out their blogs without them having to promote it in their comment at all 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
I don’t have any ideas either, I think reviews are just less exciting for people so they fall to the side.
I don’t even see why you wouldn’t chat with people to be honest. Having a lot of followers is fantastic, but the main goal should be to be a part of a thriving community? I’d rather have a few followers I really get on with than a bunch who never comment.
I really agree with you here, especially with book blogging. For me, the goal has always been to chat with people about books and that’s what matters the most! 😀
Brilliant post!!!! Thanks for sharing.
I’m still trying to work out how to fit everything into some kind of schedule and I often feel bogged down by something that I ultimately started for fun. Your tips might be the kick up the you know what I need to take a good long hard look at myself….cut myself some slack….and learn to work smarter not harder….and have more fun with it. 🙂
Oh thank you so much, so happy you liked it 🙂
I’m happy this could be helpful to you and I hope you’ll cut yourself some slack, you deserve it! It’s easy to get caught with it all and to want to do it all, but… then, it’s too overwhelming. Take time for yourself and write what makes you happy, at your rhythm too 🙂
I agree with the scheduling on this one, I don’t get mad at myself if I don’t stick to it but I feel so much better when I have at least a little bit of a plan!
YAY I’m glad you agree! 🙂 Same, I like having a plan, but I’m trying not to be too hard on myself! 🙂
For me a lot of the time my inspiration is sporadic and I’m lucky to have enough content scheduled in advance that I come up with ideas in time to write and schedule them so I don’t have to actively seek out ideas? My schedule for 2020 is posting three times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) and I also have Wednesday reserved for book reviews despite knowing that they’re generally unpopular (I swear though when I first started blogging book reviews were the only things anyone posted) but around once a month I’ll replace the review with a bookish discussion. On Fridays I post education-related discussions, and Monday is more of a free-for-all day for me when I post whatever I want and a number of blog series. I also use google spreadsheets for my schedule, I have two blog related sets of sheets; a read/review tracker as well as a standard post schedule. And of course goodreads is essential whenever I’m talking about books, and I should really do more book recommendation posts. I also have a google calendar which is just for blogging and I like to map out my posts visually with different colours representing different sorts of posts (reviews, monthly features, discussions) and on google calendar I always have the option to toggle off. My promotion is really lowkey and it’s just an automatic twitter tweet haha 🙂
Okay but same, when I first started, book reviews were everywhere and now, they’re barely existant ahah, things are changing for sure! 🙂
AH I am so amazed by your ability to schedule things and color-coordinate your schedule and ahhhhhhh you’re amazing. I sometimes am ahead of my schedule when I feel inspired, but sometimes I get stuck and it’s frustrating haha.
I try to do big blocks of writing in my holidays so that helps, and in weekends when I’m avoiding other work haha. But yeah it’s so weird that book reviews are hardly a thing now!
Ahh that’s great! I also try and do that, too, but… hopes inspiration stays with me ahha 🙂
it’s been such a long time since I last commented on one of your blog posts! Things have been really hard for me recently, I have not been doing well and stopped doing a lot of things I used to love, but I missed reading what you write so much. There’s something so special about your blog posts, they always make me smile or laugh and they’re so comforting to me. Reading them almost feels magical and what you write is so incredible and amazing every time, and you can be proud of what you do.I don’t know many bloggers as amazing as you, and I’m so happy that I found your blog. it’s been a while since I last came here but I remember how they always brought a little light in my days and I missed it sooo much. Thank you for being you and for putting out such amazing content ❤️ I hope you’re having an amazing day ❤️❤️
Ah love it’s so good to hear from you ❤️ I’m always here if you need to talk and ahh I’m just really happy to hear my posts can bring you a little bit of comfort. always here for you ❤️
thank you so, so much for your sweet words, you made my entire week ❤️
I’m definitely a planner as well and I like to schedule things out as far as I can. I actually still use a paper calendar, LOL! Over the past couple years I’ve kind of honed a pretty good blogging schedule for myself and do basically the same thing every week. It’s easy for me to just be able to look at the calendar and see, ok, I need a review for next Friday.
AH! But that’s so cool, I admire people using a paper calendar, I wish I had the patience, but I’d want to make it too pretty and… I would get annoyed?
I so agree with you on that, I love having a plan and knowing what I need to do next!
