How To Get Your Own Blogging Done

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I was working with a client recently and he was asking, “how can I get my own blogging done when I am working a full time job outside of the home, am in blogging programs, have scored a gig as a guest blogger at a prestigious site AND still have my own posts to write?” It is, frankly, the struggle that many bloggers face when attempting to grow their own business while balancing a career and other paying gigs. How can you do it all?

First of all you need to take a deep breath and realize this is normal. These, my blogging friend, are business growing pains! If, ahem, you had a blogging business plan in place you may have planned for this eventuality. If you don’t have a business blogging plan yet, I suggest you take some time to work on one.

I will be the first to admit that my blog suffers from the “cobbler’s family syndrome.” I am fixing everyone else’s “shoes” but mine remain scuffed and holey. That analogy is a stretch, but what I mean to say is I have to really push to find time to blog on my own site. There are some times when a week will pass and I haven’t penned word one for myself.

When that happens here are some steps that I take to make myself and my blogging a priority:

• Treat yourself and your blog like you would a client. You wouldn’t let a client and his or her website remain unattended, would you? I’ll bet you wouldn’t. What I suggest is writing, “write a blog post for my own site” on your daily to-do list. Once you have determined how often you want to blog on your site, then add it to your to-do list. Make yourself a priority.
• Stockpile blog ideas in your idea journal. Keep an editorial calendar so that you know how many posts you have going live, on which dates and on what topics.
• Remember that your blog is your calling card to the world. If a potential client comes to your blog and sees there has been no activity for a few weeks, will he or she know that you’re still in business?

If necessary, set aside two or four or six hours a week, or on a weekend, to just do your own blogging. Make a date with yourself and hold on tight to that date. I’d blogged recently about my “future self” and I know that my future self thanks my current and present self for putting time into my own blogging.

Do you struggle making time for your own blogging? How do you juggle it? We’d love to hear your tips!

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