My Blogging Process
08:00
While we all can be quite similar within the blogging world, maybe with the same niches or go to photo style, we don't all things the exact same. Each one of us has a set way of how we do and achieve something. Everyone's blogging process is different and unique to them. Mines even changed a few times over the course of the year I have been running this blog for. I think experimenting with different parts of your blog is absolutely fine and can actually help you figure out what works best for you. Today I wanted to share with you my blogging process and give you the chance to see how I work.
Content planning -
The first stage to creating any blog and blog post is so figure out what the hell you are going to write about. I have two notebooks I use daily to put all the different details about my posts and my blog into. Most of my blog inspiration comes from either daily life experiences, magazines, other blog's and social media. Whenever I get a new idea, I aim to pop it into my notebook if it's at hand or onto the note section on my phone. This helps to not only keep me organised, but also ensures I have a collection of post ideas for future reference. I normally tend to write at the end of each post idea whether they're beauty, fashion and lifestyle, just so I can see what's what and also ensure I am uploading a variety of posts on my blog when it comes to deciding my content plan.
Once I have selected an idea or a series of ideas for the next couple of weeks, I normally note them down in my planner so that I can then see at a quick glance what is going up when and the month view of my content. I also like ticking them off at the end as it helps to inspire me to continue doing what I do and being proud of what I do.
Then I move onto the planning stages of my posts, where I'll write a brief summary or bullet pointed notes on different areas, such as what the post is going to be about, the points I'll cover, the photo ideas I have for it and the overall benefits this post will have on my readers. Doing all this really does help my organisation and also improves my motivation as I have a clear idea of what I and doing for each post, as well as what each blogging month will look like.
Once I have selected an idea or a series of ideas for the next couple of weeks, I normally note them down in my planner so that I can then see at a quick glance what is going up when and the month view of my content. I also like ticking them off at the end as it helps to inspire me to continue doing what I do and being proud of what I do.
Then I move onto the planning stages of my posts, where I'll write a brief summary or bullet pointed notes on different areas, such as what the post is going to be about, the points I'll cover, the photo ideas I have for it and the overall benefits this post will have on my readers. Doing all this really does help my organisation and also improves my motivation as I have a clear idea of what I and doing for each post, as well as what each blogging month will look like.
Photo taking -
Once I have my ideas and content planned sorted, I normally move onto creating the photo's to support my blog posts. With my list of ideas for my photo for each post, I'll gather all the things I need to take my photos. My camera, tripod, any backgrounds and props, what I'm actually suppose to be photographing, so if it's a beauty review I'll gather the product that I am reviewing so that it's ready to be photograhed. Once this is done, I then move onto taking the photo's. I don't have a set time when I take photo's as I have a lot of spare time, so I do it whenever and usually within a week advance of the scheduled date for the post.
After taking the photos, I'll then upload them onto my laptop and select the best ones. Once this has been done, I'll head on over to PicMonkey to edit and resize the images ready to be uploaded onto Blogger. This usually involves me brightening the image, altering the highlights and shadows. If it's an image with lots of colour, I like to up the contrast to really intensify the colour. As you can see, my editing process is quite simple and quick to do.
Writing -
Now my images are ready in place in Blogger, I'll begin the actual writing process of putting my post together. The writing stage of my blogging process is probably the part I find the easiest. I just find it comes so natural and I'm hardly ever stuck with what to write. If I did have to pick any part that I didn't quite like, then it would have to be the introduction as it's hard to change it up and this is obviously one of the areas that draws people in.
But once I've overcome this section, there's no stopping those fingers across that keyboard. Depending on the type of post, I'm usually writing the average post for about an hour. Sometimes it can be shorter for things like lists whilst lengthier posts can sometimes take me a few hours to complete. I usually sit at the desk or on my post's to write, sometimes with a Spotify playlist in the background for a bit of company and sing song whilst I write.
Then I'll have a read through the finished post, checking for any silly mistakes and making sure that it's exactly how I want it to be once it's published and for the world to see. I'll also ensure I've completed the post settings, including the labels, schedule, any changes to the permalink I might want to make and the search description. Once this is all done, I'll hit that publish button and the post will be scheduled to then upload on the correct day and time.
After publishing -
Once I've published my post, I normally then focus on the promotion side of things. I try to aim to schedule the tweets on HootSuite after I've completed the post. But sometimes, if I'm not in the mood to carry out the tedious task of scheduling tweets, then I'll wait a couple of days to do so and then do them all in one go for other posts too. However on the day the actual post goes live, I upload an image from the post or one relating to the post over on my Instagram to notify any readers on there of the new post, but also promote it to any new readers who might want to come check out my blog.
In terms of responding to comments, I get an email notification through whenever I've received one so I normally will have read your comment within the first hour of you sending it. Then I'll aim to respond and head on over to your blog within the next day depending on my schedule.
My next steps will then be to continue thinking of new ideas and ways to improve my blog, which then starts the process all over again and creates the finished result that you are reading here today.
What's your blogging process like? Are we similar or do you do things different?
Lauren x
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