Trade Secrets: How We Plan Blog Posts

After our last Trade Secrets article we got a great question in the comments. A reader asked,
"I'd love to learn more about your blog planning! I assume you guys schedule posts? How far in advance are you doing them? Scheduling them? And getting organized for them?" – The Life of Clare

Our blog is the backbone of our business. We love blogging, and it's what we spend most of our time on. We try to keep to 2-3 articles each day during the week and a few over the weekend on top of everything else our business does. So staying organized and planning ahead are major priorities for our small team to be able to handle this kind of work load. Here is the behind-the-scenes of how we do it:

1. Constant Brain Storming. Elsie and I love coming up with new ideas for the blog (or our next book, collaboration, etc.) We like dreaming up new ideas. We will do this in the car as we drive around to run errands. Or on a plane while heading to a business event or vacation. Or whenever. Constantly brainstorming new ideas is vital for a thriving creative business like ours. Having too many ideas is good, it allows room for you to cut the weakest and keep only the best. Elsie and I are both big believers in carrying small notebooks to jot down ideas. We also love getting inspired from multiple sources so that our ideas can take on a life of their own. We get inspiration from magazines, movies, shopping trips, meals we had at restaurants or anything else that grabs our attention.

2. Bounce Ideas Off Others. One way that we develop ideas is by talking through each idea with each other (and sometimes our team too!). Instead of just thinking of an idea and starting the project, we try to talk through the details, the styling, how we intend to photograph it, etc. Figuring out details before beginning is an easy way to create a stronger project without wasting any effort! We know most bloggers are a solo operation. So if this is you, try teaming up with a blogger friend you trust for weekly idea meetings. You will be surprised how much better your ideas can get just from a conversation with a like-minded person. 

3. Plan for Success. At the Monday morning meetings we also plan out our blog post schedule for the following 2 weeks. We just created a huge marker board to house our blog post calendar! Having this schedule allows everyone to stay on track and know by when they need to finish and draft project posts. There are times when we have to extend the calendar slightly, like when Elsie or I are planning to travel for a weekend or will have limited internet access for a few days. We try to stick to the blog post schedule as best we can after creating it, but things always get shuffled a bit. After we have a solid 2-week plan, we also plan projects that will take longer to complete. We can keep them going on the back burner until they are near completion and can have a slot on the calendar. For example, I am currently working on a few knitting projects that you probably won't see here on the blog until mid November.

4. Adjust When Life Happens. No matter how good at planning you get, sometimes things have to get shuffled around. Sometimes I have a cooking flop, a craft project ends up taking twice as long to complete as we anticipated, or supplies don't come in the mail in time. Life happens. And when it does, we look at the blog post calendar, and we shuffle anything we can. Some posts end up going live sooner than we thought. For example, this post was actually scheduled for tomorrow evening. But it rained yesterday, so the final photos for the project post you would have seen in this slot today had to get pushed back. There have been a few times we had a project scheduled a week in advance only to see another blogger create something similar two days before our project is set to go live. Great minds think alike sometimes. Our policy is typically to shelf the project, rework it, or cut it simply, because we try our best to stay fresh. Having a blog post schedule helps give us more flexibility, so we are able to shuffle things a little as needed.

And that my friends is how the magic happens. Lots of planning. Sometimes a little scrambling. A lot of weak ideas getting cut along the way. And everything else getting published right here. Every day. We hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as we enjoy creating it. Thank you for stopping by—we couldn't do it without you! xo. Emma

Comments

[Ashley @LibertyBelles]

my friend and I run our blog together so I understand being able to bounce ideas off each other. Great tips! Thanks!

[Rhoda Wong]

love your guide! should keep in mind those few things as well for my blog!

www.styleandshades.blogspot.com

[Bri]

what a great job you have! lucky you!

[Christine (VerveEvolving)]

so inspiring - I love when you guys share about the "background goings-on" and I totally agree about the nonstop brainstorming sometimes you gotta get those weaker ideas outta your brain to make room for even better ones! xo

[Heather]

I absolutely love this post! Having someone else to help would be so perfect http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/

[Elisa]

Thanks for sharing. I'm always amazed that you can post 2-3 times a day. This was a nice glimpse of how you get it done!

[Rachel]

After reading a couple weeks ago how you carry around an idea book, I started to as well. Boy, does it really help! I would really love to have another blogger to bounce around ideas with. Making other blogger friends is something I hope I get to do someday :)

[Morgan]

Such good advice. I went on vacation this week and (being a relatively new blogger) had to plan ahead last week to have consistent scheduled posts while I was away - and it was a CHALLENGE! I usually try to plan ahead at the beginning of the week, but I love the idea of having post ideas two weeks ahead.

Thanks for the tips, ladies!!

Morgan
seemomogo.blogspot.com

[Jul and Jet]

We are a BIG Fan of your blog guys!

sistersaresassy.tumblr.com

[Brooklyn]

This is SUCH a great post. Thank you! I would love to know how much time a day you spend looking at other blogs, and how much time you spend on Social Networking sites like Pinterest and Twitter seeing what else is out there! I know that is important step, so how much time do you allot daily or weekly to research in your field?

[Rachelle]

Great tips. I'd love to see a "Trade Secrets" on getting sponsors and working with sponsor companies, if you're looking for more ideas!!! :)

[Mrs. Baker]

good tips you guys!

[Jane]

thanks for this article .. it's very helpful =)
xo JANE xo
http://livingwithjane.com

[olive]

Wow this is so helpful and inspiring! I was so happy when I saw the title, I got your amazing ecourse Bloglove and I think I would listen to you all my life about blogging, you are a genius at it! Thanks for being such an inspiration!

[Jessica]

This is clever.
I need mine to be less random. Even though I am only one person (I can't imagine blogging with another person! -the timing!), I still can't keep organised to this extent.

[Margo]

Great post! I keep pages and pages of lists, and I organize my daily, weekly and monthly goals. Some of my "brilliant" ideas don't end up working out, so I find myself re-arranging the blog schedule often. Sometimes a trip to the craft store will give me new projects I hadn't even considered before!

http://www.craftpond.com

[Leigh]

This is so extremely helpful! Thank you so much for putting this list of advice together for us! It's showing me that I am moving in the right direction! Lol It was literally yesterday that I recruited one of my sisters to help me with my blog! She's just going to help a little bit, but at least I can bounce ideas off of her and she has an interest in more creative photography than my husband... He never sees where I am going with an idea until I finish it. It's a little hard to bounce ideas off of him and use him as photographer... But she is willing to give anything a try and she thinks very similarly to me! Also, literally only hours ago, I planned out the next week and a half of posts for the first time ever!
I love your chalkboard idea! I'm definitely going to do that! The guest room may begin turning into my office if I keep dreaming :)

[Amanda Rose]

I love planning my blog posts ahead. I just recently started doing it.

[Ester]

Hi Emma!!Hi Elsie!!

I'm a huge fan of your blog(s)!You guys have a great style, great ideas and your blog is always like a sweet treat for me!
I looove vintage and handmade, but in my city (Madrid-Spain) there aren't a lot of thrift shops, and the few i can find are very expensive! I'm always a little jelous when you post about flea markets and thrift shops (but i adore checking your pics!!) I also love scrapbooking but i'm not very good at it, i need some practice i guess...

So, I want to thank you for creating such an amazing place, i feel like at home reading your blogs, you're awsome!

Kind regards from Spain!

Ester <3

[Emily]

I have reoccurring features on my blog, so I tend to plan out posts a month in advance, although like you, it has to be flexible because I never know exactly what will happen! I love reading your blogging tips ladies!