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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  • bill_free

    Great post, Chris. Will use as motivation to stop procrastinating and get my blog up (using Thesis on your rec, btw). Also wise counsel on curbing perfectionism. I will try to take it to heart.

  • http://twitter.com/wanglibrary Diana

    Chris, you always give indispensable information where ideas can grow and flow through into our lives. Thankyou

  • http://simplyblog.net migwickert

    Seriously, headed for the printer! :) Thanks for sharing!

  • http://sweatyshop.com/ Jeffery Wood

    Another way to generate ideas, especially if you deal with local businesses, is to pick up a daily newspaper and just read the headlines. See what is important news for your area, read the article, and blog your thoughts on it.

    – Jeffery

  • http://www.passwater.com/ George Passwater

    Excellent tips Chris.

    I use Alltop all the time for ideas. I especially like your point to look outside of your circle for new thoughts; I have been trying to do more of that lately.

    I agree to mix things up between different types of posts since things can get stale after a while. One of my biggest problems is editing while I write. Now I just throw out my words on paper and go back to mop things up afterwords. I have been using my MoleSkine much more lately and prefer to use paper to spew out my words instead of a keyboard.

    This reminds me of a book I just finished up a while back. The book was Stephen King on Writing. This post reminds me of his words to write something everyday. Great stuff.

  • cathytaylor

    Great post Chris. Your point about finding 20 to 40 minutes a day is doable given that I have a 40 minute train commute to and from work everyday. That suggestion alone just may push me over the edge to finally buying a netbook to carry w/ me everyday. Or maybe at the very least, I could do it old skool and just jot down some handwritten notes.

    I also enjoy guest blogging for other blogs, which I started doing recently. Nice exposure. And using comments to generate ideas is fast becoming a good way for me to shape subject matter.

    Thanks fo sharing.

  • LilianMahoukou

    Hi Chris,

    You're totally right on listening and reading first to understand people's needs. I think we can also play on different writing styles (more study-oriented, useful tips, asking big questions, etc …) and this will lower the pressure we put ourselves to blog everyday.

    @LilianMahoukou

  • http://tech-glide.blogspot.com ikartik90

    Hey Chris,
    I really felt this post of yours would be very fruitful for my writing. Well, I have a blog and at the same time write regularly on it. I have a problem, that as far as I know, is common to all the struggling bloggers on the web. I actually don't find a good number of readers and loyal subscribers to my blog. I am currently even working out a lot of social networking websites to interact with people. But still I don't seem to find satisfactory results. I hope you show me a way to this problem.
    Thanks :)

  • ivanwalsh

    <Twitter is a microblog

    I don't think it is, to be honest. Most blogs have a central theme around which content is developed. For me, twitter is just instant messaging with some nice features built in.

  • ivanwalsh

    Inverted Pyramid story format

    Hi Folks,

    One suggested approach is to use an inverted pyramid format.

    The “pyramid” is a triangle.

    1. The top represents the most substantial, interesting, and important information you want to convey.

    2. The middle section discusses the main points of your article, often as bullet points and

    3. The tapered lower portion illustrates that other material should follow in order of diminishing importance.

    This works best when writing longer posts, i.e. as opposed to short snippets.

    Ken Blake, Ph.D. explains how it works on the Tennessee State University site:

    Journalists use many different kinds of frameworks for organizing stories. Journalists may tell some stories chronologically. By far the simplest and most common story structure is one called the “inverted pyramid.”
    http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11178/171/pyramid.htm and here Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

    Having this model in mind helps me structure each article. I write a one sentence intro, break out the content in chunks, and then wrap up at the end with conclusion and/or questions.

    Asking a question at the end can be a simple but effective way to encourage readers to post a comment. Something I read on this site, actually. Thanks Chris.

    What you think!

    Ivan,

    Beijing, China

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      Makes sense to me. I love it.

  • http://twitter.com/David365 David Rogers

    Will put into action today – will put up video found with brief comment, rather than waiting until “perfect” longer post

  • Anonymous

    Great post Chris! You nailed me on #7. It IS what has kept me from blogging. I am a perfectionist!!

  • http://www.lookwhatmomfound.com Rob Babiak

    Great post. Sometimes I feel like it is hard to put up something everyday. Our blog is a family and product review blog so sometimes it is hard to come up with stuff but I am not hoping with your suggestion it will get easier. I like your suggestion get it up fast not perfect. I strive for perfect alot and I think that messes me up and prevents me from getting posts up sometimes. Great blog and keep up the great posts!!!

