October 10, 2009 378 Comments

How to Blog Almost Every Day

Crowd at IzeaFest I put up a blog post (almost) every day, and sometimes, I put up more than one a day. On top of this, I write for clients, write for other projects, work on books, and other things. Some of you don’t have all these other writing commitments, but still want some ideas on getting more writing out the door. Here are some thoughts into my process that I hope will give you a framework for writing a blog post (almost) every day.

How to Blog Almost Every Day

  1. Read something new every day. Need a starting point? Try Alltop. (Hint: read something outside your particular circle to get new thoughts).
  2. Talk with people every day. I get many of my topic ideas from questions people pose to me, or through conversations.
  3. Write down titles and topic ideas in a notepad file. ( I’ve given you 100 blog topics and another 20 blog topics just to get started.)
  4. Maintain a healthy bookmarking and revisiting habit. I use Delicious.com
  5. Find 20-40 minutes in every day to sit still and type.
  6. Follow an easy framework. Here are 27 blogging secrets to start you on what I mean.
  7. Get the post up fast, not perfect. You can edit if you have to, later. Perfectionism kills good habits.
  8. Dissect other people’s posts to understand what makes them tick. The more you understand of HOW they write, the more you can take the best parts of it into how you write. (hint, my 27 blogging secrets post gives you my patterns.)
  9. Find useful and interesting pictures. I use Flickr photos licensed under Creative commons for most of my photos. This helps me sometimes get a great photo for a post I already have in mind, but it also gives me post material sometimes.
  10. Think about what your customers and prospects need. I write from the perspective of the communities I serve. Every post is aimed at something I believe will be helpful to my community in some form or another. This focus takes some weight off my worries about what I should write about or not. I write about what my community needs.
  11. Mix things up by sometimes blogging on paper first.
  12. Mix things up by writing guest posts for sites that aren’t like yours. This gives your mind new formats to think about. I did this recently as part of a project and I loved it.
  13. Mix things up by changing the lengths of your posts: some long, some brief. Learn what makes an impact how.
  14. Never worry about throwing up the occasional “best of” post, once you get enough material. Example: here’s My best advice about blogging.

It’s not easy, but once you develop the habits, they stick with you. I’m writing quite regularly now, but it took me several years to get my groove down to a science. Some days, it’s still thrown off. Busy schedules can get the best of us, no matter what. That said, try to keep some content “in the can,” so that you’re rarely at a loss to keep your audience happy.

What do you think? Any other ideas to add?

Guest Posts are A Great Way to Grow Your Blog Traffic

Related posts:

  1. 20 Blog Topics To Get You Unstuck
  2. 23 Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts
  3. 40 Ways to Deliver Killer Blog Content
  4. Is Your Blog a Media Property
  5. Writing Effective Blog Posts

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  • http://www.inspirationpalace.com/ Mario

    It's all about creating the habit. It took me a while too.. But find a fixed time during the day when you just sit down and write. Research and outline at some other moment.. Just write and write. And just as Chris says, don't be too perfectionist.. Write much more than you should, let yourself flow and then cut down and edit. That's working marvels for me lately!

  • http://jeremyvaught.com jeremyvaught

    I'm printing this list off and putting it above my desk. Great stuff Chris, as usual.

  • http://www.mikeslife.org Mike CJ

    If you can develop the mindset that writing a post every day is the single most important thing you have to do, then it comes naturally and it comes first, before email, tinkering with design, being on Twitter. That's my secret – I don't allow myself to do anything else until there's one in the can.

  • http://twitter.com/CherylHarrison Cheryl Harrison

    Great tips – This one has been the most helpful for me – “Get the post up fast, not perfect. You can edit if you have to, later. Perfectionism kills good habits.” I actually don't read posts before I publish them – or else I would never publish them, because I'm a perfectionist. Only after it's published and out there do I even read it to fix grammar, spelling, unclear thoughts.

    I think I need to try to “mix things up” more, too. :)

  • http://organicsemseo.com/ alicia

    I have been wondering for a whole year how you did this! Now I can study, learn and post more often…thanks for these invaluable tips. I hope I can be more productive with all our company blog posts and client posts too!

  • http://www.bloggingtune.com Ramkarthik

    Nice tips.

    Reading posts in other niche blogs to get a new perspective is interesting point. I'd add this:

    Read physical books more. From every book you read, you can create a minimum of 10 blog post ideas.

    Also staying away from computer will help a lot in coming up with blog post ideas.

