Five Tips for Managing Your Blog(s)

I started my blog in 2008 and have been blogging for clients for years. Blogs can be a great deal of fun and an awesome way to share and connect with, and learn from, others. That being said, sometimes it can be tricky to actually manage your blog(s)!

Blog management might be one of the most challenging things a blogger faces. If things come up in your life that prevent you from blogging, or if you just aren’t in the mood for writing, or if you are stumped for ideas, it can be really tricky to maintain your blog. This is one of the major reasons why so many blogs fade away.

However, there are ways that you can manage and maintain your blog!

Here are my best tips for blog management:

1) Understand what you want from your blog.

You don’t need to have a formal blog mission statement, necessarily, but understanding what you want your blog to be and what you want to get out if it is definitely an important place to start! If you have a purpose behind your blog, you will be that much better able to constructively figure out what makes the most sense to write about.

And don’t worry if your blog changes and evolves as you do! As long as you understand the direction it is taking and you are happy about it, you’re off to a good start.

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2) Plan ahead as much as possible.

I like to do brainstorming sessions and have blog ideas mapped out for at least several weeks, if not several months, in advance—and have the bulk of those articles written in advance. You never know when things come up or when you won’t get the chance to blog, so it’s helpful to prepare in advance!

Write blog posts and schedule them to be published so you know what each week will look like. This is also important to consider if you work with blog sponsors or if you have to write timely / seasonal posts—it will enable you to keep an eye on what’s coming up and move things around as needed.

3) Have several lists of ideas for blog posts.

Creativity can strike at any moment! This is why it’s good to have a running list of ideas as they come to you, even if you can’t actually write the blog post at that exact moment.

I have a list of ideas on my iPhone (in case ideas come to me as I’m out and about), as well as an Excel spreadsheet with different sheets for different blogs—I also keep separate lists for “ongoing types of blog posts” and “specific ideas.” All of this helps you to better organize your thoughts and gives you something you can write about, now.

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4) Consider some structure.

This might work for you, and it might not, but it’s what works for me: I like having some kind of structure (however broad that might be!) so that I know what types of things I want to write about.

For example, knowing the topics you will write about on certain days of the week—food and fitness on Mondays, style and beauty on Tuesday, writing and business on Wednesdays, and health / home / society on Thursdays, in the case of this lifestyle blog—provides you with the opportunity to know what direction your blog post should take on each given day.

If you let yourself write about whatever you want, whenever you want, it can quickly become overwhelming!

5) Enjoy your blog.

This is extremely important! If your blog feels like a chore, this is a good time to figure out what you’re doing wrong.

Everyone likes different aspects of blogging, so whether you prefer focusing on the writing, the design element, the marketing, etc., take some time to continue working on that. Connect with the bigger blogging community—the community is one of the best parts about blogging!

Your blog will only get better and better the more that you enjoy it and the more pride you take in it and care you put into it.

Want to read more blogging tips? Check out some of my past articles:

• Should I Start a Blog?
• Tips for Starting a Blog
• Three Tips for New Bloggers
• How to Write Multiple Blogs
• Writing Guest Posts for a Blog

What are some of your best tips for managing and maintaining a blog? Got any questions about blog management? Share in the comments section below!