How to Successfully Organize and Plan Blog Content
Learning how to successfully run a money-making blog takes time. There’s really no way around it. However, one way to save yourself a ton of time is to take advice from those who have gone before you. I am going into my fourth year of blogging and am re-writing this post with better information! I have perfected the method of organizing and scheduling blog content and want to share with you all of my best advice on how to successfully run your blog like a money-making online business.
*This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission on recommendations at no cost to you.
Have a plan for your month
After blogging for over 3 years I have found the best method to be having one main focus for each month. For example, in January I might focus on promoting one particular affiliate. February I could base all of my content around sponsored posts. March I can create posts that are relevant to one of my courses.
I highly recommend investing in a blog planner to keep everything organized. Of course, you could just stick with a regular monthly calendar planner. I’m just a fan of having a planner that is designed to actually help specifically with organizing your blogging material.
If you plan wisely, you could have an entire month of content even if you don’t have courses or sponsored posts yet. For example, if you are renovating your bathroom, you could share painting tips, DIY mirror tutorials, how to paint trim, and how to prep your bathroom for remodel.
Whatever it might be, pick one main focus for your entire month and build content around it.
By keeping one particular goal in mind it becomes so much easier to come up with ideas and feel like you have some sort of direction with your blog.
Get post ideas together
Once you have your topic in mind, write down a few post ideas for the month. If you do multiple blog posts per week, prep these ideas in advance.
Should you post them in a certain order? For example,
- Prep your bathroom for painting
- Painting the edges
- Best paint colors for bathroom walls
- What to hang on bathroom walls
Getting all of these ideas and post topics together before the beginning of the month can make your entire month less stressful.
Stick with a schedule
No matter what, it’s always good to stick to a consistent schedule. Even if it’s only once a week.
I think oftentimes people start blogging and they hear that the more content they put out, the better it is for their blog. That’s true, but if that content is rushed through and low quality, it isn’t going to do you much good.
That’s why I say if once a week is all you can do to create high-quality, easy-to-read content with good imagery, then just stick with once a week. As you can do more, do more.
Be sure you are writing out and organizing your content so you remember what posts are going live and when!
Plan and research content
Once you have gathered your ideas for posts, you can plan them out so you know which post will go live and when.
As you begin to gather ideas for your posts, start to do a little research on the topic you are discussing. Take the time to view other blog posts that have written on similar topics. What types of things do they cover? Can you elaborate on anything they didn’t cover?
While blogging isn’t a competition, it’s good to know what content people are already viewing in a particular area so you can be sure to be as helpful (or more helpful) to anyone who might read your content.
Pre-write content headings
As I start writing my posts, my favorite way to proceed is to start by writing out the headings I will be using for my post. This helps instantly organize and break down a blog post both for the reader and for you as writer.
For example, if I were to write about how I plan my morning workout, it might look like this:
- Start with cardio
- Find less populated areas
- Gather and clean workout materials
- Choose best playlist
- Follow SWEAT app instructions
- Take water breaks frequently
- Wipe down equipment
- Return equipment to proper areas
Having a blog post broken down like this before I even starts writing helps break up the writing process and allows the words to flow more easily.
Plus, having clear headings will help others easily read through your content and find the things that they are looking for.
Find credible external links
You will most likely find external links for your blog posts as you do your research. But here’s the thing, do not link to articles that are covering the same topic as you!
You don’t want to send your readers completely away from your page. Instead, when you are planning your credible external links, find ones that speak on a small part of your topic.
For example, instead of linking to another blog’s fitness routine, I might add a link to WHY it is important to clean gym equipment before and after each use.
Having external links helps your blogs “juju” on Google and is just a helpful addition to your readers. If your ultimate goal is to allow them to be as informed as possible, then be sure to include external links that will be beneficial to them.
Include relevant internal links
Of course, while writing your posts, it’s important to include internal links as well. That means links back to your original blog posts. Using these links helps you
- Rank higher on Google
- Get more traffic flowing through your site
- Keep long-term blog fans
When you are first starting to blog you may not have as many links. Don’t stress about it. Just do your best.