    I think it would be better if you sit still for 20-40 minutes and write in a notebook instead of typing in computer. Or that's what works for me.

    Good post, Chris.

    Cheers,
    Ramkarthik

  • http://twitter.com/DavidBThomas David B. Thomas

    Great stuff. Quick question: When you're looking for Creative Commons-licensed photos on Flickr, do you think it's necessary to only use those licensed for commercial use? I've done that for my blog just to be safe, but it really limits the results.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    That's what I did. I did the ones that only required “by attribution.” Seems the safest way to roll. No after-the-fact complaints.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    You're right. I read lots of books. Good addition. : )

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I watched you iterate on some posts the day before yesterday. Nice to see it in action. : )

  • Batman

    Does tweeting 150 times a day count as writing? :)

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Great point, Mike. Glad you added it. Make it the most important thing. : )

  • http://www.dubiousma.com/ dubiousMa

    This isn't actually related to your post, and I apologize, but I do want to say thanks for the info on Thesis. I've been trying to figure out if I should switch and your info was valuable.

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  • http://twitter.com/DuongSheahan Duong Sheahan

    Thanks Chris, Great tips! Consistency in habit is key for blogging too I'm learning. Finding time to blog has been a challenge for me hence, letting my blog go for a few weeks. Not good!! Also, #7 was encouraging…I've posted often and not perfectly and have had to go back to edit and sometimes annoyed at myself for small errors too!!
    @duongsheahan

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    I'd also add:

    1) Be realistic. If you constantly struggle for something to write about, maybe you aren't supposed to have a blog. And that's okay.

    2) Not everything is going to be gold. Hopefully it's not all garbage, but more than anything, just write and get it out there. I see a lot of people take a “THIS will be the post that gets 400 sites linking to me – it's THE PERFECT BLOG POST IDEA.”

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Two great points, Brian. I think you're right. Not everyone's a blogger. Heck, there are some great photobloggers and great videobloggers who'd feel crushed to come up with words every day. Me? it's the opposite. I'd be crushed to come up with a video every day.

  • corinnemcelroy

    Hi Chris, Blogging is a whole new world for me.
    Your ideas and resource are great. Thank you

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Not to me, it doesn't, but then that's only because it's so temporary. It just rolls past.

  • http://sazbean.com sazbean

    Mike, I agree. I have a to do list item every day to post. If I know I'm not going to be able to post a certain day, I write an extra post beforehand, scheduled to go up.

    But, while I make it a priority ti post every day, I don't stress out if I happen to miss a post once in awhile. Sometimes something more important comes up – family, friends, whatever. :)

  • http://www.skimbacolifestyle.com Katja of Skimbaco

    Great tips Chris. My problem, lifestyle and brand too is to live in the moment, and sometimes I can not publish a “canned post” if I don't feel like it. Or sometimes I am in the roll and write 3 a day, and can't just wait to get them out there and publish them at the same day.

    While I have been trying to be more tactical and save posts, I feel that I am still at my best when I get an idea and stop everything else until I have gotten it published.

    Also – I am the boss of my blog, and if I can not be a “successful” blogger because I don't post every day at 8 o'clock, then I won't, and I am fine with it. I much rather post good content in the terms I feel comfortable with than add “filler” posts just to get content up every day. Or this is how I have been feeling lately, but Chris you made me think with this post, and maybe there is a way for me to live in the moment, and write about things I am passionate about while having some sort of schedule :)

  • http://sazbean.com sazbean

    I'd also add, that sometimes people feel like they need to have 10-20 topics before they even start blogging. Just get started. It gets much easier as you get practice and as you find your grove and voice.

    Having an opinion on other posts in the industry (or outside), is also a great source for content.

  • cherissef

    Thanks Chris! This is helpful for someone starting out and trying to get into routine. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can't. The notebook idea with titles is great. Sometimes I struggle with if the information is useful enough and will anybody care anyways. That mindset causes writer's block.

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  • http://twitter.com/StarbucksMelody Starbucks Melody

    In all honesty, you sound a bit boastful in this blog entry of yours. If you're trying to blog and create really quality original content, I don't think having a push on how many blog posts is necessary. A blog post every day doesn't mean you've created something high quality every day. Perhaps you and I are just trying to do two totally different things with our blogs. http://www.starbucksmelody.com

  • http://empoprise-bi.blogspot.com/ John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises)

    Because I have Google Ads on my site, I also play it safe and limit myself to commercial use Flickr photos. It pay to be safe, I guess.