Thank you so much for your comment, Angela! <3
I find it really interesting to see how people’s blog process works as a blogger and just in general as well. I always come up with random ideas and I have a notebook with ideas, stuff I’ve crossed out and random notes. But it helps as even though it might look like chaos I have my lists and I can just jot notes and ideas down when I feel like it. And writing down every idea is great because you never know!!!
I think you can get inspiration from interacting in the book community as it brings up random ideas or you feel passionate in talking about the same topic (and it is always important to give credit of course) !! THIS —
“I think it’s important to recognize that other bloggers are a huge source of inspiration. (NOTE : INSPIRATION, not plagiarism!!!) ”
Marketing our posts is something I’m not great at on social media as I can be very inactive !! But I do like blog hopping as getting to talk to people is fun and building genuine connection makes me want to see what they are talking about so it works that way!!
Great post Marie, I loved reading it!! <3
Thank you so, so, so much Sophie, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post! <3
YES! Keeping note of every little idea we might have is such a great thing to do, we never know when a couple words might inspire us to write a whole post! 🙂
Thank you so, so much! <3 <3
I sometimes WISH I had written everything down hahaha I go weeks without a solid post idea and it infuriates me. Thanks again for sharing your wisdom with us Marie! You are an angel <3
I couldn’t be without my long, messy list of ideas everywhere, I’d be so lost ?
Ahhh Kat thank you, you’re too sweet <3
Our approach to planning and organizing blog content is so similar, Marie! I felt like I was reading a better worded post about my own process!
My WordPress drafts are like 250+ because whenever I get an idea for something or am inspired by someone’s post and want to delve deeper into my thoughts on the topic, I start a new WP draft with any links and jot basic reminders so Future Kal can flesh it out when I have the time and inspiration for that particular content. I have the worst memory, and this process works really well for me. I also used to live by my schedule, but now I just kind of use it to make sure I am spreading out my types of content so it isn’t all reviews in a row.
Great post!!!
250+ drafts?! WOW. I am amazed? you have so many ideas, that’s amazing and it is such a great process! I just randomly keep my ideas on a notepad, but putting them on wordpress with links and everything is such a good thing to do, too! 🙂
I do the same thing! I really like to see my schedule ahead of time, because I also love to write different kind of posts, to switch things up a bit and don’t have the same kind of themes or posts in a row 🙂
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts ! <3 <3
blogging content and organization ??? makes my heart so happy. (or any organization for that matter hehe)
i agree, finding ideas and inspiration is what trips me up most. especially when you want to stand out and offer your idea/thoughts in a unique way but it’s so true!! everyone has their special way of presenting ideas. i love getting ideas from current events/trends and tags are always sO MUCH FUN to write!!
using weekends to plan the next week of blogging is something i NEED to add into my schedule. i have such a hard time planning things in advanced and when i dont have something to fall back on, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed
this was such an amazing and super informative post!! thank you so much for the tips marie!! ❤️❤️
Ahhhh yes I’m glad you like these kind of posts! <3
Exactly! It feels a little overwhelming sometimes, to try and find new ideas. It's important to remember, our writing brings out the "new" in some old ideas, too 🙂
Thank you so, so, so much!! <3 <3
I definitely get inspired for bookish blog content anywhere and anytime!! I like that I have a few “series” that I come back to time and time again. Writing everything down as soon as I remember is a LIFESAVER. There have definitely been a few songs that have been forgotten because I didn’t jot them down immediately, alas. I have a blogging notebook that I use for these ideas, how to develop them, and when I’d like to get a post on that idea up. Then I just move those dates over to my planner, and I’m good to go! I really enjoyed reading about your process <3
Ahh it’s so great that you have a little blogging notebook! I tend to write things down on my computer, but I’d love to have a notebook like that too. I’m a bit lazy though hahahaha.
Thank you so much, Macey! <3
Great Post!!
Honestly I don’t plan my blog posts? if I have an idea I write a post otherwise if I sit down and try to plan my mind goes blank! Thank you for the tips I will try use them more!
Oh thank you, so happy this could be useful! And some people manage perfectly while being spontaneous, no worries! I know I personally need to plan, because my mind is just wired this way hahaha 🙂
Ooh these are all such great tips and ideas! I love what you said about adding your own voice and opinion, even if an idea for a post isn’t necessarily original. I think that’s so important to remember, especially since it can be hard to think of something that no one else has done.
