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Confessions of a Blogger

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Whilst being a blogger may seem like an easy thing to do, it really is rather difficult! It’s a constant job and, whilst I do love it, sometimes it can become a bit of a chore. In this post, I want to confess to some of the naughty things I do (and don’t do!) and highlight the fact that every blogger works differently.

Confession #1: I spend more time thinking about writing blog posts than actually writing them.

Sometimes my motivation levels can be extremely low. I have SO many ideas for blog posts, but getting them actually written is another thing entirely! What even are words? Occasionally, I really don’t know!

Confession #2: Blogging is a 24/7 job.

Even when you’re not sitting down writing a post, you’ll still be preparing for it by reading or researching; you might be posting on social media or brainstorming ideas. Even when you’re on a hiatus, your blog will still be running around your mind!

Confession #3: I blog instead of doing my homework.

Anything school related most definitely comes second to blogging and reading. Who cares about physics when you can instead talk about your favourite books?!

Confession #4: I wish I was more committed to my blog.

Although I do put lots of time and effort into my blog, I wish I could put more in! I need to get a lot better at organising myself, and I also need a big spring clean of my blog!

Blogging

Organising Your Review Pile

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Something I’ve struggled in the past with is reading books in time for publication date, and being able to talk about a book as soon as the day of publication. Usually my review pile stacks higher and higher and eventually it becomes way too big too manage. This year, however, I’ve worked out a system to get me more organised than ever before.

Step One: Designate your review books their own section on your bookshelf

Before I’d chuck all of my review books onto my main TBR pile and it got SO confusing. Visibility is key to organisation when it comes to your review pile, and once I cleared space for my review books it became so much easier.

In my case, I’ve got two sections for my review books: published in 2015 and not published in 2015. This means that I know which books I’ve missed from previous years that I can slowly catch up on, and I can still check up on the books that are yet to be published.

Step Two: Organise your books into order of publication

I first set out all of my January books into a pile and organised which would be published first during the month and so on. Once January was finished, I could move on to February and it was a gradual process to make sure I had them in exactly the right order. Goodreads is a great way to find out the exact dates, and you can also check on press releases if you received one with the book!

Step Three: Constant upkeep.

It’s no good organising it once and then leaving it! As soon as books drop through my letterbox, I first add them to my haul pile and then once my book haul has been recorded, I’ll add them to my review shelf. Upkeep is such an important step in being organised!

How do you organise your review pile?

Blogging Uncategorized

DIY: Rejuvenating Your Blog

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It’s finally Spring, so the perfect time to sort your blog out and freshen it up for the rest of the year ahead! I always do a big spring clean every year, and today I wanted to show you how you can start by finding the direction you want your blog to go in.

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What You Will Need:

– Plain Paper – I used 6 pieces of A4 paper and stuck them together, or you could use an A2 sheet of paper and it will work the same.

– Cello tape

– Pens – I used brightly coloured pens, like Sharpies, to make things stand out lots more.

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I first started by sticking the A4 paper down in a 3×2 formation so that I had maximum space to write. The bigger the paper, the more you can splurge all of your ideas down on to it.

Then, once you’ve finished, turn the paper over and you’re ready to start writing!

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The aim is to work out the fundamental parts of your blog – the skeleton, if you like. These will make up the main parts of your plan and allow you to brainstorm the smaller and more intricate parts.

I started by writing my blog name in the middle, and then chose the things I wanted to focus on. For me, it was: Content, YouTube, social media and features. Then I started to expand. When I expanded, I made sure I covered all the areas I thought were important.

For example, coming from social media, I included Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr because they’re the platforms I want to concentrate on this year. You could include what you want to post there, when you want to post it, how often you’re going to post. It really is up to you!

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I found this worked really well from me to muster up some motivation and also to set myself on the right blogging path. I hope it works for you too!

Once I’d finished, I found myself having enough direction to sit down and focus on reaching the goals I’d set and it was easy to transfer certain points on to my computer and on to my blog.

If you’ve tried it out, tweet me @LucyTheReader because I’d love to see!

Will you be having a blog Spring Clean this year?

Blogging

Blog Organisation

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Whilst I think of myself as incredibly disorganised, I’ve often been told that I am, in fact, organised. When it comes to blogging, there are a few things I do in order to make sure I have control over all of the upcoming things on my blog.

Notebooks, notebooks and more notebooks

I have thousands of notebooks where I write down all of my blog post ideas, schedules and plans. I find it much easier to get ideas from my head on to paper than to write them down electronically, and I can arrange things easily too. Even though many of my notebooks are incredibly messy, I love seeing the progression from post to publish. It’s amazing how a tiny scribble can turn into a full-fledged post!

