31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010: Take Your Blog to the Next Level

Be sure you don't miss a thing! Subscribe to receive updates by email. Or if you use a feed reader, subscribe to my RSS feed! Thanks for visiting!

31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010: Take Your Blog to the Next Level

Join us all month for 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010!

Do you have a blog? Is it just a fun way to stay in touch with friends and family, or do you have high hopes for your blog? Today we’re looking at how you can get organized to meet your blogging goals in 2010. Toni from The Happy Housewife is sharing a list of reasons you may want to invest more in your blog this year as well as some great tips for taking your blog to the next level!

I don’t claim to be an expert blogger, but I’ve learned a few things over the last year, and I wanted to share some tips for making your blogging goals a reality this year:

1. Write down your mission and goals.

Darren from Problogger has talked more than once about the importance of writing down a mission statement and concrete goals. Knowing why you blog and what you hope to accomplish will get you to your goals a lot faster than blogging aimlessly without any real direction. As with any goal, write down what you hope to accomplish to make your goals more tangible and give you something concrete to work toward. Make goals that stretch and inspire you so that you’re continually reaching for the next level. For example, my goal here at Organizing Your Way is to reach 5,000 subscribers by the end of January. I’ll admit it’s a lofty goal, and it may not be possible, but working towards that goal is giving me the energy and motivation to make it through this 31 Days series!

2. Create an editorial calendar.

If you’re a memoirist, creating an editorial calendar in the traditional sense may not be possible. Obviously you don’t know what funny/poignant/heartbreaking thing is going to happen next week that you may want to blog about. However, you can still sketch out a basic idea of the types of things you want to post about and which days you plan to post.

For niche and how-to sites (like Organizing Your Way!), having a calendar of the post topics you plan to cover gives you a jump start on planning your posts and generally results in better content because you’ve had time to think through the topic from different angles before you actually sit down to write. Set aside focused brainstorming sessions to think through post ideas, and carry a notebook with you to capture any that come to you when you’re away from the computer so that you always have a list of ideas ready to go.

3. Make a commitment.

If you want to take your blog to the next level, you have to commit to actually posting. Sure, we all go through dry periods where we may not post as often, but if it lasts too long, you will lose readers and you certainly won’t be gaining many new ones. There are exceptions to this, of course, but for the most part your readers will want to be able to count on a certain number of posts from you each week, so commit to posting and stick to it!

4. Invest time in your blog.

Although the posts are obviously the backbone of any good blog, posting is not enough by itself. To really take your blog to the next level, you’ll need to invest time tweaking the layout of your blog, learning about SEO, improving your writing and networking with other bloggers, among other things. Although you never want your posts to suffer because of your investment in these other areas, it’s important to set aside some time each week to work on them as well.

5. Realize that blogging is fluid and ever-changing.

Finally, one of the greatest things about blogging is that it is always changing. Not only does blogging continue to evolve as a whole, but your blog is literally always changing as today’s posts move off the front page and into the archives.  Don’t be afraid to try something new along the way! Sure, it might flop, but as long as you’re being sincere and true to yourself, a flop will just become a learning experience and soon be forgotten. Be creative, watch for new trends and try to stay at the forefront rather than always running to catch up!

Are you a blogger? What is your mission statement for 2010? Tell us about your blog and your goals in the comments!

The 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010 series is sponsored by Get Organized Wizard. The Design Your Life e-program is a comprehensive self-improvement program that delivers ongoing structure, motivation and accountability for taking action.

About the Author

Mandi Ehman

Hi. My name is Mandi and I’m an organizing junkie. I’m also a wife, and Momma to four little girls (5, 3.5, 2 and a new baby!). I've worked at home since our oldest was a baby, and like a lot of other moms, my life is a constant balancing act of caring for my family and my home, meeting my obligations and finding time for hobbies in there somewhere. Oh, yeah, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m somewhat of a kitchen dunce and I only like to pretend that I’m crafty. Read more here!