I’m the same way in regards to having a schedule – it’s so important for me to have a plan and set days to post in order to keep myself accountable. You’re much more organized about your schedule, though – just jot mine down in the Notes app of my phone, instead of tracking in a calendar ?
Wonderful post, Marie, I loved getting to see how you organize blogging!!
Oh thank you SO much Margaret ahh I’m happy you liked this post <3
I'm so glad you're organized like me, yay! I just need to write things down and plan it all, otherwise I… I don't like it hahaha 🙂
This is such an amazing post, and I loved hearing about your planning, and going back and seeing all your spreadsheets!
I also use a schedule spreadsheet – I love them so much! I have a spreadsheet for nearly everything I do!
I kinda wanna get into bookstagram and twitter but it looks super intimidating, I don’t know if I have time, unfortunately 🙁
I love to read any of the topics that you cover, so no requests from me
– Emma 🙂
Oh thank you so much Emma, you’re so sweet! <3 I so get that, social media can really be time consuming. If you're not certain about it, maybe you can try one of them and see if it's for you or not! <3
Planning and scheduling, oh Marie, you’re my hero! I am more of the “aw crap looks like I haven’t posted in a hot second” variety. I used to post nearly every day, back in the day, when I had time. But even then, 9 times out of 10, I was winging it. Now, I still wing it, just less often ? I think your tips are wonderful though! I always say I am going to get organized and then… well, here we are!
Ahh wow, but I’m amazed that you still manage to wing it and post on a regular basis! Without any kind of plan, I couldn’t do that haha 🙂
Thank you so much, Shannon! <3
This is great! I’m a bit of a mess when it comes to my blog content, really. I like being organized, but I seriously admire you for being able to keep up with it.
Lately, I’ve been trying to use either Fridays or Saturdays to catch up with the blogosphere and plan + write my own content, but it’s not unusual for me to quickly write a post in the middle of the week, whenever I find some time. I try to post a tag and something else, either a review or another post, to be different, but I’m a bit scared of exploring my ideas. It’s been a while since I last had a good idea I wanted to pursue – I have my old ones all written down, but idk if I’m lazy or whatever, I just procrastinate writing them. :/
Ah you’re so sweet, I’m keeping up with it but sometimes it’s a struggle too hahaha 🙂
OH no, I’m sorry to hear that 🙁 maybe these ideas just don’t inspire you anymore, or you need to find a new angle to explore them? Don’t give up though, I’m certain inspiration will come back to you <3
Great post Marie! I write my ideas on my phone when I get them and mail these. Then it’s cut and paste and beautifying. I also use the Google calendar.
Ahh yes, cut and paste is the best invention ever hahaha 🙂
Thank you, Sophie 🙂
This was such an amazing post, Marie! I am definitely bookmarking this to reference later. For now I am just doing a more relaxed approach to blogging because lately I’ve just been way too stressed out and don’t want to make blogging end up feeling like a chore versus something fun and what I love to do. So I definitely plan to save your post, so I can look back on it when I am ready to really dive back into everything again. <3
Ahh thank you, Ashley, I’m so happy you liked this post <3
I so get that. Blogging shouldn't feel like a chore and if doing it this way feels more relaxing to you for now, go for it 🙂
I really love this post! And you’re absolutely right, we don’t promote our posts enough but it’s so difficult to get over the feeling that we are annoying everyone when we do it, isn’t it?
So far, I’m constantly behind on everything regarding my blog but I’m trying haaard to get more organized with it. I have a rough plan of how I would like to do things but so far I have managed it only one or two weeks tops and then am back to frantically running behind ?
I have so many lists with blog post ideas flying around everywhere and some are practically written in my head but as soon as I’m sitting down my brain refuses to work properly. Happens mostly with the posts/projects that are close to heart and I really wanna get the right words on the page. -but someday I’ll get there ?
Exactly. It’s so hard not to feel annoying when we do it, even if, well… to be honest, I don’t really care when people self promote, so i don’t know why I feel so self conscious doing it myself ahah.
I hope you can get organized and that the inspiration will strike! It’s hard sometimes to get down to writing, I soooo get the feeling. We want everything to be perfect, but… well, it can’t be, sometimes. We just need to … let go of this feeling and get to writing and, maybe rewrite afterwards a little bit 🙂 You can do this! 🙂
This is such a great post! I’ve been trying to get back into blogging now that college has eased a bit with the pandemic and am definitely struggling to feel motivated and noticed. I do love writing reviews even if they’re not as popular and it’s something I want to get better at – also self promotion is super scary but something I definitely to need to work on.