  • http://www.polarunlimited.com/readitfor.me stevecunningham

    If everybody waited for truly original content to write anything, the Internet would be a really boring place. I think Chris' point is that you aren't going to create “quality” every day. But the quantity isn't about creating a ton of content – it's working at it and getting better. I could be wrong though.

    Chris – I'm impressed not only by the quality and quantity of your content, but of your level of interaction. You are a true model for all of us.

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  • http://lumpysoceanlife.blogspot.com/ washingtonson

    Sometimes I edit my posts 2 or 3 times! LOL…

  • http://clintus.me clintus

    Fantastic post Chris.

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  • Clemence Ko

    Very invaluable tips for all bloggers. I especially like tip number 12 and 13. Very refreshing methods. Never thought of them.

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  • http://www.gwentanner.com/ Gwen T

    Thanks for this! I read this post yesterday, and today I had so many ideas for posts that I actually went in and created drafts as each idea came to mind. Usually i just try to “remember” them and get back to them later. So just reading this one post of yours yesterday I have a pretty good collection to blog about all week :)

  • AnnaFB

    Thanks, you’ve inspired me! My best tip is to have a key theme that can unite a lot of ideas and experiences. Mine is “learning.” I find I can relate nearly everything back to that theme, which really helps generate posts.

  • http://moomettesmagnificents.com/blog Cindi @Moomette’s Magnificents

    These are great tips – I especially like the idea to get something up quick and go back and edit later. I do keep a notepad of ideas – sitting still is my problem!

  • http://e-marketeur.blogspot.com/ Emna Atrous

    Use Sidewiki to comment on other blog posts while reading them and don’t forget to submit some of your comments to your own “blogger” blog. I find it an effective way to get rid of blogging procrastination !

  • Anonymous

    When I blogged, a few years back, my discipline was to read and research 5 to 10 hours for every hour I spent writing. When life got too busy – I’m a now 70 year old “tweener” with the family members in KS & SF – for me to do the reading, the writing pretty much had to stop.

    My posts are still there – with very few updates since the onset of my Mom’s last illness, its aftermath, my daughter’s divorce, wedding, birth of 3rd grandaughter, & moving back to the suddenly unoccupied farm home where I grew up. Life’s good, but I regret that blogging is no longer a part of it.

  • http://everydayamara.blogspot.com/ Amara

    Hey Chris, I am one of your Twitter Followers, @amazinglyamara . I just wanted to say that this is a very helpful and clever post. There is some controversy over how blogs should work, if they should be only niche related or span a person’s entire interest spectrum, any thoughts?

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      I prefer niche. I think they help better that way. I want to read about the aspect of your writing that appeals to my needs. Make sense?

  • http://writingontheweb.com Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

    I hate to say ditto, great post, etc. but I was just going to post a similar thing today because – get this – since I’ve been blogging everyday, as opposed to every other day or 2-3 times a week, my number of visitors & readers has DOUBLED!

    Strangely, I have less problems coming up with something to write daily than when it wasn’t daily because my mindset is already there, all day long. I’m finding ideas everywhere…

  • http://writingontheweb.com Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

    Since I’ve been blogging daily, my traffic has doubled and I have less trouble coming up with post ideas because my mind is already there. Thanks, Chris, for the great tips.

  • Anonymous

    Awesome advice and tips Chris.
    Thanks. Will let you know how they pan out.
    Cheers
    Delme Linscott

  • PedroFonseca

    Hey, this is good and welcomed advice.I think that it is important to gather momentum and then stick to it.

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  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Posterous is great. Very lightweight, but does the job.

