For those of us who are starting new blogs and hoping to turn them into businesses, publishing a good amount of blog posts is the most important thing we need to do to get ahead.
This is why I highly recommend blogging daily if you can.
…I don’t blame you if you think that sounds scary.
But don’t worry. I don’t mean you have to publish a new, 1,500+ word blog post every day (although it would be fantastic if you could).
I’m just trying to say that getting into the habit of doing some writing and working on a blog post every day would be very beneficial and worth your time.
It may seem like a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be! Here are a few unique tips on how you can make daily blogging a little easier:
1. Journal in the morning
Journaling in the morning will help wake up your inner writer and make a blank document look much less intimidating. Even something so simple as writing a couple of paragraphs about what’s on your mind or what you hope to achieve that day is enough.
I’ve personally seen the benefits of this after starting daily morning pages, which are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing.
Though my morning pages hardly ever have anything to do with the topics I write about on my blog, I’ve found that the act of starting the day off with writing of any kind has helped make my blog writing flow much more easily.
Don’t worry if three pages is too much for you. Like I said, a couple of paragraphs is completely fine! The goal is simply to get warmed up and ready to start blogging.
2. Show up at the same time every day
Think you need to wait for the perfect amount of inspiration and motivation to start writing? Think again. Somerset Maugham said “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
Simply put, you’ll be in the habit of blogging daily if you show up to work on your blog at the same time every day.
It’s not always necessary to have the perfect idea, images and outline all ready to go before you sit down to write. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just pick a topic and roll with it.
3. Write before consuming other content
This isn’t always possible, especially if you like to blog later in the day or at night rather than in the morning.
But regardless, try to get to your blog before filling your mind with other content. This will help keep your mind clear and focused on the topic that you’re writing about.
The exception to this is if you need to do research for your blog posts. That’s completely fine! Just try to stay away from content that doesn’t have anything to do with what you’re writing so you can stay focused on your work.
4. Turn off your Wi-Fi/Use a website blocker
Don’t waste the time you set aside to blog by opening new browser tabs and checking your phone every couple of minutes.
Turn off your wifi or use a website blocker and put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode. This will help eliminate distractions so you don’t get tempted to procrastinate.
I personally use the SelfControl app to block my most frequently-visited websites since I’m not the only one in the house who uses wi-fi.
There are tons of similar apps out there, so feel free to search around and find one that’s compatible with your computer. Cold Turkey is a popular option that works for both Mac and Windows.
Turning off your wi-fi or using a website blocker can really help you if you have don’t have the willpower to stay off of social media! I highly recommend trying it out.
5. Set a timer
If you’re feeling stuck while starting and/or writing a blog post, try setting a short timer and forcing yourself write as much as you can within the time limit. Anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes is a good range.
Once the timer goes off, go ahead and take a short break. Then either set another timer or continue writing as you normally would.
You may be surprised at the ideas that pop up and how much you’re able to get done when you’re working under a time limit!
Do this at the start of your daily blog writing and you’ll find that you’ll be able to get into the “flow” of writing very quickly.
6. Use speech-to-text to get your content going
If you’re having a hard time writing your blog posts every day, then why not try speaking them instead?
You can use a speech-to-text tool to do just that. To use the tool, just say whatever you want out loud and the tool will transcribe it into writing. Google Docs has a free speech-to-text tool that works perfectly fine (open a document and click Tools -> Voice Typing to access it).
You may find that it feels much more natural for you to say what you want to write out loud. It may also help your blog posts come together quicker than usual. However, the formatting of the text will be far from perfect, so you’ll have to do some editing once you’re done.
7. Forget being a perfectionist
Blogging on a daily basis is a big commitment, and worrying about being perfect won’t make things any easier.
Don’t wait until you think of the perfect way to put your idea into words, until you’ve done all the right research, until your outline is nearly a complete blog post…
Just write. Everything will come together once you get things going. And if you’re trying to be perfect, you may NEVER get things going!
Final thoughts on blogging daily
These are just a few unique tips that could help you out if you’re having a hard time blogging consistently. It’s not a definitive list that you have to follow perfectly!
Some of these tips may work well for you. Others may not help you at all.
Regardless, I hope you found a tip that’ll help you if you’re having trouble.