Oh thank you so much Riv! I think that, if you love writing reviews, you should keep on going with them. What matters is to write with passion and love 🙂 and self promoting is always a little… hard to do ahah, but you deserve to, you work hard, show it off! 😀
I love a spreadsheet so I’m glad to see that under if your tools! I’m just starting out so hadn’t really thought about a schedule. I’m just spontaneous right now but might need something more regulated as I continue. Thanks for your tips.
Thank you so much!! I’m happy this could help 🙂
Thank you so much for creating this! I began my blog as an example for my students when they create their own, but I’ve changed the focus so it’s more of a book blog, and I’ve been looking for any advice I could get. This has been a really great source! 🙂
Ahhh I’m so, so happy to hear that, thank you so much!! 🙂
Thanks for this very helpful post. I use Scrivener to organize, plan, and complete blog posts. It’s a versatile program that allows me to jot down ideas quickly and easily, then add info as I came across new material. I also like that I can save copies of articles right in the program.
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I know about Scrivener and many writer friends say it’s a lifesaver to write their stories, too. I can’t invest in it for now, but I’m glad you find it useful 🙂
This was really useful, thanks!
ahh you’re welcome, happy you enjoyed it 😀
Lovely post as always, Marie! <3 How do you deal with a blogging slump though? 🙁 I've been in a blogging slump for more than a month now and I feel guilty. 🙁
Oh thank you, Pam, so happy you enjoyed it! <3
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. I was planning on writing about the blogging slump soon in a blog post, actually 🙂 you shouldn't feel guilty about it! it's a hobby and if you're not inspired at the moment, it's okay to step back from it a little bit <3 I think, for me, what works best is to take a step back, to inspire myself with other bloggers, to read, to read other kind of blogs, too (lifestyle blogs, for instance), to consume other kind of bookish medias like twitter and instagram and so on. After a while, I feel like the inspiration and will to write comes back, too 🙂
I hope this can help a little bit! I'll write about this soon on my blog too 🙂 <3
Thank you as well, Marie! <3 I am taking it slow when it comes to blogging. Right now, I'm just trying to read as much as I can. 🙂
Yaay that’s good! <3
Marie!! It’s been a long time since I visited your blog. How are you?
Most of the time, I’m spontaneous. It really depends on what trend I see in the book community, too. Other than that, if I have read books in a week, I will write a review for them but only post the first book review I’ve written. I’ll schedule the rest of them.
The best promotion technique I have ever done is by blog hopping, reading their latest posts and commenting on it. Then, most of the blogs I have visited do the same on my blog. With this, I have discovered active and amazing book bloggers as well.
YANI! Oh hello it’s good to hear from you, how have you been doing?? <3 <3
I'm amazed that you write your reviews right away, that's so good! I need to be better at that haha 🙂
and blog hopping is such a lovely way to discover new bloggers and friends <3
I’ve been good, Marie. I had the time to be back in the book blogging community because of the lockdowns. Hehe. How about you?
Ah, yes. The fun part of post-reviewing is the blog hopping.
I’m glad to hear that and yay for being back to the community! <3 I've been okay for the most part, thank you for asking <3 <3
I enjoyed reading this post! One of the things I had to learn was being flexible with my blog. I still struggle with finding ideas for my blog but you’re right that current trends often help with writing posts.
Ahh thank you so much, I’m happy you liked it <3
I get that, some days ideas are harder to find than others, inspiration come and go, but it always comes back! 😀
thank YOU. THIS IS WHAT I NEED. i just need to… be organised…. for once… when it comes to my blog.
I hope you’re doing well at the moment despite everything that’s going on <3 I loved this post sm
Oh I’m so, SO happy this could be helpful <3 you're doing amazing, take it day by day! <3 <3
<3 <3
This was such an amazing post! You did a wonderful job. I like having a plan. If I don’t have a plan, I don’t have any ideas so I don’t post. I do need to start writing down ideas, though. I’ll think of something and plan to write it down later. Then I forget ??
ahh thank you, so happy you enjoyed this 🙂 I get that, I hate myself when I forget an idea, so now I write everything, no matter how random it is haha 🙂
Hi Marie!!