  • http://www.patrickbarbanes.com @pbarbanes

    The input I’ve gotten is that blogger challenges are 1) discipline/time; 2) inspiration. So at two BarCamps recently, I gave a presentation, clumsily titled “Not A Writer? How To Use Twitter and Other People’s Content To Drive Traffic To Your Blog.” Before seeing it, some people thought I was talking about stealing content – but that’s the farthest thing from what I meant. What I showed was how to easily use other sources of content as inspiration for a blog post – no matter how brief that post might be. Some bloggers feel that every post has to be some brilliant analysis, when in fact it can just be a pointer to other interesting information, with a short comment from the blogger. So for time-saving AND inspiration, as well as a blogger’s normal sources of content, I recommend (as you did, Chris) using alltop.com, which is a big time-saver through it’s aggregating by industry or topic and through it’s “hover” summaries that let you decide if a piece of content might be worth clicking on and reading further AND would be of value to readers of your blog. Then, write a post based on that content, even if the post is just a short thought about it, and always include a link to the source. Finally, use a link shortener (I recommend bit.ly) to create a link to YOUR new post, and tweet out the link. Voila – you’ve got a new post up that will be valuable to your readers, and you can tweet a link to your post. Readers of your blog read your post and can move further to the content you point to, if they desire.

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  • http://www.fortarticle.com/ Article Directory

    I like to have notepad lists to refer when I write everyday. I can be reading or see something on news or popular topics and make note to self to write about it and if it is news worthy to my website readers. It is important to wrte every day for traffic while having the intrest what I write about.

  • http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com/ krissy knox (iamkrissy)

    Thanks so much, Chris. Your opinion means the world to me, bc you're a blogger I respect. :)

  • http://www.inconsequentiallogic.com Roschelle

    I don’t blog everyday but I post everyday. And yes, sometimes more often than that. I’ve learned along the way the importance of posting in advance. I usually have 15 to 20 posts sitting in the “launching bay” just waiting for their moment in the spotlight. Occasionally, I’ve have to delay a post. This only happens when I find something I feel is more interesting to post about on that particular day.

  • http://www.purplestripe.com Lynette

    Okay Brogan, I’m getting *really* tired of you having all these incredible ideas and lists and giving them away to all of us for free. What are you trying to give Letterman a run for his money or what? Good Lord have you ever had an idea or post that has just been utter crap and blew up in your face? I’d love to know that your human too! I hate to say it – again – but thanks – again – for all the kick ass ideas you give us. You, my friend, are the Original Rockstar. I’ve met a few people at this past PodCamp Philly that have blogged EVERY SINGLE DAY without missing one for over four years. Key to it all – read more than you write. Keep your brain full and you will never run out of ideas.

  • http://www.sheilasguide.com Seafarer

    Sure, got it, thanks (and I do let the perfectionism problem bite me more than I should!)

  • http://twitter.com/joannefritz Joanne Fritz

    I handle the perfectionist thing by scheduling my posts for the next day. That gives me time to check them a couple of times before they go live and make edits. But it is not so long as to allow me to make endless changes.

    Thanks for the great post, Chris!

  • http://onlinebizadviser.com/ Ben Shute

    If I could blog every day I would, but finding time in between family commitments by the time I get home from my day job is difficult. I always strive to keep my posts relevant to an event to give them context in addition to practical advice. Further to tip 3 that you made above, I’ve found what facilitates a more regular routine for me is keeping an open file on my desktop and whenever I come across something I want to write, I’ll put down the bulk of the point I am trying to make with a the context. From here I can come back to it later and bulk it out with more context and detail, and eventually I end up with a lot of content that I can put out over a week or 2 weeks.

    Certainly too, I’ve begun experimenting more with different length posts – I used to publish diatribes, but have recently been writing much shorter and practical posts – much easier to get out.

  • http://www.letblog.com Roezer

    Chris I think Blogging is Boasting most of the Time Anyway.If you are not Bragging a little you won't Impress your Readers.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you very much,I have read it now.
    And welcome to my site,
    Tiffany 1837

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  • http://www.work-at-home-blogger.com/ Chandan

    This is really a good advice on blogging. As a new blogger this is really very helpful post for me. Thank you anyway.

  • Dara Bell

    I think this is good practice. I think your right (write) its about craft, content and current affairs (relevant to the readers). belldaragh@twitter.com

  • http://www.work-at-home-blogger.com/ Chandan

    I have also installed disqus comment plug in on my blog. This is really very nice plug in.

  • http://jrmarketingtips.com/ Jenny

    Thanks, this is great information. I always find it hard to come up with new topics to write about.

  • http://www.mwd.com @JoeHobot

    Good blog post Chris!

    My trick to everyday blogging is RSS Reading 50-200-300 news per day. And mostly PR stuff I get emailed.

    Again great blog post, tweet ya later aligateerr…

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