Blogging Tips

On By K.M. Allan

Not too long ago I received a notice from WordPress that I’d published my 200th blog post.

In case you’re wondering, that post was the 7 Step Old Manuscript Review Plan, and it’s an example of the blogs I love to write. My faves are about being organized, as that’s what gets me in the creative mood to write and to blog.

Over the 4 years that my blog has been online, I’ve not only learned and published writing tips but sharpened my blogging skills, which is why I thought I’d share with you some tips about blogging.

Blogging Tips

Write About What You Know

It’s a much-touted piece of writing advice, but I’ve found it translates well to blogging too.

All my posts are about what I’ve learned while writing, including topics I studied to strengthen my own manuscripts. Translating that new knowledge into a blog post not only helped me get my head around it, but plenty of readers have let me know over the years that it’s helped them too, so writing about what you know is a win-win.

Of course, if you’re not comfortable/confident writing about advice, you could write about your own work. After all, who knows about that better than you?

Sharing your writing journey can be very inspiring for other writers, or interesting for readers who enjoy knowing how a book or piece of writing is made, so don’t be shy about sharing such things.

Keep An Organized File Of Your Ideas

Much like writing ideas, blogging ideas can pop into your head anytime.

If you’re like me, you’ll note them on pieces of paper or using your phone, meaning those blog ideas are scattered everywhere.

To make sure you don’t lose them, put your notes together in one file. I use Scrivener, but you could use Word, other writing programs, or a notebook.

No matter what you blog about, it’s bound to include various topics, some of which will relate to each other.

For example, my last blog post talked about 5 Things To Do After Getting Beta Feedback. This wasn’t my first post to cover beta reading, and won’t be the last. To keep all of those ideas straight, I use Scrivener to organize my blog ideas into different folders and then categories, such as dialogue, characters, and writing checklists.

Saving my ideas into categories makes it easy to see what topics to write about at a glance and makes it faster to get drafting.

Adjust Your Schedule To Suit Your Life

If you’re going to start a blog and want it to be read, the key is to post regularly. That’s how you’ll build your audience.

Posting regularly can mean anything from every day, to twice a week, to once a month.

When I first started my blog, I posted once a week. When my first book was published last year, I realized blogging every week while trying to promote a book and write the others in the series was no longer suitable and I adjusted my blogging schedule to once a fortnight instead.

This left me with a writing routine where I spend one week working on a blog (and other authoring tasks) and the next week working solely on my books.

It’s less stressful and I get to work on writing and blogging without feeling like I’m rushing/failing at either.

So, if you’re already blogging, or looking to blog, work out how you’re going to fit regular posts into your life and schedule accordingly.

Keep The Format Simple

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might notice I rarely add pictures to my posts. This was a specific decision I made when I first launched.

As much as I love pictures, creating good graphics, and inserting the perfect GIF, if I did that for every single post, it would double the time to put one together.

I also know readers are here to read the info in my posts, so sticking to just text and bold headings allows them to do that simply and efficiently.

Of course, if you want to add some great visuals to your posts, go for it! Just be consistent, opt for quality images, and get them from legit sources like Pixabay, Unsplash, and Canva.

Share Your Posts More Than Once

This is something I’m still working on as I’m pretty good at posting about my blogs on the day they’re published, but then never again.

In part, this is because I’m worried about spamming everyone who sees my social media posts with the same thing. In reality, different time zones and social media algorithms stop a good chunk of your audience from seeing your post at all.

If you’ve got multiple platforms, stagger the posting times. You might post to Instagram in the morning, Facebook at lunch, and Twitter at night. You can also use the Story options on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to post about your blogs for a 24-hour period.

If you’ve written good content, you’ll also find others will share your posts, and you can do things like re-tweet their posts on Twitter for longevity.

Over the years, I’ve had some wonderful people regularly share my posts on their social media, and I can’t thank them enough.

Get Into A Blogging Routine

Earlier, I said I work on my blog posts during a specific authoring week, and within that week, I have a routine.

This routine means I get a blog written and published without feeling too rushed. I do this by drafting a blog post on Tuesday, use Thursday to edit it, create graphics in Canva, and format in WordPress. Then on Friday morning, I review it before hitting publish.

I find spacing the process across multiple days suits the way I work and gives me the distance to pick up typos, but find what works for you.

Pulling a blog post together in a day might be that routine. Or so could spending a week writing multiple blog posts so you’ve got content for the next few months (also something I’ve done in the past).

In any case, a blogging routine will help you produce your regular content, and hopefully with as little stress as possible.

Accept That You Will Run Out Of Ideas/Motivation

Even the most dedicated, organized, routine-following blogger will run out of ideas and/or motivation.

Burnout happens. Life happens. When there’s nothing left in the blogging well, take a step back and opt for what is likely to be a well-deserved break.

Let your readers know you’re taking time off and skip posting for a week or two. Sometimes just a slight break from the pressures of creating and posting content is enough, and you’re happy to start up again, rejuvenated.

