Lesson 3: Blog Planning Tools

Plain and Simple: your diary and calendar

The easiest way to plan ahead is to use the paper based tools you already use every day, your diary and calendar. If you are preparing a series of blog posts over a period of time then map that out on your calendar, taking into account your other commitments, and translate these to your diary.

My July plan, in the image above, shows how I planned the dates for when the blog posts would be added into this CoachCaroleOnline WordPress site. In some weeks I was ahead of myself and in others, life got in the way, and posts were parked ready for another day. (I won’t display my diary pages for those days – lots of crossing out and arrows – it happens frequently.)

Tip: Begin planning your Blog posts at the beginning of a month!

Smart and Straightforward: your blog site (drafts)

Another way to plan ahead is to go directly to your blog site and save the titles of your blog posts in advance. This enables you to see at a glance which ones you are up to.

I have done that today in my WordPress blog to plan the next series of blog posts that provide you with my lessons.

In my Blogger site for Celtic Family History I have taken an image of the list of Posts from the month of December 2018, just to give you an idea of the frequency of posting. December was a favourite month for working on my Family History, it gave me a new focus after Christmas festivities had been and gone.

Tip: Make sure that you set reminders to work on your blog post drafts with a note in your diary or phone.

Stunning and Collaborative: your Trello Boards

For a smart way to collaborate with others in the planning of your stories/posts, you may consider the use of a special Trello board. In the one displayed above you can see that I have begun to plot my Maternal line and to write up stories on my Maternal ancestors in sequence in August.

Using Trello you can add the date directly onto a card and set a label to indicate if in progress or still to be researched. The beauty of this approach is how easily you can collaborate with another family member in gathering the data directly onto the planning board.

Tip: Create a new board for each family group or tribe and segment the board into cards for each ancestor.

Whichever method you choose to plan your blog posts, give yourself time to do the research, harvest the facts and images, and write the stories in between the dates for posting. Be flexible but focussed and choose your dates wisely. And select your favourite time of the day, your favourite place to write and the perfect inspiration for your planning, writing and posting environment.

I like to write these blog posts either early in the morning or late in the afternoon on any day with a ‘y’ in it.

In my new home I have set up my writing space in a north facing room at the front of the house where I have a view of the park.

I mostly like silence when I’m writing, but occasionally I will have instrumental music playing in the background.

What are your favourite ways to plan your blogs? Leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you.