The PROCESS of Being A BLOGGER In 2021! | MegsCoffeeBreak

After recently restarting my blog, I realised I had forgotten just how much work goes into getting a blogpost out! Previously, I had been working on my blog during the first UK lockdown so I don’t think I fully thought about how much time I was putting into work. If you want to find out why I took a break from blogging, click here. However, now i have restarted the blog, I’m a full time student at University and it can be really difficult balancing the two. If you want to find out just how much work goes into being a blogger, then carry on reading!

PLANNING

Before you can even think about starting a blog, you have to do tons of planning! You need content ideas, photo ideas, a schedule etc. Whenever I first sit down to do any type of planning, I will write a huge list of potential blogposts I can write about. Then I will star or circle the ones that are really standing out to me and I will bullet point things I can talk about in each blog. By doing this, I can clearly see which ones I have lots of ideas for and which ones I will actually enjoy writing. Then I will schedule these into a timetable of when I plan to post them so I have dates to work towards.

The next stage of planning comes with each blogpost. I will first create the page and write down general bullet points of what I want to write about. Then, I will order them which allows the text to flow properly. I have a think about what images will fit nicely into the post and leave gaps for them. By this point, there is an outline of what the post is going to look like.

I recommend having a planner or a calendar to clearly show when you have a post going up. It will show you clearly how much time you have left to get everything prepared and ready to go live.

If you struggle with stress, a planner is definitely the way to go. You’ll have no more worrying in your head- it will all be on paper to look at!

WRITING

This is where the main part of blogging comes in- actually writing it. I find this a lot easier than the whole planning process because I do indepth planning. When it comes to writing, all I’m doing is changing bullet points into words. It’s usually a straight forward process. However, sometimes it’s pretty evident that a post isn’t coming together how you first visioned it. Sometimes all it takes is to come back to it on a different day. Sometimes you’ll have to pin it back on the drawing board. Sometimes you’ll have to trash it completely. It’s very rare but some things just aren’t meant to be. Writing is usually, however, quite a simple part if you enjoy it and plan well.

PHOTOGRAPHY

This is something I really struggle with. I don’t have a particular love for taking photos or editing photos. However, for both a good blogpost and promo on social media, it’s something that you have to do if you want to be successful. So, I normally list a few photo ideas relevant to the blogpost and take a few. The ones I attach in the post are usually what I will also post on Instagram to talk about the blogpost so this kills two birds with one stone.

TAGGING AND DESCRIPTIONS

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To get your blogpost noticed, you have to tag it correctly. Find which tags and categories gain the most traffic on your site and stick to those keywords. Personally, I find student works well for me, so I will cater my posts to revolve around students so I can use that hashtag when it comes to tagging. Writing a good description is also very important. People won’t click on the blogpost if they don’t like the decsription. Keep it relevant and easy to read. Think of it like the blurb on a book- you wan’t to know exactly what you’ll be reading about.

SOCIAL MEDIA

So you have your blogpost ready to go: it has been written, has images and top notch tags. You could just post and leave it here but in order to gain traffic you will want to promote it on socials. I find Instagram and Pinterest are the main sources of traffic to my site so I really focus my promotions on those sites. For Instagram, I will post an image directly from the blogpost, write a quite description of what it’s about and use hashtags on the post. I will then pop this on my story and also DM a few of my fellow blogging accounts. We love to all read and support each other. Pinterest is a little more complex. I will create 7 pins for my blogpost using Canva. Then I will write short descriptions for all 7 pins, all saying the same thing but slightly different. Then I will schedule a post to go out once a day for the next week. If you’re a small blogger and not using Pinterest, you need to be!

After your post has been uploaded, you need to spend the time inbetween this one and the next one liking and commenting on other creator’s posts! Being in the blogging community is so nice and everybody is super kind so make sure you take the time to look at other’s work. They will always reciprocate the love and check yours out too.

That’s the process! Getting a blogpost up is more than just writing and posting. Also, I aim for 2 or 3 blogposts every week, the hours do really build up! It’s a great hobby to have and if you’re thinking about doing it, then just do it! You have nothing to lose and you can post as frequently as you like. I would totally recommend joining the community.

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