Behind The Blog: How To Stay Organized

For the first year of running my blog, I had no idea what I was going to post on any given day. Typically, I'd run to my closet, get dressed, grab some photos and write a quick post. AKA: I was a serial impulse poster. Was this smart? No. Was this helpful? No. Was this creating content others wanted to read? Heck no. I learned pretty quickly that winging your blog posts is NEVER a good idea.

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It took time, research and trial and error, but i've finally developed a system for planning out content, pitching brands and promoting my blog posts that keeps me organized. And, in today's installment of Behind The Blog, i'm sharing all of my secrets with you. After nearly 3 years of blogging here's perhaps the best thing i've learned: You get out what you put in... So get ahead and stay organized! I promise it will leave to thoughtful, strong, successful content. 

Here are my tips for staying organized...

Plan Out Your Posts 

I've tried Apps, Google Sheets, Notes and more and the only way i've managed to stay on top of my posting schedule is with pen and paper. I swear by my planner, and there is rarely a day you'll find me without it (love this one and this one too). Mine is nothing special, in fact I think I picked it up at Home Goods. More of a computer person? No problem, try a Google Calendar or an organization helper like Trello.

How do I start planning? At the start of each month I pull out my calendar, and start filling out key dates. Here, i'll jot down days collaborations are due, National Holidays, and more. I'll assign each blog post to a specific day and stick to it throughout the month. This helps me keep track of what's coming and stay on top of new content. Typically when I plan content i'll also set a goal of creating different categories of posts (i.e. 2 food focused posts, 6 fashion, 2 behind the blog etc.). This ensures I have a well-balanced posting schedule and makes sure my followers know what to expect each month. 

Helpful Tips: 

- Hold yourself to calendar. Be as firm as you can, and get ahead so that you don't fall behind on your posts. 

- Work a week ahead. Typically, I work on posts a week out so i'm not creating last-minute content the night before a scheduled post. 

- Outline the categories you want to focus on, and the cadence at which you'll post. If it helps you visualize, my top categories are Fashion, Food/Cocktails and Home Decor.) 

Keep Track of Collaborations 

I'll be the first to tell you that i'm awful at keeping up with expenses, invoices, contracts and collaborations, and J will be quick to agree. He's helped me get on top of it this past year, and i'm finally in a great place with managing the business side of my blog. I use Google Sheets to keep track of the status of all my collaborations.

Brand Contacts Tracker

To keep track of the brands that I pitch, I'll include the Brand Name, Contact, Posting Details and Dates as well as additional notes in one sheet. That way, i'm able to easily access my blogging contacts and all of the collaborations I secure. This sheet has become a lifeline for me because it contains the names of all of the PR company contacts I have as well as the brand reps I've worked with in the past. It's a great tool for reaching back out to people in the future! 

Income and Expenses Tracker

Keeping track of expenses and income is easy, but tedious. Again, I use Google Sheets to track both so that I can determine just how much I make every year from the blog. My Expense sheet has the following headers, Date, Expense, Money Spent, Notes. My Income sheet has Date, Blog Post Title, Money Earned, Status and Notes. These are the categories that work best for me, but keep in mind yours may look a little different than mine. I've found that these sheets are really helpful come tax time! Trust me, it's worth it to put the time in to work on this so that it doesn't become overwhelming as your blog and social presence grows.  

Set Aside Time For Social Media 

Hours go into each blog post. And, it's really easy to slack on your social media promotion when you're tired and have just wrapped up a post. But, investing time in good promotion now leads to stronger content later. I think through my social media plan at the start of each week. Think Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Yummly and even some Twitter (though admittedly i've got a lot of room to grow here). I've got a set goal at how much I want to post on each platform and I do my best to stick to it. 

Helpful Tips: 

- Discover the platforms that drives the most traffic and start there. For me, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram drive 2/3 the traffic that my blog receives. So, I spend a lot of time developing a strategy for those platforms each week. 

- Use a scheduling app. I schedule natively in Facebook and use Tailwind to mass schedule pins on Pinterest. It's an investment, but it's driven so much more traffic to my website. 

- Engage. This could use an entire blog post, but you get out of social media what you put in. Engage (thoughtfully) where you can and your results will skyrocket! I'd plan on scheduling time to engage each day so that you don't get too overwhelmed. 

Got Goals?

I've got yearly goals, monthly goals and weekly goals. And, writing them down helps me ensure I'm staying organized and on top of my content. I'd suggest finding time at the start of each year, month and week to map out your goals and the steps you need to take to reach them. It helps to keep you on track and gives you a way to measure your success.

PSA: I keep these in my planner so that each post I write goes towards helping me accomplish them!  

Do you have tips for staying organized? I'd love to hear them in the comments below! 

XO, 

K

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