I love this post so much! It’s great to peek into your mind a bit and hear about your approach to blog posts! I agree that we all have our own voice and our own take on a topic, and we each have something unique to bring to the table. I also find myself sometimes inspired by other bloggers – sometimes just a line or two from a post. (Usually I realize this when I start typing a long comment then realize that there was enough content there for a whole post hahah XD) Yes it’s always a good idea to give credit where it’s due!
I agree that it’s sooo off-putting when people comment with “hey check out my blog”. Even it it’s preceded by a nice comment it makes me want to not look at their blog haha XD
Great post as always 🙂 Sending you kind wishes!
Hi Sophie! <3 I'm so glad you enjoyed this post, thank you so much!
I agree with you and… I mean, there's no necessity to put that in a comment, if you ask me ahah 🙂
Thank you so much, take care! <3
As someone new to blogging this was incedibly useful thank you! 🙂
Awww you’re so welcome, so happy this could be useful <3
I’ve just started a book blog. Simply because I love books so much. I hope someday people will read and enjoy my blog but for now, I’m blogging for me. ?
Yay! I hope you’ll have tons of fun blogging! <3
Thank you. I’m enjoying myself so far. ?
I think it’s so interesting how everyone has their own blogging process that works for them! When we first started blogging, I would create a monthly schedule with everything we were going to post. Even if we had nothing written, I’d put down “discussion” or “tag” and then we’d have to write the blog post for the day I intended. That method didn’t last though because it was making me and Chana way too stressed, so now we have what we call the “aggressively chill” approach. Basically, we don’t blog very far in advance. Whenever one of us has an idea we pick a date that we think we can have it ready by, but if the post isn’t ready by then we are chill about pushing it off until when it’s ready. This approach has worked so much better for us while we’re in school, because it eliminates any pressure that a post needs to go up on a specific day!
As for ideas, I’m honestly not sure how we come up with those! Sometimes I’ll be having a discussion with a friend about books and realize that I could write a blog post about the topic. Other times ideas will randomly pop into my head throughout the day. And sometimes, Chana and I will literally sit down and brainstorm an idea for a post and then immediately write it.
However the idea comes to be, it gets written down in one of 3 places. If it’s an unformed idea, it will usually go into an email draft, that I can look back on later and see if it’s doable. If it’s a more formed idea I’ll probably write some notes down for myself either in a Word document, or in the Blogging Google Doc that Chana and I share. Once, I get around to writing it though it definitely goes onto the Google Doc for edits, before getting edited again on WordPress with gifs and formatting and such.
As for promotion, we’re pretty terrible at that! The most we do is link up our posts to the Discussion Challenge Link Up and the Monthly Wrap Up Link Up. Since our Instagram is on hiatus we don’t use that for promotion, since even when we were actually posting on Insta we didn’t promote our blog much there! I definitely try to blog hop though, because as you said it’s mutually beneficial! I get to find awesome new blogs, and hopefully other people get to find my blog as well! But I honestly think the best promotion is when other bloggers mention one of our posts on their blog, which is why I’m always so grateful whenever someone takes the time to do so!
Wonderful post! ❤
Ahh I’m so happy you have a more relaxed approach to planning now! I like being organized and am a bit of a control freak ahah but I need to recognize that, sometimes, I also need to lay back and keep ideas for later on if I’m just not inspired to write, say, a discussion or something right now. 🙂
Ah you’re so organized to write your ideas! I basically just write them down on my google docs and then it becomes a blog post, or not, there’s no in between haha 🙂
I so agree with you, it is the best thing when other bloggers share your posts, it really shows they appreciated it, always makes me happy <3
Thank you so, so much!! <3
This is a really good idea! I just started, so I am trying to get into a rhythm.
I hope you’ll find your rhythm soon! Happy blogging 😀
Such a great post! I’ve been blogging about books for about 9 years and my inspiration and enthusiasm goes in cycles. I like it kind of square with some reoccurring posts but some spontaneity in between. I’ve had a lot of book reviews this year because I didn’t have enough energy to complete all of them the last few years but now I’m looking for some inspiration for other content. At the moment I post every day but I know from before that I won’t always keep that up. I don’t read enough books to make reviews som I must have other content too. I’m gonna bookmark this post and get back to it and all the links and comments. Thank you!
Oh thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed this post and I hope you’ll find your inspiration and new ideas soon, you can do this! <3