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~ By Kimberly Farris
I work better when I have a plan. I like knowing and seeing what I need to do. I can’t keep ideas/goals in my head like I used. Plus, seeing it in outside my mind ensures I don’t forget what needs to be done.
One area of my writing life that had been plan-less was my blog.
I struggled with blogging consistently, what to blog about and the motivation to blog. I wanted to blog, but I was overwhelmed. Blogging can be great, so if you are thinking of starting a blog then you should go for it. Just remember that there is more to it then writing, such as getting the right web hosting provider (for example, you might decide that you want to use something like this linux hosting or another web hosting provider similar to hostiserver), this is why it is very important to have a plan.
So I did some research and found some articles on creating a blog action plan. I took pieces from the articles and came up an action plan format that I used for my blog. The plan has helped me be more focused and less stressed about blogging as well as given me a way to measure my progress.
The plan has six parts. Be as specific as you can in your answers.
1. PURPOSE
a. Why do you blog?
b. Who is your audience?
2. FINANCE/OPERATIONAL COSTS
a. How much will it cost to start up, revamp or maintain your blog?
3. S.M.A.R.T. GOALS
a. What are your short-term goals?
b. What are your long-term goals?
4. OPERATIONAL MODEL
a. Who’s doing what job?
b. When are you going to blog?
5. MARKETING STRATEGY
a. How will you promote your blog/site?
6. CONTENT PLAN
a. What categories or topics will you blog about?
b. What types of content will you post?
Let’s do blog plan for fictional romance writer, Sally Love. She writes mysteries. Her answers are in red.
1. PURPOSE
a. Why do you blog?
To reach readers and create an online presence
b. Who is your audience?
Romance readers who like mysteries and romance writers, who write mysteries
2. FINANCE/OPERATIONAL COSTS
a. How much will it cost to start up, revamp or maintain your blog?
Hosting: $75
Domain: $10/year
Theme: $40
3. S.M.A.R.T. GOALS
a. What are your short-term goals?
Blog 3x/week
Participate in a blog hop for romance mystery writers
Learn how to embed videos and photos
b. What are your long-term goals?
Average 100 views a day
Have weekly guest posters
Be a resource for mystery writers
4. OPERATIONAL MODEL
a. Who’s doing what job?
Writing/Finding content: Sally
Basic website maintenance: Sally
Advanced tech needs/issues: tech savvy brother-in-law
b. When are you going to blog?
Mondays: writing related posts
Wednesdays: posts about unsolved mysteries/crimes
Fridays: list of links to interesting sites/posts
5. MARKETING STRATEGY
a. How will you promote your blog/site?
Doing now: Twitter
Other options: Facebook, Goodreads, forum and email signatures
6. CONTENT PLAN
a. What categories or topics will you blog about?
writing, mysteries, unsolved crimes, random topics, police procedures, reading, private detectives
b. What types of content will you post?
standard posts, videos, pictures, discussion posts
Sally is done with her blog plan and can now start putting it into action.
What are your goals for your blog? How do you measure them?
Here are links to the sites that inspired my blog action plan:
BloggerSentral.com Blogging24h.com Heartifb.com MarketingProfs.com Problogger.com ThemeFuse.com
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Kimberly, Sally says I can borrow and tweak her plan. Is that okay with you?
Di,
If Sally’s cool with you using her plan as a guide, then so am I. LOL I’m glad her plan helped you see how to create one for your site.
That is a fabulous plan, Sally! I want to borrow it and tweak it for what I want to do. I’d seen the outline before but didn’t know what I wanted to put as answers. Your answers help me figure out what I would change, and see what would be feasible and reasonable. I often have too high hopes; ergo my plan is always to “Eat the Elephant” one bite at a time. I’ve found looking at the entirety of what I have to accomplish can be paralyzing (with fear!) Seeing how you’ve broken it down helps me focus on something that is practical. Thanks for sharing your details!!
This is very good advice. Often I begin things without a plan, so it helps to write down my goals and have a bit more structure. Thanks!
Tiffany,
You’re welcome!