[…] There are a ton of posts out there about how to set up a blog (I even have one that gives tips on content creation as well), but I get asked a lot about going to meetups, working with brands, and more, and there […]
When I first started teaching blogging workshops in 2015, one of my main goals was to help bloggers that struggled with what to blog about. Wanting to launch a blog and getting your website setup is only the beginning, and unfortunately, creating content is where most people get stuck. Sure, you may have a general idea of what you want to write about when you first get started, but if you don’t take the time to really narrow things down, you will find yourself having writer’s block before you can even get out your first post.
If you ever find yourself stalling out when it’s time to put pen to paper, here are 3 easy steps that will help you with consistent content creation.
Write down your blog’s niche/categories
First things first: what topics do you cover on your blog? You can say that you want to be a blogger, but what does that even mean for YOUR blog? If you haven’t already, take a moment to list out the categories that you want to write about. Is it fashion? Beauty? Fitness? Mental Health? Whatever you list out is going to be the niche that your blog will fall under. It can be as many or as few as you like, but remember: just because you enjoy something doesn’t meant that you have to blog about it. Start off writing about topics that you are truly passionate (and knowledgeable) about-you can always expand down the line.
Write down subcategories under each niche
Now that you’ve listed out your main topics, it’s time to dig a little deeper. You want to be as specific as possible when it comes to your subcategories. When you have a strong idea of what you want to cover within your niche, it will help you with developing your blog’s voice and creating content that has value and isn’t just general fluff. For example, you may call yourself a fashion blogger, but what does that really mean? Will you be talking about personal style or focused on celebrities? Are you even a fashion blogger (a lot of people get into blogging and automatically call themselves this and start posting about outfits even though this isn’t what they really want to talk about. This is a whole separate conversation, but just know that burnout will happen quickly, so don’t be this person)? Look at each topic you’ve listed and seriously think about how you want to approach them.
Create at least 2 bog titles for each subcategory
Once you’ve narrowed your subcategories down, it’s time to get laser-focused and think about the content that you want to create around them. This is your key and what will move the needle with your blog. Developing blog titles (or headlines) is the starting point-once you have these listed out, you can then write a quick outline and decide if you need to take your own photos for the post or source them from somewhere else.
It doesn’t matter if you want to blog 5 days a week or twice a month, being clear around what you want to talk about is necessary in order to create. Add the titles to your editorial calendar and then voila! You can begin working on your blog posts, repeating these steps as needed.