Calendars

Having some form of calendar or diary to write a schedule into is organisation at its best. Without mine, I wouldn’t have any idea when to put posts live and it’s also handy for blog tours, projects and Twitter chats. I know people who use Google Docs as a good calendar; I prefer to write big monthly calendars onto an A3 piece of paper, but I do occasionally use the calendar in my phone.

Bulk taking photos

Whether for the blog or to post on Instagram, I love taking advantage of a sunny morning and taking photos all in one go. Then I can edit them later and they’re ready to upload!

Time management

Spend one day a month focusing entirely on your blog, an afternoon a week commenting on blogs, or a weekend scheduling posts. Time management is key when blogging! Whilst Twitter is fun, it’s not always productive. Allocate yourself a set time, turn off any distractions, and get your blogging done!

Do what’s best for you

Create your own routine and figure out how you work best. Don’t force blogging or it will come across in your posts! Organisation is something all of us lack at times, so making sure you know when your productivity levels will be highest will hugely benefit you.

How do you make sure you stay organised?

Blogging

2015 Blogging Goals

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Even though I do put too much pressure on myself at times, I love setting myself blogging goals. They help keep me focused and it’s interesting to look back at the end of the year and see how many I managed to achieve. I had such an incredible year in 2014 that this year I want to take things a step further in order to develop my blog.

1. Stick to my Blogging Manifesto

Creating my manifesto was a massive turning point for me. When I look back on my old posts, it’s my manifesto that stands out the most. Whilst I believe I’ve stuck to it well so far, I’d like to start incorporating it into my bl0g more.

2. Post regularly

Something that annoys me about myself is that I have a tendency to post regularly for a few weeks and then go back to sporadic posting. 2015 will be the year of regular posting, I’m sure of it!

3. Complete all of my upcoming projects

I have lots of projects that I’m building at the moment, and I’d love to have lots of these completed by the end of 2015. I’m so excited about all of them – I can’t wait to share them soon!

4. Get better at replying to blog comments and tweets

I’m so bad at replying to comments and tweets. I always mean to do it and then get distracted by something else! 2015 will be the year of the replies!

5. Reach my targets

This year I’ve set myself realistic targets for follower counts and statistics that I won’t be disappointed if I don’t meet, but it would be nice if I could!

6. Balance my blog and YouTube channel at the same time

I’d like to get into a routine and be able to juggle both at the same time because I hate abandoning one for the other. They’re both my children!

What goals have you set yourself this year?

Blogging

BlogNoWriMo

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You may have heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which budding writers set out to write 50,000 words during the month of November.

Today I am embarking on a BlogNoWriMo shaped journey – I will be writing one blog post every day for the entirety of the month, in the hope of getting ahead on blog posts so I can have December off to read to my heart’s content.

I’ll be using the hashtag #BlogNoWriMo to track my progress, and you’re very welcome to join in too – the more, the merrier!

Blogging Uncategorized

Blogging and Business

Blogging and Business

Since the start of September, I’ve been taking Business Studies lessons. Due to having such a passion for social media and marketing, I’m really glad I chose to take the class because I’ve learnt so much from it so far.

There are many principles in business that apply to blogging too (if not all of them!), and I’ve found that I’ve discovered so many ways to expand my blog and feel very motivated about blogging since September. I thought I’d discuss a few on the blog today:

Non-Monetary Motivational Factors:

Since learning about motivational factors, I’ve been able to change them up so that they affect the way I blog in a very positive way.

Job Rotation: By applying job rotation, where you switch between different tasks to reduce monotony, I’m trying to make sure that I’m not getting bored by a continuous routine of blogging tasks. I’ve created a rota of days to carry out different tasks – commenting on blogs, writing and scheduling posts, and creating blogging schedules, for example. It also means that I’m rotating the content going up on the blog, and the extra motivation means that it’s easier than ever to come up with fresh and original ideas.

Job Enrichment: When based on my blog, job enrichment means that I’m giving myself more interesting and challenging tasks to do. I’ve always been one for doing things that are wild and crazy, but I love having a small idea and developing it into something that is greater than I ever imagined it could be. Currently, I have a few of these on the go and I’m really excited about developing them further.

Promotion, Marketing & Research:

Market Research: It’s so important to find out just how much the consumer (or reader, in this case) is going to like an idea because that’s the person you’re catering for! The first person I try to make happy is myself; I won’t post something I’m not happy with and don’t have 100% faith in, but the second person is YOU. In the next few months, I’m going to be carrying out lots and lots of research to ensure that I’m growing my blog for the better, and not for the completely wrong reasons.

Direct Marketing: I want to try to make visiting my blog a personal experience for everyone who decides to click on, or type in, the link. I also have a few other direct marketing ideas, such as creating a monthly newsletter which I should be developing for the start of 2015.

 

Do you think it’s important to run your blog strategically, or do you prefer to ‘go with the flow’?