As you continue to build your blog, take the time to go through old posts (maybe once a month) and update them with newer links.
Prep affiliate links
If you are making money with affiliate links, pre-plan those links in advance. When you know what you’ll be writing a blog post about plan out what affiliates make sense to use in that particular post.
When it comes to a post on paint you might link to brushes, paint itself or even tools that help you paint more successfully.
If I were planning affiliate links for a fitness topic I could promote the fitness app I use, my gym shoes or even water bottles.
Gathering these ideas in advance is always a good idea. Just make sure you aren’t affiliate link stuffing! (Guilty!)
Don’t fall into the myth that the more links you shove into a post the more likely you are to get people clicking. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
People don’t want to be overwhelmed with options. Keep your focus small by sticking with only a few affiliates (or even just one) per blog post.
Know your SEO
SEO can be a tricky and complicated thing if you let it. My biggest recommendation is to have the Yoast SEO plugin downloaded so you are keeping your SEO as simple as possible.
Make sure you are clicking one category for your post to fit in and only adding a few tags.
Honestly, SEO could be an entire post in itself, so if you are not familiar with SEO or how it works, check out this link.
Capture emails on autopilot
As you start getting visitors to your site, it’s important that you also try and capture emails. ConvertKit is a great email company that allows you to create easy-to-use opt-ins for your email list.
Of course, people aren’t dying to hand out their email addresses, so it’s important that you make it worth it for them. Give them access to a great freebie or discount that you offer in exchange for their email address.
Through ConvertKit, you can easily set up an email automation series that will go out once someone subscribes to your list. That means you can send them helpful emails every day that offers free trainings, helpful tips or inspiration.
Learning how to successfully email for your blog can be a tricky thing to learn but lett me tell you it is absolutely necessary! I have spent thousands of dollars learning how to effectively write emails and set up click funnels.
If you want to be sure you are using your email the right way, check out The Biz Bundle where I cover email writing and setup as well as how to best use social media for your blog.
I am a visual learner, so while setting up emails is a very technical and sometimes confusing thing, I have created tutorials that are hands-on and visual learner-friendly. Learn more about The Biz Bundle.
Create and store graphics
Pre-planning and organizing graphics will save you so much time and stress when you are ready to have your blog post go live. To create beautiful (and easy) blog post graphics, I always use Canva. In Canva you can easily create graphics for:
- In-content (like pretty quotes or actually photos)
- Pins for Pinterest
- Facebook friendly images
- Graphics for Instagram stories
In content graphics are appealing to your readers, break up your writing and are another Google-friendly thing to have.
You can also include your pins at the bottom of your posts so people can easily pin your content to their Pinterest profile.
As far as Facebook sharing goes, the image you upload as your Featured Image will be the one that displays when you share your post to Facebook. Be sure to choose a relevant photo and if you use text make sure it won’t be cut off when it’s shared to Facebook.
When it comes to graphics for Instagram stories (this is something I go over in-depth in The Biz Bundle), it’s good to have a few pre-made graphics for when your blog post goes live.
Things to include in your Insta-story graphics
- The topic of your blog post
- Your main points and headings
- Where people can go to view the entire post
Set up automatic scheduling
One of the biggest reasons I love running a blog is because everything can be done on autopilot! I have my blog posts setup to automatically schedule to Facebook.
After that, I pin my pins directly to my main Pinterest board and then schedule them with Tailwind. Click here to get a 30 day free trial!
Tailwind is an automatic scheduler that works with Pinterest. It allows you to schedule pins to keep pinning automatically and allows you access to Tailwind “Tribes” where you can share content with other creators in your niche.
I know it all sounds a little complex, which is why I share my exact autopilot pinning strategy with you in The Biz Bundle. After years of playing around I have managed to consistently get over 3 million views to my Pinterest profile each month — and I do way less work than I used to!