15 Responses to “ 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010: Take Your Blog to the Next Level ”

  1. [...] forget to visit Organizing Your Way, as Mandi shares some of her tips on how to take your blog to the next level in [...]

  2. These are some good tips…and ones that I am now implementing as I try to revamp one of my blogs. Thanks for sharing!
    Rhonda´s last blog ..My Super Mom Picture My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  3. SO funny that you post this today. This morning, I am researching new blog layouts and schedules and directions I want to take Overcoming Busy. I am ready to take it to the next level! Thanks for the tips and advice!
    [email protected]´s last blog ..Food As Prevention My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  4. I like the editorial calendar suggestion since my blog has a focus beyond daily recording. I have a running list in my notebook of topics, now it’s time to make a schedule and get those things written!

    My goal for the first 6 months of the year is get focused. It took me a month to decide that I want to write about relationships and from there, I came up with a couple weekly features. Now I’m engaged in the 31 Days to a Better Blog workbook and hope it will help me give my readers a more professional delivery.

    I’d love to have 200 followers by the end of the year.
    Newlywed & Unemployed´s last blog ..Husband Hump Day My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  5. Thanks! I love the tip about creating an editorial calendar :)

    [Reply]

  6. Thank you for this post! I am in the process of creating a blog right now! It will be The Grateful Homemaker (www.thegratefulhomemaker.com). I’ve been brainstorming and trying to figure out what direction I want to take it. Your post has helped motivate me and I can’t wait to get it up and going! Thank you!

    Angela

    [Reply]

  7. My blog is more a an excuse to make me write. I hope (after a big relocation coming up) to make my blog look more professional and increase readership. I just love to make people laugh and think. Thanks for all your tips and ideas! Happy New Year!

    [Reply]

  8. A wonderful post as usual! So, 5000 subscribers…how are you going about getting there? How do you make people love you?!!
    oh amanda´s last blog ..BLISS*TASTIC: Christine Koh from Boston Mamas: Blogging Niche & Beyond My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  9. Great tips! Thanks for the food for thought!
    Country Living Mom´s last blog ..Works for Me Wednesday: Color Coding My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  10. I am a “newbie” but I am trying to get my act together. Thanks for the tips.
    Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage´s last blog ..Bean Bag Transformation and a GREAT deal on fabric! My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  11. These are great tips and I love the idea of a calendar. I have a list of topics I want to share. I need to put this into practice. Thanks Mandi, Keep ‘em coming!
    Rana´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  12. Great thoughts on this. I especially like the “editorial calendar” idea.

    Here’s my question: how do you feel about number of posts per week? I know there are several schools of thought:

    1) more is better, you want loyal readers
    2) fewer is better, you don’t want to tire your readers out
    3) the important thing is consistency, so pick a number of posts per week and post them on the same day each time.

    What do you guys think?
    Meredith from Penelope Loves Lists´s last blog ..Assignment: purse de-clutter, or do this now, you’ll be glad you did later My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  13. Thank you so much for the insight and great tips. I have just started my blog (this week) and it still needs a lot of work. I am going to be blogging about a number of different topics but I need to organize my blog as best as I can so readers don’t get confused. I haven’t figured out how often I am blogging yet, but it will probably be a once a week type of thing.. I just have to make sure to have enough content to keep that up haha! I have my own personal twitter page right now but was thinking about creating a new one for my blog and keep my personal one.. well more personal. I definitely see that twitter is a great way to reach out to others!!

    [Reply]

  14. Thanks for visiting my website. I loved this post. It gave me many ideas and useful tools to help take my blog to the next level. Thank you for writing this post it was just what I needed.

    Blessings
    Honey

    [Reply]

  15. I just gave a reader survey so I can figure out what my readers want and who they are – it’s part of my goal to get more of them, like yours! I think that will help me focus my calendar on what people want to see more of.

    Blogging certainly does take an investment of time…but it is such fun!
    :) Katie
    Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s last blog ..Beautiful Beginnings: A Guest Post from Amy at Raising Arrows My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv Enabled

You can use these XHTML tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <strong>