7 Easy Steps for a Pain-free Weekly Blogpost

I get it. You’re an artist. A visual communicator. You resent being expected to write a blog as part of your art business. You can’t find the time, let alone the inclination. If only you could press a magic button and a new post would appear on your blog. 

Well, I can’t give you a magic button, but my 7 Step Workflow takes the pain out of weekly blogging even for non-writers. 

(I’m also giving you a FREE calendar detailing each of the daily steps so you’ll never need to wonder what you should be doing.)

Why take 7 days to write a blogpost?

​I actually LIKE writing but I still find it really hard to fit a weekly blogpost into my schedule so I developed this 7 step schedule to make my own blogging process more efficient and effective and, let’s face it, more likely to happen!

But since sharing this workflow with some of my coaching clients and seeing great results, I wanted to share it with you!

The beauty of the 7 Step Blogging Workflow is that it:

• builds a regular blogging habit starting with the tiniest doable step
• improves your writing and editing skills
• makes optimum use of your natural energies and behaviour patterns

I’ve used this workflow consistently for several years now and it’s not only taken the stress out of getting my blogpost out each week, but it’s helped me complete the process in less time AND improve my writing!
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Why 7 Steps?

Apart from 7 being my favourite number and probably magical (!), it is, of course, the number of days in a week.

Spreading the creation of a blogpost over a week allows plenty of time for doing each stage properly instead of leaving everything to the last minute and posting something full of spelling mistakes and dead links. 
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7 Day Blogging Workflow

I start my blogging week on Monday. This means that I generally post on a Sunday - a relaxed and not-too-busy day for me. But you can begin your blogging work-week whenever you like. ​

This is my blogging workflow:

1. Monday: Pick a topic and write a working title. (Max 5 mins!)

You can’t get a tinier step than this. It kickstarts your subconscious into thinking about your idea and has you thinking that this thing is doable after all! ​
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2. Tuesday: Brainstorm content (½ hr)

You can do this in any way you like: 

• mind-map
• bullet points
• talk into a voice-recorder 
• stream-of-consciousness drawing

It doesn’t matter as long as you get your ideas down without censoring or spending ages organising them.
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3. Wednesday: Write first draft (½ hr)

Think carefully about the time of day for doing this. Do it when you feel at your most energetic and go as fast as possible! 

To avoid getting stuck on the first line, skip the opening and closing paragraphs and just focus on the main body of post.

Whatever you do, DON’T EDIT! This is what Anne Lamott calls the “shitty first draft.” 

You’ll have plenty of opportunities for editing over the next two days. 

Your editing will be WAY more efficient and effective after a break because your mind will be fresh.

If you’re into SEO you can also spend 5 mins doing keyword research. 

(I can’t claim to do this very often, but the theory is to target a term with around 100 monthly searches using Google’s keyword planner.)
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4. Thursday: Edit Draft (½ - 1 hr)

This is the most intensive day. It’s when you really start pruning your budding post into a pleasing shape.

Start by asking yourself:

• What am I trying to say?
• What’s the takeaway for readers?

Write down the answers to these questions.

THEN STRIP AWAY EVERYTHING THAT ISN’T THAT!

Look at each sentence and ask yourself: Does it add meaning? If it doesn’t, scrap it. ​If it adds meaning, can you find a way to shorten it?

It’s also time to write your opening and closing paragraphs.

Remember your first sentence needs to pull your readers into the story. Try making it ultra-short or starting with a question. You'll get a chance to hone it further on Day 5..

5. Friday: Second Edit (½ hr)

This is more of a tidy up than a full-blown edit (unless you really went down a rat hole the day before in which case you get a second go at sorting it out!).

Today you need to:

• Finalise your headline 

I recommend the Coshedule Headline Analyzer. It will really sharpen your ability to write meaningful, impactful headlines.

• Check the length of your first paragraph in Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool (Max 156 characters.)

This tool shows you how your first sentence will look in Google search results. 

Make sure Google's showing a whole sentence or enough of one to intrigue your reader about what’s coming.

Getting to grips with this will really you hone your first paragraph for more impact!

(You can also check your headline length here. Max 70 characters.)

• Add ONE Call to Action

You’re blogging to increase engagement with your work - whether for more sales, more subscribers or whatever. To get that desired result, you ask your readers to do something in return for being provided with free reading material, such as:

• leave a comment
• like your Facebook page
• share the post with a friend

You want JUST ONE of these. More leaves your reader wondering which to do - so they probably won’t do anything. 

Almost certainly, if you don’t ask, you won’t get. Just sayin’!

6. Saturday: Find/Create Images (½ - 1hr)

You guessed it, this is my favourite part. I don’t mind doing it on a Saturday because it doesn’t feel like work!

What you do for this part is down to you, but please:

• Rename your image files something appropriate including your name if your blog platform allows for this. (Mine doesn’t.)
• Make sure your images aren’t too big file-size-wise or your readers will have gone somewhere else by the time your page loads. 72dpi resolution is fine and prevents people downloading high-res versions of your artwork ;)

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7. Sunday: Format and Post (1hr)

You’re on the home stretch. Today you see your post take its place in the world. Your final tasks are to:

• format your post in your blog software / website builder
• do a final proofread
• do a visual check and chop long paragraphs to ensure content looks inviting and easy to read: eliminate text blocks that are longer than 6 lines; add subheadings, one-sentence paragraphs and bullet points to increase white space.

• insert images: add captions and ‘alt text’ description to each of your images. It helps people find your posts. (I’m guilty of neglecting this.)
• insert links - but not too many. You don’t want to distract your readers.

That’s it. A completed post. A sense of great relief and satisfaction and hopefully still time to put your feet up on Sunday evening with a nice glass of Spanish wine. (Ok, I’m biased about the wine.)

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To remind you of each of the blogging steps,
I’ve created a FREE weekly calendar for you.

Free 7 Day Blogging Workflow Calendar

Use the code: 7daybpwfree

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