OOFTA! I know that was a lot of info jam-packed into one post! If you are wanting to dive deeper into how to make money online, don’t miss my free training on how to make your first $1,000 with a blog!
Pin this!
I never thought about making a separate calendar just for blogs – I usually keep the information in my regular planner. But being such a visual person, this definitely seems like a better way to stick to it. Thanks for the tips!
I get that. I am a very SEPARATE person. If I put too many things together my thoughts get jumbled…my head is already full of too much!
Thanks for all the printables! I definitely need to get more organized with my blog. I do fairly well with when to post, etc. with my planner but I need to focus more on social media sharing and the like.
-Lauren
Yeah I plan to share more on my social media sharing strategies later! Once I got that down, it was amazing to see the huge change!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I love a good print out so I’ll have to use these to keep me organised
Glad you liked them. Starting a blog really taught me organization!
This is a great resource! Pinned 🙂
This is a really detailed post and great ideas to keep you organized. I definitely agree that Internal Links are extremely important especially for SEO purposes!! Thank you for sharing!!
Absolutely! Probably should throw that lil tid bit in there!
I usually just blog about whatever news or event comes up at the time and that catches my attention. But having some organization is certainly a good idea and the calendar printout you provide is a positive first step.
That’s awesome that you can keep up with that. I used to blog that way and my attention span just didn’t allow it! haha. I needed to hold myself accountable otherwise it wouldn’t get done.
I think I need to start placing more internal links in my posts. Thank you for the tip!
Great reminder on the blog calendar. I have one, it is filled in….but I often just blog on what is on my mind. Using the planner is a much stronger way to grow my blog and social shares. Thanks!
Planning is key. I agree with your advice. The only thing I’ve been doing is saving links I can add to my blog posts.
Planning internal links is so smart! Since they effect SEO so much. Great tips
Thanks so much!
Planning is so important and is something I struggle with. I work a full time job, so it’s hard to fit everything in. I need to be better at specifically planning out my content. Thanks for the tips!
Yeah that would be tough! I have to keep flexible for sure but definitely need a way to keep my focus! Hope you found some tips that will help!
You lay everything out so nice and clear. You take so much of the guess work out of getting started. 🙂
Thanks so much, Angie!
This is such a great post. I have an excel document that I’ve turned into a blogging calendar/checklist, but you have reminded me there are a few things I need to add! I also appreciate the reminder to link ‘old’ posts back into some of my blog posts. I feel like I do a decent job of doing that with new posts that I write, but not going back through older posts and adding links to some of my newer stuff.
January was a big month for me “revamping” old posts! It really helped boost traffic too! Because I felt like I was promoting stuff all week long!
I’ve been blogging for exactly 2 months today. I’ve been struggling with creating a schedule and sticking with it. I’ve created a blogging planner type notebook and still haven’t used it as planned. I’m hoping that I can create a schedule and follow thru with it.
Give yourself time! It takes a while to get the hang of this blogging gig…it has for me!
I feel like I’m running in a bunch of different directions right now trying to get everything in working order. I know that I need to sit down and get a better schedule for blog posts. I think if I do that it will help me manage my time better to accomplish the other things on my to-do list. Thanks for the printable’s!
You bet! Hope you can get everything in one place!
I always say I’m going to plan out my blogs, but never end up getting around to it! I’m one of those people who like to go with the flow and it’s hard for me to stay on track if I feel called to post something else. You have great ideas. Thanks for sharing.
I definitely get that! Lately I have gotten really good about sticking to everything but there are definitely times I have had to scratch something from the list!
I also used Building A Framework (listed in your resources at the end of the post). It is such a great investment. It’s really not that expensive for the quality of the product. After blogging for several months, I still go back to it as a reference tool!
Just went through it again yesterday!
I really struggle to plan my posts in advance because I am very much a “write when inspiration strikes” kind of gal, but I know that I need to in order to be more successful!
I very much had to overcome this as well. 2017 was a big year of discomfort…pushing my limits and such but it has paid off huge!
