ELENA PETERS | MIDLIFE BLOGGER

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I’m going to be honest here. Creating a blog content calendar is hard work. If it were easy, all bloggers would make and use one. Bloggers would no longer suffer from writers block and blogs wouldn’t be abandoned by the thousands after a few published posts if they had a plan. 

You know what’s way harder than following a blog content strategy? Sitting and wondering what you are going to write about today. Tomorrow. And everyday after that.

It’s frustrating isn’t it? Words and enthusiasm flowed so freely when you started your blog. But you can’t seem to figure out why you are stuck now.

So you end up procrastinating all day long. Interacting on social media. Reading other blogs. Buying courses that you’re sure will give you the secrets to success. Doing everything but writing but somehow convincing yourself that you’re still “working” on your blog.

But you’re not are you?

You’re just wasting time. Be honest.

Content is the foundation of a successful blog.

First, let’s define content. 

Content can be blog posts, emails to your subscribers, ebooks, podcasts, freebies, or products. Basically anything that you create that shares valuable information with your reader. 

The key word there being “valuable”.

Valuable means it is information that your specific reader wants and uses to create a transformation in their lives.

A transformation is a process that takes your reader from A to B. So for example, in this post, I’m trying to help my reader understand that embracing a new system for creating content will help them build a successful blog. A blog that their readers will want to consume and share with others, thereby increasing pageviews and eventually making money with their blogs.

For you, it may mean teaching your reader to write an outline for a book, how to stick to a budget, or motivating your reader to embrace a new lifestyle, diet, fitness regime or style. Or maybe you blog to make people laugh and brighten up their day.

To help your reader have a transformation, you must know your audience, including and most importantly, their pain points and struggles. If you don’t know specifically what those are, you end up writing anything and everything, hoping something sticks. Or worse, believing that all that really needs to happen is for one popular blogger to share your post and you’ll be viral and on your way to super success.

Not gonna happen. Sorry.

Even by chance, if your post was picked up and shared by some blogger with a huge following, if you don’t have MORE content that addresses the needs of your audience already on your blog, the bump in traffic will be a one off and die within a few days. 

Content must be a perfect fit for your niche or avatar.

Does that mean that every single post must take your reader through some miraculous change? No. Absolutely not. There is value in sharing different types of content, including light hearted pieces or posts that share more personal information about yourself. 

In fact, getting your reader to accept and follow your guidance to achieve a transformation is much easier when your reader feels like they know you and trust you enough to at least try to follow in your steps.

A content calendar helps your blog have balance.

Without having a clear overview of the content you need to write for your blog, you may end up having too many personal pieces or focus too much on selling or have too many posts that reflect only moment in time(writing about an event in the news). Balance allows you to connect with your reader and turn them into real fans of your blog.

Think of your whole blog as one big, long ass essay, book or jigsaw.

• A long essay, or thesis, needs an outline.
• A book has chapters that progressively take the reader to a conclusion.
• A jigsaw needs all the pieces to fit together so that you can see the whole picture.

All that forethought sounds like a lot of work and a lot of time. Yes. It is. But it is so worth it in the end. A blog with focus, balance and valuable information quickly can become a blog on autopilot. And once that happens, all the processes become more efficient and targeted. Reaching your audience and creating content they love becomes easier. Traffic begins to flow and you begin to build a real community around your blog.

Are you still not convinced you need to embrace this content strategy?

How A Content Calendar Helps You Build A Successful Blog

 
1. Accountability

The best thing about being self-employed as a full-time blogger is that I can do what I want, when I want. The worst part about it: I usually don’t want to do anything. But that doesn’t bode well for creating a successful blog does it?

Creating a content calendar forces you to adhere to a schedule so that you don’t end up wasting valuable time. This is especially important if your blog is a side hustle and you still work full-time outside the home. You want to make sure you are using your time wisely and doing the tasks that will influence your blog in the most progressive way. In the beginning of your blog, creating content should be your number one goal. Accountability breeds consistency. Consistency will keep propelling your blog forward.

 
2. Focus
It is so hard not to get distracted as a blogger. You may find yourself drawn to posts (like income reports) that boast another blogger’s success about pageviews or money. Then all of a sudden you are thoroughly inspecting that blogger’s blog. How it looks. What resources they use. What kind of content they have. And boom, you are thinking you need a new theme, want to take a course or worst of all…you think you should try to duplicate their content.

Have you ever seen blogs that talk about one thing, let’s say pet care, and all of a sudden they have posts about blogging? Ya. That. Somewhere that blogger read that writing about blogging drives traffic and in a desperate attempt to raise their pageviews, they started writing posts about how to blog. Never once stopping to think if this new content fit their blog.

When you decide to work with a content calendar, you learn to envision your blog as a whole, what’s working and what you need to write more about. You can clearly see what posts fit and which do not suit your audience because you have a plan.
 
3. A plan/system/strategy
Blogging can be all consuming. Especially when you are just starting a blog. It is important to embrace anything thing that helps you save time and work more efficiently. That can be tools, like Tailwind, or creating processes that streamline your daily tasks, like social media checklists.

You eventually want your blog to work like a well oiled machine and put on autopilot, sending you oodles of passive income while you are sunning yourself on a beach in the Caribbean. That is the dream right?

Well the only way to make that dream come true is with a plan. A solid content strategy calendar plan. Once you have an overall plan, then you can break down all the processes within that plan further. And so on and so on. Till your big, giant calendar is made up of small, doable, daily tasks.

Are you ready to get started? Let’s do this!
 

How To Create A Content Calendar For Your Blog

 
You really don’t need a content calendar for your blog. You could continue to fly by the seat of your pants, trying to figure out what works and getting stressed when things don’t. I bet you have big gaps in your blogging timeline where you didn’t post anything at all. If you are ok with that, then carry on.

But if you want to take to your blog to the next level, you need to embrace the strategies of the most successful bloggers. Trust me when I say they all have a content strategy calendar. Because it works. And it can for you too. I know it can feel awkward and unnatural in the beginning. Just stick to it and you will be pleased by the results.

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