  • http://www.damondnollan.com Damond Nollan

    Thanks for writing this post. I try to write once a day, but I've seen how easy a routine/schedule can get thrown off. The answer for me is to scale back all the things I could be doing and find the time to do something meaningful. For me, blogging is that investment.

    You are doing a great job. Keep it up!

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    These are all really good, I've added them to my existing list of techniques (there is a some overlap, which makes me feel I'm on the right path).

    Fortunately, I'm now in the habit of writing every day, and have dozens of draft posts to choose from.

  • http://empoprise-bi.blogspot.com/ John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises)

    Two more ideas:

    1. If you're really inspired, write several posts and schedule some of them for future publication.

    2. Take a shower every day. Seriously, sometimes you can get excellent ideas when you're taking a break from work. Now I just need a waterproof pad and paper (your idea number 3).

  • http://twitter.com/RobertTalbert Robert Talbert

    One of the most productive tools I've used for coming up with blog posts (and tweets) is Google Alerts. I've got Google Alerts set up for the main topics I write about (mathematics, technology, education, and productivity) and they come up with stuff sometimes that I'd never run across if I were surfing the news manually — particularly news items from non-US sources which, for bloggers, is good both because those items are interesting to US readers and because they draw in non-US readers too.

  • marieforleo

    Incredible post Chris!! Thank you for the reminder about getting it perfect (and that you can edit later.) Also for the reminder about how valuable “list” posts are. These are often very easy for me to write. I forget that what comes easy to me is also hugely valuable for my peeps ;) Fantastic stuff!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Really great point, Robert. I heard that KD Paine does that too. Very clever.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I do love your ideas, and #2 is doubly useful. : )

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I don't really see where I was boasting. I mentioned my workload, and then I talked about how I got into the habit of being able to write daily. Sorry if it seemed like a brag.

    I also didn't discuss quality versus not. I just mentioned how one gets into the habit.

    Sorry we don't see eye to eye on this one. Enjoy your blogging. : )

  • http://twitter.com/BarbaraNixon Barbara B. Nixon

    Spot on, as always, Chris. I'll have at least four of my classes blogging again next semester. This post will be a must-read for them. I've already added it to my Delicious bookmarks.

    Also, do you have a recorded (either audio or video) on getting started in blogging that might be helpful for college students?

    Thanks for your consistent contributions,

    Barbara Nixon

  • http://www.sandiegolifestyle.info jeffreydouglass

    Chris, I write a daily blog about San Diego real estate. When I first started almost a year ago it was hard to write something everyday, now I find it hard not do post more than one a day. So much is going on in the world of real estate, technology, learning social media, and San Diego it's exciting.

    One tool that I use to keep tract of possible subjects is Omni Focus. When I come across an interesting blog post or new article I capture the link and save it to my blog folder. This has been a great help when I need a subject to write about and I can have Omni focus remind me of time sensitive material.

    Another tool that I have just started using is Instapaper. Being in real estate is quite busy but many times I have pockets of time while waiting for a termite inspector or appraiser. With my iPhone I can easily read content that I have saved from my laptop earlier to inspire future posts – really a nice time saver and much easier than using the mobile browser.

    Blogging is hard work, but also very satisfying to see that your content is read months later as someone is searching for an obscure post on Google.

    One another note, thanks for writing Trust Agents, I really enjoyed the book and I'm doing my best to use the suggestions – a very good read for anyone learning about building a site with authority.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jrichardbyrd Richard Byrd

    Thanks alot Chris – This will go along way with helping me to write everyday -

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I agree. Starting somewhere is much better than not starting.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    There are definitely many paths to the goal, and we might all have different goals. I love your drive to stop everything and get the post done. As I have several outside forces usually pulling my schedule in different directions, I can't do that often.

    I try not to make my content feel like “filler.” For the most part, I'm writing what I hope is decent useful stuff. I'm just not shooting multiple posts out a day when I can bank a few for a rainy day. Make sense?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Glad you're here. : )

  • Batman

    Well, Twitter is a microblog, therefore, all your tweets are still there, if you so desire, you should be able to parse them at your leisure.

  • http://www.mariannesmotifs.com/ Marianne

    Here are some of my blogging habits that help me find fresh ideas for posts: popurls.com is a nice aggregator of new web content. I also like to check Google.com/trends for the top web searches of the day. (Gives me ideas of what's buzzing at the moment). I love to check the Google news page for my blog tops as well as using Google alerts as above poster noted.

