If you don’t want your blog to collapse and fade away, you need to invest some time learning how to become a more productive writer. This blog post will help you understand how to become a more productive blogger in 10 simple steps.
In 1999, there were only 23 blogs on the internet. Today, there are more than 500 million blogs, most of them struggling to win attention. Do you think all of them are successful? Surprisingly, 99% of blogs fail to achieve their goals.
While your success as a blogger largely depends on your writing skills, ability to market and engage readers, it’s crucial to develop a sound marketing strategy. You need to write faster and publish better. Staring at a blank Google Doc page for several minutes, struggling to get your writing flowing can seriously affect your ability to become a successful blogger in today’s competitive digital world.
Don’t let blank page syndrome, mismanagement, and absence of an effective blogging strategy to kill your productivity. Regardless of your profession, it’s vital to figure out how to become more productive. Here is what you need to do to grow your business as a blogger:
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1. Schedule your writing
A little organization goes a long way. Whether you plan to publish one blog a month or more than 30, put particular emphasis on quality and a predetermined schedule. It’s better to create one good blog posts weekly or bi-weekly than to create many short posts every day. However, the fact that the more you publish, the more traffic you get remains the same.
You don’t have to worry about the day you post as long as your content inspires the readers. However, make sure to schedule your writing and keep up with the plan. Remember, consistency is the key to success. Successful bloggers create a schedule and stick to it. Identify your most productive working hours to produce the maximum content.
Creating an editorial will be of great help when it comes to boosting your productivity. You should use an online calendar or Google sheet where you can create your monthly or yearly plan, including publishing dates, keywords, content ideas, etc. So, if you want to bring organization to your blogging business, create an editorial calendar, and keep everything properly scheduled. Once you’ve created an editorial calendar, keep up with it and update it regularly.
2. Identify and understand your audience
For whom are you blogging? Do you want to sell a product or service through blogging? Do you know your target markets? Your content marketing strategy must clearly define your intended audience. A blog’s target audience is a group of people who will get the most value from its content. For example, if your target market is first-time parents, make sure to write something that can add value to their lives.
When planning content, all of the ideas you brainstorm must revolve around your intended readers. One of the major reasons why most bloggers fail is having an abstract audience in mind. Remember, you can’t just write for everyone on the internet. This is why it’s critical to find your blogging niche. Once you’re clear about your niche, the next step is to analyze if your topics have a big enough audience or how much competition your blog posts will face. Market research will help you answer many questions.
Read: How to Target Your Ideal Audience
3. Use productivity tools
When I started my first blog 10 years ago, I didn’t have the tools that you have today. The internet offers numerous productivity tools designed for bloggers to save time and energy. From tracking time and refining your content to creating notes and performance analysis, productivity tools can guide you through the process. Here are some of the most valuable tools for bloggers:
- Grammarly
- Evernote
- Google Docs
- Hemingway
- Trello
- Loom
- Sendible
If you want to grow your business as a blogger, make sure to have essential productivity tools in your blogging kit. There is an online solution for almost all of your blogging processes.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer.
4. Create your own templates
Digital marketers love to use templates for various content marketing campaigns. As a blogger, you can create a layout or template. Since most writers have a consistent writing style, it’s a good idea to have a template which you may use to plug in new content. To create your own template, you need to analyze your pattern of writing or the way you structure your content.
As a productive blogger, you can’t afford to waste time creating a simple outline every time you start a blog post. Creating a template and a generic outline will help you write better and faster.
5. Stay focused
In the age of information, it’s easy to get distracted. Does your mind drive you to spend hours and hours on social media sites? If yes, you need to make some serious changes to your lifestyle. Productive people know how to stay focused and away from distractions. It’s absolutely fine to watch videos or browse social media, but don’t let these distractions kill your productivity. Be a distraction-free blogger to achieve the maximum results.
Smart tools like Simple Blocker can help you block your favorite sites while you’re creating a piece of content. Set small achievable goals. For instance, if you want to write 3000 words in 3 hours, break down this time into short sessions of 20 or 30 minutes.
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6. Be a lifelong learner
New bloggers have to go through a steep learning curve; there’s no short-cut. It’s probably a myth to believe that your blogging skills will get better if you keep doing it longer. The internet keeps changing rather at a fast speed; one thing relevant today will go obsolete tomorrow. So, you must keep learning about the new trends if you want to stay ahead of the curve.
While staying updated about the latest blogging trends is essential to your success, don’t forget to improve your writing skills. For a writer, nothing is more important than reading good content.
Stephen King, a famous American author, says, “if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write. Simple as that.” Most bloggers fail to achieve success because they’re not good readers. Fortunately, being wanting and curious to learn can produce dramatic results.
7. Keep things simple
Bloggers often start a piece of content with an idea only to conclude it with another idea. When writing long-form content, writers can easily lose sight of the main idea. When you keep things simple and concise, it becomes easy to relate ideas to each other. Your content ideas need to work together so you can produce something that doesn’t lack coherence or direction.
Completing difficult tasks first can be a good idea in many situations. So far as writing is concerned, it’s recommended to start with the easy parts. For example, if you’re writing a blog post, start with the part you’re most excited about. It will give you the energy you need to get the job done in a time-efficient manner.
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8. Manage your time efficiently
Improving your time management skills enables you to enhance your overall performance and achieve your desired results with fewer efforts. Failing to manage time properly leads to work and life imbalance, lack of focus, unwanted stress, and low work quality. Needless to mention, that lost time is never found again.
9. Use analytics to track your performance
The internet enables you to easily monitor how many readers landed your blog and how many of them actually read your blog. Productive bloggers find time to see what their readers care about and respond to. Analytics allows you to know where your readers are coming from, what search engine or device they’re using, and what search terms (keywords) they use to find your content on SERPs.
10. Update your existing content
Bloggers often overlook the significance of repurposing. You can take an existing blog post and repurpose it to create something entirely new and exciting. For example, identify one of your successful blog posts and make a video out of it or turn your videos into blog posts. It will maximize your content’s potential.
Updating and promoting old blog posts is also a great idea. A blog post failed last year can now go viral if you update it the right way. Adding or upgrading visuals, examples, links, and text can improve the overall health of an existing blog. Once you’re done upgrading an existing blog post, don’t forget to promote it on social media just like you promote your new blog posts.
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Wrapping up
It’s essential for bloggers to simply love what they write. When you enjoy writing, your content reflects the happiness inside you. If you find a niche boring or difficult, it’s never too late to switch your niche and work on something more exciting.
Bloggers who spend too much time thinking about an idea are less likely to get it done. So, don’t hold your ideas in your mind for too long, start putting them into words in a fun way.
Key takeaways
- Build and grow your social media profiles
- Consistency is the key to growth
- Get new traffic and retain it
- Add visual content
- Write detailed posts that solve problems
- Write in a conversational manner
If you’re committed to becoming a successful blogger, follow these easy steps. Conclusively speaking; find your passion, develop an effective process, and start writing to become a more productive blogger.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