This is exactly what I need right now! With working full time and going to school full time I need to make sure I am keeping my new blog on track as well! These are some great tips and I am definitely going to be checking out your printables!
Oh my goodness! You are doing awesome and I’m glad I could help you out you busy lady!
I just saved this so I could read over it again. Thank you so much for gathering all of this information.
Great post and I signed up for your blogging bloopers course- can always learn something new!
Absolutely! I love reading fellow bloggers content because there is usually some knowledge to gain!
Thank you for the inspiration to bring more balance and intentionality to my scheduling!
So glad I could be a little help!
Great tips! My google calendar has been my go to for blog planning. Now I think I need to up my game and plan out the affiliate links and do more social shares. Thanks!
You bet! Glad I could give you a few new ideas!
This is a great list. I am new to blogging and I am trying to figure out how to have enough time to start making some money from it so it is worth my time, but also I love writing and so I want to make sure that I am posting things of value and substance and not just to post or make money. Plus getting started is a lot harder than I anticipated.
Absolutely! I tried too hard to make money right away. It took me a while to fall into my natural talents…it’s like I was working against myself.
This is really helpful! I have been loving your blogging series, it has been really helpful since I’m trying to get my blog up and really running this year. One thing that has helped me a lot was planning my schedule and posts for the whole first quarter of the year at a time, and then jotting down ideas and changes as I go!
So glad you are liking the course! You sound like you are definitely on top of your schedule! That’s awesome!
Really great tips! I’ll be looking into some of the links you posted too like Share a Sale. I don’t believe I ever heard of it but it sounds like a great idea. So helpful – thank you!
Share a Sale has been awesome especially when it first came to starting working with affiliate links.
I’ve been much more consistent in my blogging habits since I started creating a schedule and a plan. But I never thought to plan out my internal and affiliate links before. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to have effective affiliate links.
It helped me a lot getting a clear plan for them! Hopefully you can find something that works for you!
This is great… I could totally use this idea for my YouTube channel!
Great! I’m sure it definitely can help with many different things!
What an awesome post! I sure took a lot of advice and encouragement from it. I’ve noticed that when I plan my posts and links aheaad of time they do better and I’m less stressed!
Same here! I’m so glad you feel encouraged. I really hope to help others as they work to improve their blogs.
Great ideas! These printables are awesome! Getting organized can be the biggest hurdle for so many things.
I 100% agree!
Thanks for sharing lovely. I used to blog previously without using a schedule, and this didn’t work very well for me. You’re absolutely right – planning is so important to stay organised. I now have a hard copy planner *just* for my blog, and I am so much more productive. It really keeps me on track!
I use a pink pen that rubs out. It is THE best! 😀 Totally agree things are always changing and getting shuffled around!
Joelyne xo
A pink pen that rubs out?!?! I don’t think I could be more excited! I’m going to have to find that STAT!
Setting a schedule and keeping it is so important. It just keeps you organized. You have some great ideas and visuals to keep it together and not forget anything. Thanks!
Hi Renee
I have just created a planner to try and organise the 2 posts a week I am trying to publish to a schedule. Sounds pitiful, but I am hoping to start small and grow. I haven’t even done an affliate link but may look into it. I am definitely going to look into the resources you have mentioned and am going to start planning my internal links more.
Thank you for all the useful tips.
Cherie @mymamamusings
That is awesome Cherie! Doesn’t sound pitiful! We all have to figure out what works for us!
I need to plan content in advance! That’s my biggest downfall!
It has helped me SO much!
I love this post so much, I pinned for reference! I seriously need to get back to a scheduling routine. I used to schedule my posts but then I got sick…then one by one, everyone else in the family did too, so I completely botched it all up after that lol ? New year means I’m getting back on track!
I first started blogging almost 10 years ago just as a place to update family and friends but started my current blog a little over two years ago. Now that I’ve been at it for a little while, I definitely have some things I want to change (like moving from Blogger to WP) but I’m just trying to take things one step at a time. Thanks for all the great tips!