If the issue is that you’ve run out of ideas, use the break time to look at what content you’ve published, what’s in your idea folders, and brainstorm what future content you’d like to write. Researching the topics you want to cover and planning out what blogs to work on next may be all you need to find that lost motivation.

And there you have my blogging tips!

This is what I do to keep my content flowing, but as with anything, do what works for you and adopt, adapt or tweak anything mentioned here.

If you’ve got a blogging tip of your own, please share it in the comments. I love to hear it!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

50 thoughts on “Blogging Tips”

  2. Thanks for sharing, Kate! I trust you are feeling well post-surgery?
    I used to blog weekly until it became apparent I didn’t have enough worthwhile to say! In addition, I made a choice to focus my time on MS writing, and blogging was one of the first things to go. I post now and then when there’s something interesting or important going on. I honestly don’t think my pearls of wisdom are being missed by the masses, so it’s a win for everybody. This does not apply to YOU , however, since you always have helpful and interesting things to share. Keep it up, please!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I’m feeling well after my surgery, thanks, Alexander. Unfortunately there were some issues fixing what needs to be fixed and I’ll have to have a different surgery at a later date, but that’s a story for another day. I can totally understand choosing to work on your MS over blogging. There’s been a few blogs I’ve followed over the years that came to the same conclusion and don’t post anymore, but that’s all part of deciding what works best for you 😊. Don’t worry, I have no plans to stop blogging anytime soon. I enjoy it too much.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Great post, KM Alan! I also read a similar one by Stuart Danker this week and loved it. The tips you stated are so important, and yet so underestimated! Thanks for shedding light on some things I might not have known. Maybe I’ll try a couple of these!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Aw yis, I definitely keep my ideas and inspiration in one place, and that’s my commonplace book. I’ve now begun coupling that with technology and using Notion. I’ve taken filing for granted, but it’s such an awesome tool for writers. Anyway, thanks for this post!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for reading, Stuart. It’s so much easier when it’s all in one place 😊. Love the sound of your commonplace book. Is that a notebook you use specifically for blog posts?

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  5. I wrote a blog idea in my phone, then opened your post. 😂 Perfect timing. I have learned a lot from your blog posts. Congratulations on hitting the 200! That is amazing. The pictures take longer than the writing, you were wise to leave them out.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 🤣 so thankful for the notes app on my phone. I’ve made so many blog post idea notes over the years. Thanks for the congratulations 😊 and I’m so happy to hear my posts have been helpful to you. That’s exactly why I started it, to help myself and other writers learn more about writing.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Great tips. I blog once a week, but often find I’m not getting the time to do much writing. The idea of once a fortnight is a good one. I tend to get anxious if I’ve not got a post ready for my release day.

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    1. Thanks! That’s why I switched to once a fortnight, it gave me more time to write 😊. I totally relate to feeling anxious about posts. I’m like that until I get mine written.

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  8. I’m over here from Chris’ (The Story Reading Ape) blog, Katie. It’s great to meet you.

    I love reading blogging tips from other writers. I’ve always learned a lot about blogging from them.

    I’ve always added at least one image in each of my posts because I was always told that posts with images get up to 70% more traffic. However, my images tend to be either photos I’ve taken myself or something straightforward made on the free version of Canva (text and plain coloured background).

    As for ‘sleeping on my draft posts’, it’s something I completely agree with. I don’t think I’ve ever come back to a post and not been able to improve it.

    Thanks again for these great tips.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks for dropping by, Hugh 😊. I’m happy to hear you like my tips. I usually add pictures to my monthly blog roundup, which includes photos I’ve taken myself. I love taking photos too.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Yes, same here. I love photography too. I try and participate in at least one photography challenge every month. It’s a great way of getting to know other bloggers who have a similar interest in photography. I don’t have a fancy camera for taking them, just my iPhone. But it does a great job.

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  10. petespringerauthor

    Thanks for sharing your process, Kate. Quite a bit of this would work for me, although I write more when I feel inspired than on a regular schedule. One of the most beautiful elements of wring/blogging (this reminds me of my teaching career) is that there are many paths in any creative process. What you’ve done has worked and is obviously a successful formula for you. I always learn something and find your blog stimulating.

    Now, you’ve got me wondering how many posts I’ve written? I think I passed the one hundred mark a few months back.

    Liked by 2 people

  13. C.Tello

    This is my first month blogging. Thank you for your post. I found it very helpful and you are uplifting. I am still trying to navigate this blogging world.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Great post! I keep all my blog ideas on Trello but I love the idea of categorising the ideas, I’ll have to add coloured labels.

    I almost never remembered to share posts more than once. This is a good reminder!

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Yes, how do we forget to share our posts multiple times? We work so hard on them (and I do, so infrequently). I guess I don’t want to “bug” people on social media. But I have never once thought: wait a minute, I’ve seen that blog post before! Great tips–even for this pretty lackadaisical writer (me).

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