Blog Tip: Finding Time to Blog

NOTE: the Link Roundup is beneath this post.

When it comes to content marketing, one of the most often asked questions is, “How do I find the time to blog?”

This questions really hit home for me this week because I’ve been crazy busy putting together a new online course for you guys that I’ll be launching in about two weeks.

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You see, I typically prepare for and write my blog posts on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings, but this week, because of all the creative work I’ve been doing, I found that my mind was spinning in place.

I’d used up my creative energy for the week; there was just nothing left.

Yes, I’d used up my creative energy for the week; there was just nothing left.

Well, I’ve never been one to let something like that get me down, so I did what I always do when I hit a wall: I went to the web to search for solutions and boy, did I find them.

You see, there are lots of ways to find the time to write for your blog. For me, the best blog tip I discovered introduced the idea of building a post reservoir, a supply of posts that can be used when you have no time to write a fresh one.

Inspired, I decided to share these blog tricks and tips with you. If you’re having trouble finding the time to blog, then I hope you also find an answer by following one of the links below.

Blog Tip: Finding Time to Blog

Each of the links below leads to a post with tips on how to find time to blog.

Weekly Link Roundup

Each week, I collect the 10 best posts that I’ve read and share them with you here.

These posts focus on web-based solutions, online resources and up-to-date news for small businesses.

Enjoy!

10 Apps That Make Me More Productive: A handy list of solutions to check out.

10 Step Email Campaign Delivery Checklist [Infographic]: Get the most out of your e-mail marketing efforts by keeping this useful checklist close by.

How To Build a Rockin’ LinkedIn Presence: Some great tips, tricks and how-tos for making the most of LinkedIn.

Help Your Business Avoid Social TMI: A look at why you need to control social media within your business, but not too much…

10 Tips for Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Business: The goal of a social media policy should be to foster positive social media use within your company even while protecting you from the issues that social media use can bring. These 10 tips help you figure out how to create a policy that achieves that goal.

How four brands manage their wildly successful Facebook pages: Four great social media use cases from which to learn.

Why nobody clicks on your headlines: Some solid tips to increase traffic to your site from social media networks.

Start-up on a Budget: 14 Cheap Tools: A handy list of online solutions that can help get your business up-and-running for less.

Three Easy Ways To Repurpose Infographic Content: A few good ideas on how to extend he value of all the hard work you put into creating an infographic.

The New SEO: Very interesting insights into how search engine optimization (SEO) is evolving.

Comments

Niall Devitt says

February 13, 2012 at 5:41 am

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing these resources, I’ve found that writing more than one blog post at a time works well for me. In other words, I no longer write start to finish, but dip in and out of many posts as I go. – Niall

- Matt Mansfield says
  
  February 13, 2012 at 11:29 am
  
  Niall,
  
  Glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for sharing your own tip! Multi-tasking is a fine way to go if you can pick-up the train of thought when you return to each post. Sometimes I can, sometimes not so much. 🙂
  
  -Matt
  
Mike Senz says

February 16, 2012 at 5:37 am

I have two ideas for times and places to blog:

1) Leave the car at home and take a bus, where you can focus without too many interruptions. You’ll be surprised how much less stressful it is than driving and how much you can get accomplished. I have a good solid 40-minute bus ride when I go to downtown LA for my CA apostille business and I get quite a bit done.

2) Another great time to write blogs and comment on blogs is when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. Might as well make some productive use of that time, rather than toss and turn. And often the blogging will tire you out enough to get right back to sleep, where you can dream about becoming the next big-time blogger.

- Matt Mansfield says
  
  February 16, 2012 at 8:00 am
  
  Mike,
  
  Thanks so much for sharing your tips!
  
  Working while you commute is always a good idea if it’s possible. I used to do that when I traveled downtown every day by train – I always found the time to be very productive. When I used to take a bus long ago, I was never able to get a seat, so glad that works out for you!
  
  As to the middle of the night, that’s also a great tip! I’ve done that often though I find that it wakes me up more than it puts me to sleep. 🙂
  
  -Matt
  
Lori Highby says

February 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm

Thanks for the links in the article, and the comment ideas. A few approaches that I take to blogging is:

1) Just do it as the idea comes to me…. If I write down the idea, and try to write the post later, its not as effective and takes longer, than to crank it out as soon as it comes to me.

2) Get ideas from other bloggers… If Im ever stuck for a topic to write about, I take a look at what other bloggers are writing about and will use them as inspiration, often-times linking back to the post that inspired me to give them some credit!

3) Think about the questions my clients are asking me (or what I see being asked on Facebook). For example, I saw at least 10 Facebook friends ask randomly (not specifically directed at me) about Pinterest, so it inspired me to write a post about the power of Pinterest.

Two posts that I wrote that are definitely worth taking a look at:
9 Hot Topics From Bloggers on Blogging – http://www.keystoneclick.com/blogs/lori-highby/9-hot-topics-bloggers-blogging

Spice up your Blog, 11 Tips for Blog Content – http://www.keystoneclick.com/blogs/lori-highby/spice-your-blog-11-tips-blog-content

- Matt Mansfield says
  
  February 22, 2012 at 8:03 am
  
  Lori,
  
  Thanks for sharing your tips and your links!
  
  If you’re looking for more links like yours, you should check out: http://www.mattaboutbusiness.com/1000-content-ideas-for-your-blog-or-newsletter/
  
  -Matt