I love blogging and getting to share things I love with so many people all over the world. The internet is so great because there is infinite information right at your fingertips, and so many people can contribute to and consume unique content. I love reading your blogs and learning from different people. When I create my own blog posts, I like to write about things I’m interested in and that I think other people would also find interesting/learn from. This post will go over how I plan blog posts using my Erin Condren LifePlanner.
If you aren’t familiar with Erin Condren or their LifePlanner, it’s basically a customizable paper planner that has a lot of really neat details and extras built-in. I’ve always preferred a paper planner (see my post on why you need a paper planner); it just gives me more control over everything. I like being able to write things out, and visualize my week/month in a way that makes sense to me.
I recently bought my 2018 Erin Condren Life Planner, and I’m so excited to use it. I love the Painted Petals theme, and the thicker paper! I chose the colorful, horizontal version of the Life Planner and customized the cover to say “MuffinChanel”. If you’re interested in your own Erin Condren planner, you can use my link for $10 off your first order.
Last year, I tried having two planners — one for my personal/family things, and one for my blog/content planning. I ended up just migrating everything into the one planner and it’s worked a lot better for me — it is a LIFE Planner after all! My blog posts are a reflection of my life, so it just made sense for me that it all be in one.
PLANNING BLOG POSTS WITH MY ERIN CONDREN LIFE PLANNER
TAKE NOTE
Since I am using my one Life Planner for everything, I always have it with me (even on vacation). Whenever I have an idea, or a question, or I have a thought about something I’m reviewing; I write it down.
The Erin Condren planners have a dedicated Notes section before each month that I love to use to brainstorm blog post ideas. It’s great because I can just flip the tab to the month we’re in and gather my ideas.
There are also a few note pages in the back of each planner that you can use if you need more room. I find that the monthly notes page is enough for me, but I like that those extra pages are there just in case.
HAVE A LOOK — MONTHLY VIEW
I like to use the monthly view in my planner to visualize my content, and plan out which days I want to post. For example, one of my goals this month has been to post twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays — I use the monthly calendar view to see how many posts that will be. Once I know how many posts I’ll be working on and can see how it fits in with my schedule, I can schedule time to work on my posts to meet my deadlines.
If you have a schedule of when you like to post your content, it really helps to view your full month at a glance.
PLAN FOR IT
When I’m in the monthly view, I like to use the styliized sticky notes to write out all my post ideas and stick them to the day I want them to be posted. Using the sticky notes is great because you aren’t committed to it, and you can easily move them to a different day.
This is super helpful if I’m working on a blog post, but am not able to finish when I planned, and I need to rearrange my calendar. Plus, I really love the cute design and colors of the sticky notes, and they keep me feeling inspired instead of overwhelmed when I look at my calendar.
INSPIRE
If i’m having a hard time deciding what to blog about, or just need a little more inspiration — the monthly view also lists all the holidays and you can create some seasonal content. I know that not everyone celebrates all the same holidays, but I think most people can appreciate a good seasonal blog post. I always like to create the type of content that I would want to read myself.
MAKE SOME TIME
In the weekly view of my life planner, I actually write out the things I need to do complete my blog post. Some posts are very involved, (like my DIY Bath Bomb post), and they take multiple days to research and create, and take photos, and edit, and add links — so I need to schedule out time to do those things by the post date. Blogging is really fun for me and I enjoy doing it, but having a planner really keeps me on track. I love my Erin Condren Life Planner because I can plan out the things I want to do, but also so I can remember all that I have accomplished.
My planner helps me to set goals for myself, and take action to achieve them. I love being able to look back at my year and seeing all the fun things I’ve been able to do and things that I want to do. If you’re making your first purchase through Erin Condren, you can get $10 off through my link.
STARTING A BLOG
I’ve shared how I use my Erin Condren Life Planner to plan my blog posts, but I also wanted to share how to start a blog if you are curious about blogging, but don’t know how to get started. I did a full step-by-step post on starting a beauty and lifestyle blog if you want to know everything.
Basically, once you decide that you want to start your blog, you should do a quick brainstorm about what you’ll be blogging about. This can help you plan your blog’s name/domain.
I chose to self-host my own blog on WordPress since I wanted to own my blog, and have a more professional look. I had started with the free version of WordPress for a year, but if I could go back, I would have done a self-hosted blog from the beginning.
I bought my hosting from Bluehost, but I know that HostGator does it too. Those are the two main ones that I’m familiar with, but I know there are others. Once you have your hosting set up, it will ask you about your domain name (your site address). You can create a domain directly through Bluehost and have it all in one, or you can buy your domain from a site like GoDaddy.
Domain names are pretty inexpensive unless it’s a popular word or phrase. You’ll want you domain name to be memorable and probably not too long. I recommend choosing a .com domain since that’s the most common.
Once you’ve signed up for your hosting and your domain, you can install WordPress and select your blog’s theme. Again, I have a full step-by-step post about starting a blog, but it’s pretty easy to get started. The real key about starting a blog is being consistent with content which I think my Erin Condren Life Planner really helps me with. Having a plan for my content and a posting schedule really helps keep me on track.
If you found this post helpful, share it on Pinterest! And don’t forget about $10 off your first Erin Condren purchase through my link!
