How Can I Blog Consistently?
Starting a blog for your business sounds like a great idea, and from a marketing standpoint, it absolutely is. Unfortunately, as many marketers have learned, maintaining a blog can be difficult, particularly when it comes to consistency. Actually, one of the biggest challenges that site owners face is maintaining a consistent approach.
It’s typically not enough to release a blog every few weeks and hope for the best. This seemingly random mashup of content does nothing for engagement. If you want to keep readers engaged, you need to develop a plan that lends itself to consistency. But how does that advice translate to action?
There’s a lot of conventional wisdom that offers guidance on how to blog consistently. For example, you’ll likely find several posts that tell you to block off time for writing, which you should. You’ll also find a few that tell you to write about things you’re passionate about – sadly, in content marketing, that’s not always possible. And the list goes on and on.
After working with numerous clients and helping them execute a variety of different content strategies, I’ve found that these five tips are the most helpful and often result in the not only consistent content but quality content.
1. Be Realistic
Consistency, in any sense of the word, is seldom achieved without taking a hard look at the reality of your situation. It’s great to envision a thriving blog with daily posts that meet evergreen content requirements while addressing industry trends and customer concerns. And, for some companies with healthy content budgets, numerous writers, and a handful of editors, that’s certainly realistic. For others? Not so much.
If you want to achieve consistency, you’ll need to take a close look at your resources, from both a financial and employee perspective.
Who will be responsible for creating content and what, if any, other tasks are they responsible for? Do you need to enlist the help of graphic designers or coders? Are you working with editors that can help polish content and keep things rolling, or will it be the job of a single individual? Do you have an SEO objective you need to meet by a certain time or season?
By answering questions like the ones listed above, you can begin to determine how much time is available for how much content you need, how much you can produce, and what type of distribution strategy you need.
Being realistic also means understanding how your budget factors into your blogging goals.
Is there room in the budget to bring on a dedicated writer or agency, which can improve content and distribution consistency? Will you need to hire various freelancers and thus consider bringing on an editor?
Blogging, from a marketing standpoint, is not a single activity that takes place in a vacuum. It’s the product of numerous moving parts, and therefore before you can achieve consistency, you must define “consistency” as it pertains to the reality of your situation.
2. Make Brainstorming a Regular Part of the Process
One of the biggest yet often unsung pieces of the content process is brainstorming. And while it may not seem like this plays a big role in creating consistency, the collaborative power of a few good minds can help keep ideas fresh and flowing – a necessity for creating content that offers a unified brand message and meets the regular expectations of your audience.
It’s also worth noting that brainstorming for your blog can be an ongoing activity that may take place at any time in the planning process. If you’re leveraging your blog in other marketing channels, like SEO, SEM, email, or social, then brainstorming can and should easily and organically flow into those channel meetings, when plausible.
3. Develop a Standard Content Style Guide
When we talk about the “how to blog consistently,” we often think of it as a matter of “when.” Should I blog every week or month? Every Monday? Every other Wednesday? However, consistency also means that each piece of content reflects the message, tone, and voice of your brand.
For that reason, I recommend developing a style guide that can be referenced for every post, whether you’re the only author or you have multiple content creators contributing to the process.
Don’t panic – I’m not suggesting you author the next Chicago Manual of Style or MLA Handbook. For some companies, a single one-sheeter with basic expectations is enough to serve as a standard content guide.
You may be tempted to skip this step, especially if you’re the only person contributing to the blog, but I assure you, there is value. A standard style guide will force you to ask important questions about your audience, your product/service, and the goals that are driving your content strategy. The answers to those questions will help your entire team create unified, high-quality content.
4. Block off Time for Each Part of the Process
Blocking off time to write is important, of course, but what some marketers fail to realize is the total amount of time necessary to execute a consistent and effective blogging and content marketing strategy.
From basic tasks, like brainstorming, writing, and editing copy, to more advanced processes, like mapping content, conducting SEO analysis, and evaluating content performance, the entire process is a complex web of requirements.
For that reason, the most consistent blogging efforts are often the product of successful scheduling. Regular brainstorming meetings, copy deadlines, editorial time, posting dates, and regular recon work are all integral parts of the process and should be incorporated into your plan.
5. Create an Editorial Calendar
Speaking of a plan, if there is one single point that you take away from this post, then it should be the value of a good editorial calendar. It will help you visualize your goals and make sure they’re realistic. And, because creating an editorial calendar consists or more than just writing “blog post” on any given date, it will force you to participate in the brainstorming activities that are so important to a consistent and healthy content strategy.
Finally, an editorial calendar will help you get a bigger picture of the process and ensure that you have the right resources in place, time accounted for, and deadlines for each part of the process.
Concluding Thoughts
As you likely know, blogging is far more than popping content up on the screen and crossing your fingers. It’s an ongoing process that is meant to give a voice to your brand and engage your audience. Consistency, in both process and presentation, is an absolute must but how you define “blogging consistently” can change based on your brand, your audience, and your goals. Your best bet? Take the time to work through the process and develop an editorial calendar that gives your blog a strong and reliable heartbeat.
