How To: Batch Blog Like A Pro!

Today, I’m going to be discussing how to: BATCH BLOG!

What is that, you may wonder?

Well…   Let’s just say you’re meant to send out your weekly newsletter or blog updates tomorrow.

But, unfortunately, you’ve either written nothing all week…

Or perhaps a single, lonely little post is all you’ve managed.

What do you do now?

• Hit the pause button on your weekly email?

• Change your mailing schedule to another day?

• Change your scheduled time, so that you have a few hours to cram write some content?

(if it’s any of the above…. I have done ALL of those things before…).

Well, this is where a new concept comes in.

…Well, not really new, but new to me personally until I heard it mentioned recently on one episode the Side Hustle Show.

(One of my favourite podcasts FYI!  Check it out if you have a side hustle, or aspire to have one!).

OK, so what is batch blogging?

Well, it’s what it sounds like.

Doing a whole bunch of one thing, in advance of when it’s required.

Some people batch cook… cook a whole bunch of stuff at once and fill the freezer with meals, (I always have admired that sort of organisation).

Alas, I have rarely batched cooked.

I have rarely batched anything, the truth be known!

Batching generally sounds a little too organised for me, (but I’m gradually improving!).

In any case,  I was finding that my schedule was not getting me the results I desired – and distraction is a bitter battle.

I wanted to achieve more, in less time.

So, I want to embrace this batch blogging idea and give it a go.

So, I had a look around online to try and come up with a formula I could follow…

The best practices, for batch blogging, if you will.

But the basic gist of it is, you sit your butt down and crank out a tonne of content in one go.

Then schedule it to be released over the coming days or weeks.

Inspiration From Others….

Brainstorming!

One of the first important phases is the IDEA phase.

Many bloggers suggest having some sort of brainstorming session periodically, or having a folder, notepad or document that you can add ideas to as they come.

Crystal, (thesitsgirls.com) says she thinks of an topic and brainstorms every possible thing her readers may want to know about it.

Out of this session, she may get a few blog post ideas that she can crank out.

Personally, I have a google doc folder of ideas and I also always have a notebook to hand.

I also often do random google searches or social media searches, to seek out inspiration.

But I haven’t got a set scheduled time to brainstorm ideas and I think this would be a really beneficial thing to fit in.

I too often find that an idea comes to me, then I get distracted and stop what I’m doing in order to start writing down content ideas.

Before I know it, I’ve been distracted reading blog posts or searching Pinterest for the last hour…

Having a set time to research content ideas is a sure way to avoid it creeping into other tasks.

It’s also a way to avoid the awful feeling of dread when your list of ideas starts running low – always keep it topped up and you will be full of confidence.

The Process:

Emily Scott, (byemilyscott.com) suggests spending one day writing 3-5 posts and one day editing.

This may be a whole month of blog posts for some – or, for me, this would ideally be one week of posts.

In any case, splitting up the writing and editing tasks makes complete sense to me, as the writing zone and the editing zone are two distinct things.

Furthermore, she suggests completing blog graphics on the same day as editing, as editing will take less time.

On a third day, she formats and schedules posts on social media.

As I wouldn’t spend too much time with this, I think I could fit it all into day two.

Like me, she uses CANVA for graphics, (I also use GetStencil).

The Pomodoro Technique:

Joshua Leatherman, (Michaelhyatt.com) suggested something called the Pomodoro Technique.

Roughly, this technique is explained as follows…

• Organise exactly what tasks need completing.  In the case of blogging, this would be things like, brainstorming, content creation, editing, blog graphics, social media.

• Set the timer for 25 minutes, this set of time is one “Pomodoro.”  (you could set a different amount of time if you like).  Start on your decided task.

• After 25 minutes, make a checkmark – you’ve now completed one Pomodoro.

• You may have a 5 minute break if you choose – then start a new Pomodoro.

• After 4 Pomodoro’s you can have a 15-30 minute break, before starting again.

• You also have to keep note of any points you’re distracted.

I can see the benefit of this technique, as it could make very large tasks appear manageable.

By breaking up the steps we need to take into smaller chunks of time, we should find it easier to focus and improve productivity.

The Process In Steps!

After researching the topic, I think I’ve honed it down to a bunch of steps that will work for me.

These are as follows…

Step 1: check brainstormed ideas, (the list of ideas you already have a scheduled time to create). Choose 3-5 titles.

Step 2:  Spend one day writing all these posts in one go – perhaps breaking the time spent into “Pomodoro’s,” and tracking progress.

Step 3.  The following day edit all the posts and create graphics.  Again, using a time tracking technique.

Step 4. Schedule all posts – schedule sharing on social media, or just do this individually at the time if you don’t currently use a scheduling tool.

This will be my own personal plan.

I’m doing this next week and I’ll update this post with how I’ve managed it when it’s complete.

My main concern is that I will no way be able to get several posts done in a day…

but then, I read that Darren Rowse of Problogger can potentially write 5-10 posts in 5-6 hours!!!!

Now THAT, is seriously impressive.

Have you tried batch blogging?  How did it work out for you?

Leave me a comment below!

*Update:  Well… I originally wrote this post a long while ago now and I didn’t stick with the batch blogging thing all the time!

But find that doing bursts of it works well for me.

At this point in time – I do try and do this though:

• Come up with content ideas for AT LEAST the next week, (I currently have three weeks worth noted down) and then schedule in when you will write which posts.
• Then write as many posts as you can as drafts….   don’t edit  them, don’t add pictures.
• After your allotted time, you can then move on to editing.  The idea is that the creation part and the editing use different parts of the brain, so you will be more productive creating a whole lot of content in one go, rather than stopping and starting for editing purposes.

The biggest problem for me is definitely distraction.

I find it really easy to get distracted and start on some other task, rather than completing the one I’m on.

My biggest distraction right now is editing posts that I randomly come across.

In fact, this is a prime example right now!

I saw this post needed updating and I interrupted what I was doing to come and edit it.  *sigh….*

Ah the battle to stay focused on a single task!

… Back to work I go!

All the best…

 

PIN ME 🙂