    I love to carry my small digital camera around with me so I can snap a quick picture of anything that catches my eye out in the world. I can also Twitter from my cell phone and have a Twitter feed on my blog, so that helps add fresh content when I am on the go and it's harder to do a full blog post.

    Also, I advise don't stress over creating a post every day. It's fine to post every 1 to 3 days in general. Just keep the blog fresh and interesting. Keep your audience in mind – I like to have a fictional audience in my mind for each blog and pretend I am talking to that person when I post. Personal blog audience is my mom! Crohn's Disease blog audience is someone just diagnosed and wanting advice. Sci Fi blog audience is my friends who are Sci Fi fans.

    Remember – blog posts can be short. I comepletely agree that perfectionism is the enemy of good habit forming. Do not fear mistakes – just point yourself in a direction and keep going!

  • http://www.resurrectyourhero.com blancastella

    Great post. Definitely will bookmark this. I love to write, so the ideas of what to write are not limited.
    Maybe I think too much of what I want to write(while I'm busy with a million things to do) & when I do sit down to write late at night, it becomes a long post 1-2 x per week.
    What are your thoughts about writing 1x per day shorter posts. Or 1-2 times per week longer posts?

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    Chris

    Blogging every day used to be something that was a challenge and finding time was never easy. I was trying to be the perfectionist – having the best post everyday. Now, I do write M-F and sometimes on a weekend and skim it before I post. I also keep little notepads around and jot topics and ideas down as they come to me. I have lots of little papers.

    I seem to be have found blogging creativity and focus comes after 11pm. I have tried to get the post written and up earlier but I generally fall into the late nite. Unless I am literally falling asleep at the laptop, I write the post.

  • http://jeremyvaught.com jeremyvaught

    This applies to #2. About a year ago I quit listening to the radio in the car. And I am always amazed how my mind starts to really focus on things that I don't otherwise think about while doing other things. But I think that's it, I'm doing other things. In the car, not so much.

    And it doesn't need to be waterproof, but I always have to keep my pad of paper ready. I used to use Jott.com before they started charging… actually, now that I say that, I should go back and investigate if it's worth paying. Calling is less accident prone.

  • Wall street rich guy

    You forgot the part about not having a job

  • http://www.sheilasguide.com Seafarer

    My problem is not a lack of ideas; got plenty of those! My problem is that I have 3 different blogs, and while one is multi-author (giving me some slacker leeway) the other 2 are mine, all mine. It is hard to post as frequently as I'd like to all 3.

    The other issue is that I am first and foremost a writer. I will not post weak, crappy, full-of-grammatical-mistakes material just to be “fast,” because those errors detract from my reputation as a writer. That reputation matters to me. I edit the hell out of my stuff and will continue to do so, because better work (posted perhaps less frequently, but so be it) is more important to me than speed.

    Make no mistake – when I gotta crank it out fast, I can do it, but how often is there really doggone “breaking news” in travel or social media that requires me to drop everything and go to town on the keyboard?

    Remember this: “There never seems to be time to do it right the first time, but there always seems to be time to do it over.”

    My data point – when I look back at things I've written months or years ago, I rarely wince and go back in to edit. Sure, maybe as an early blogger I screwed up the photo placement or something, but the words are usually fine, because I edited carefully before I posted. It works for me.

    One thing I HAVE learned how to do in travel blogging is to use a great photo, with just a little commentary, as a complete post. That does speed things up. I've also learned to zoom in on small things and make them a quick post, i.e., rather than a “Tips for Seeing Florence, Italy” post, I focus in small, and instead produce a “My Favorite Gelato Place in Florence” with a luscious photo of the limon gelato.

    By the way, I edited this comment numerous times before I posted it. :)

  • http://jeremyvaught.com jeremyvaught

    I'm all about the small camera. I had a Canon Powershot I used and loved until I accidentally left it in my pants in the wash. So I thought I would upgrade to a Sanyo Xacti. It's a better video camera, but the net result is MUCH less video AND pictures. I need another Powershot.

    Thanks for reminding me to look into that again.

  • Cynthia M

    I am really enjoying reading your articles. I saw you at Izeafest. I am a newbie (Is it really a blog if no one is following? haha) Went because my friend has a Mommy blog. I loved what I felt was your balance…this is still about people and relationships – take a deep breath and stop the madness. Thanks again for sharing your insight.

  • teamnirvana

    This is a comprehensive list which would help me in the days to come when I am stuck at some point. At times I do feel void in my mind on what to write. This would surely help me in thinking about one topic or the other from which I need to make a valid post.

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