Blogging takes commitment, discipline, practice and organization. I work with many companies who want to start blogs because that is what “everyone else is doing,” or it’s what they’ve been told to do by their web design company. One of my very first questions is whether or not the company is willing to make the commitment to developing a sustainable blog and do they understand what that actually means.

Often, companies are so excited that they’re finally going to be blogging, that they don’t fully understand the actual effort that goes into just one post and forget to develop a topic, timeline and specific post date, thereby allowing weeks, months…or even years to go by before another post is developed. In these cases, the blog is doing absolutely nothing for, if not harming, the company’s online image and presence.

Blogging Factors to Consider Prior to Starting

To develop your own calendar, first consider the following:

• When will you develop the topic, points and stance you want?
• How often are you going to post (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)?
• When is the first draft to be completed and who is going to write it?
• Is enough time factored in for revisions and sourcing images if you need a supporting image?
• What is the specific day you will be posting the blog?

Basic Process for Just One Blog Post

To develop a blog post, work back from the date you wish to post on, highlighting key dates and deadlines. When working with clients, I typically factor in a two week span for developing one blog.

• Two weeks before post: Client is to submit the blog topic, points they want covered, as well as their stance. This gives me one week to develop (and properly edit) the first draft, including key words in headers and throughout the body, ensure it’s in an easy to read format and is written for their specific audience
• One week before post: I send the draft to my client for review. This is crucial as I am writing on their behalf and they must be comfortable with what is written and give the go-ahead for posting the content
• Three days before post: Client sends all revisions back to me, where I then edit the blog to its final version based on their feedback.
• One day prior: I send the final version of the blog through to the client for them to post
• Post Day: The client (or individual responsible for their blog / website uploads) posts the blog and publishes it for the public to see!

As you can see, there needs to be time for development and revisions factored into just one blog post to ensure that the blog provides quality information to clients. With so many details going into one post, it is crucial that all involved are committed to specific dates and deadlines so the blog itself is a success by being consistently updated with quality content.

Lindsay Harle, The Write Harle