Top 5 Productivity Tips For Bloggers: Get More Done In Less Time
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The world of travel blogging is a busy one, and as a blogger, you can't afford to waste your time.
I have been blogging since 2015, and one thing I've learned is that it's not easy keeping up with the daily writing schedule. Especially nowadays that I am a parent of 2 toddlers.
I'm sure you know what I mean: You wake up in the morning, rush to get ready, take your kids to school or day care, go to work and come back home exhausted only to realize that you are running out of time for creating new content.
Or you may be a stay at home dad or mum and have no time to yourself until your partner comes back home or when the kids are finally asleep!
Unless blogging is your full-time career. But in that case I believe you would not be reading this article!
So if like me, you only have a couple of hours a day to manage your blog. Here are some tips on how to keep up with your blog.
For me it all comes down to working smart by having every step of the blogging process broken down and automation. You need to automate as many things as you can for you not to waste too much time on manual tasks.
1. Plan ahead
The secret: create a content calendar.
A content calendar is essential when it comes to creating new content on a regular basis.
It helps you plan ahead so that there are no gaps in between posts and you don't miss any deadlines.
I used to do everything last minute in the past and this not only stressed me out but also I was not consistent publishing content. Using a content calendar brought me clarity and once everything is done and scheduled, I know that I do not have to worry about anything else.
If you don't have enough time to create a content calendar yourself, check out tools like CoSchedule, they will do all the work for you!
Or you can get some inspiration from mine via the screenshot below. I review it once a week, usually on Sunday and plan my content for the week.
2. Use templates
This is something I learned from following the blogger Adam Enfroy using his content assembly line method. When it comes to writing blog articles, you need first to divide them into categories:
transactional
educational
When that's done, you can then structure your articles the same way to make it easy for you to write the content.
The goal as a blogger is not to be the perfect writer and use the best literature to impress your audience.
What you need is to share a message that can provide value to your audience.
So, the simpler your blog structure the better it is for the reader and for the SEO gods!
Also, templates allow you to break down the writing process.
Rather than writing one full article on the same day, you could break it down filling up 1 or 2 sections of your articles every day until completed.
When the task seems too big, sometimes it is better to break it down into simple steps.
This works best for me when I am on a trip and want to create a guide. I would personally create the blog outline before traveling and fill up the sections of the article while on vacation.
This way, by the end of the vacation, my article would be 95% ready to be published.
3. Use automation as much as you can
Being a one man team is not easy and requires you to wear many hats to run your business.
That is the reason why I tend to use social media management and online tools as much as I can.
Social media is an important element of every blogger's marketing strategy these days.
But it can take you a lot of time if not managed properly.
Focus on 2-3 social media platforms maximum.
I would even encourage you to be more active on one single platform and use the others as back ups.
I personally use Instagram as my main social media presence and Facebook and Pinterest for my blog articles.
Nowadays, I tend to spend 1-2 hours per day max running my blog and my online presence on social media.
Wondering how I do it?
You can have a read at my list of online tools I use to automate my work as much as I can.
12 digital marketing tools every blogger needs
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4. Ask for help!
Sometimes, it is essential to admit that we cannot be great at everything.
One lesson I learned in my professional career is that you need to focus on your strengths and either automate or delegate the rest of the tasks that need to be done.
Good thing is that today, you can find freelancers that can do the work for you at a very competitive cost.
Websites like Fiverr or Upwork will offer you a list of potential virtual assistants that could do the work for you.
Pro tip: Make sure to break down your workflow step by step and use that as an onboarding document to make sure that your VA does the job as you want it to be done.
5. Track your progress
Finally it is important to track your progress overtime. To do so, you will need to set KPIs or Key Performance Indicators. i.e. Pageviews, website visitors, most popular articles, followers growth, email list subscribers growth, etc...
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
Keeping up with these metrics will allow you to keep track of your blogging goals and adjust your strategy accordingly.
I personally setup yearly goals that I break down by quarter. Every month on the same day, I’d set a reminder and I'd track the progress.
And every quarter I would adapt my strategy according to the results.
If all goes according to plan, I keep doing what I am doing. If not, I find another strategy to adopt for the following quarter. and so on and so on until I find the magic formula!
Hopefully, these tips will help you get your blogging projects done a little faster. Remember that blogging is supposed to be fun, so don't look at it as a chore—you'll only drag yourself down.
Instead, try to enjoy it for what it is: an opportunity to get your ideas and stories out into the world. And if it's truly not that important right now, or if you have other priorities, don't be afraid to put it off until later. After all, you can never cross a bridge before you come to it.
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